The Liberal Party of Canada: The Past is Less Important than the Future

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The Liberal Party of Canada: The Past is Less Important than the Future

The Liberals are one of the most popular political parties in Canadian history. Their seemingly hegemonic power, careful electioneering, and (some) luck, has helped them dominate Canada’s political theatre. Undoubtedly, Liberals have greatly shaped the Canada we live in today. In our initial Political History Series post, we examine the ideological system that has guided Canadian Liberals: liberalism.

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Clio’s Perspective on Election 2015: Introduction

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Clio’s Perspective on Election 2015: Introduction

This week we are beginning a series at Clio’s Current to coincide with the 2015 Canadian election. For the next ten weeks, we will be writing about various aspects of Canadian political history. For our non-Canadian readers, we hope that you enjoy this extended foray and maybe learn a bit about Canada’s fascinating political history (well, we think it is!). If you want a primer on recent events leading up to the 2015 election, you should check out Paul Wells’ excellent overview in Maclean’s before plunging into the past.

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Party of the People: Peter Lougheed and the Alberta PCs

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Party of the People: Peter Lougheed and the Alberta PCs

The election of New Democrat Rachel Notley has left many Albertans and Canadians in shock – the governing Progressive Conservatives had entered government (just under) 44 years ago, on August 31 1971.  Many of us can’t even remember that and here at Clio’s, we can’t even remember an Albertan Premier before Ralph Klein, who became Premier in 1993.  Many woke up on May 6 wondering if Alberta was resigned to dynasties and if the NDP were setting up for a couple of decades of Alberta rule.  One way or another, the comparison to 1971 when the PCs kicked out the ruling Social Credit Party are thick on the ground.

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Eyes on Target: Military Domestic Surveillance in Canada - Guest Post by Trevor Ford

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Eyes on Target: Military Domestic Surveillance in Canada - Guest Post by Trevor Ford

In wake of Bill C-51 being introduced in parliament, there has been much discussion about what kind of latitudes law enforcement agencies should have when it comes to terrorism prevention through the monitoring of Canadians. Today many Canadian’s know what CSIS is and how the RCMP complements their intelligence gathering abilities to combat all forms of perceived threats. Yet, in recent years there has been some alleged violations of their mandate by launching investigations on Aboriginal rights activists such as Associate Professor Cindy Blackstock who was researching welfare for Aboriginal children on reserves. Likewise, another Aboriginal rights activist Pam Palmater, a Mi'kmaq lawyer and professor at Ryerson University, has alleged that CSIS and the RCMP opened up investigations on her due to her association to the Idle No More protest movement. In both cases the entire story is unclear but it can be surmised from the available evidence against both activists that some form of investigation has taken place.

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Closing the Door: A Short History of Canada's "Open Nominations"

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Closing the Door: A Short History of Canada's "Open Nominations"

In 2013, Justin Trudeau announced that under his leadership the Liberal Party would be committed to open nominations of Liberal Party candidates. The promise remains in a prominent place on the Liberal website, though his commitment to it has been questioned many times in the last two years. Both the NDP and the Conservative parties have offered a commitment to open nominations, cementing it as an “important” part of the lead-up to the 2015 federal election. Today we look at how the principle of open nominations (or lack thereof) became part of Canada’s political process.

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The October Crisis of 1970 and Bill C-51: When is the government more important than the individual?

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The October Crisis of 1970 and Bill C-51: When is the government more important than the individual?

The introduction of Bill C-51 has garnered some of the fiercest debates over individual rights and government powers in recent Canadian history. While its supporters point to its purpose in defending Canada from the threat of terrorism, many of its critics reject its necessity as a means of protecting Canadians. Some have alluded to another time in Canadian history when individual rights were compromised in the name of the greater good, the 1970 October Crisis. Today we examine this comparison and consider whether there are any lessons from government reaction to the FLQ that can be applied to the debate over C-51 in 2015.

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A Brief Assessment of Canada’s National Defence Expenditure

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In the wake of recent attacks in Quebec and Ottawa that saw the unfortunate and horrifying death of two Canadian soldiers, Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, the Harper government seems poised to introduce new legislation that will strengthen the powers to its intelligence agency. The government tabled Bill C-44 this week which is intended to expand the powers and functioning capabilities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), and now in Canada speculations abound as to the particulars of this legislation and its overall impact on the nation’s domestic and international security measures.

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The End of the Two-Party System in Canada and the Rise of the Third Party

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Canadian politics is greatly influenced by its "third parties," like the NDP or the Bloc Quebecois.  Third party options have been present to Canadians for the majority of our history. No Canadian today can remember a time in Canadian politics when third parties did not have some sort of influence, but for the first half century of Canadian political history, Canada was essentially a two-party system.  All of that changed in 1919 after the First World War.

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The Secret to Laurier's Success: Political Leadership During Tough Times

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Bruce Yaccato recently wrote for the National Post comparing the leadership of Justin Trudeau with that of old Liberal leader Sir Wilfrid Laurier.  “Layabout to legend,” he wrote of both, explaining that if Laurier could turn himself a country lawyer to one of our greatest Prime Ministers, so too could Justin Trudeau go from teacher to leader of the country.  Yaccato’s piece has some good points, but spends little time actually explaining why Laurier was a good political leader.  What allowed Laurier to lead his party 30 years and serve as Prime Minister for 15 of them?

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Ukrainian Independence in Historical Perspective

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The ongoing situation in Eastern Europe and the Crimea has found a great deal of attention in media and public circles alike. Much of the focus has been on the volatility of military action and the potential for increased hostility in the immediate region, while media coverage of the situation internationally has explored in significant detail the impact of economic sanctions on Russian action. It is unfortunate that the civilian story often seems tertiary to events most told, so in today’s post we focus on the history of Ukrainian nationalism with an eye to understanding government response in Canada to episodes in the push for Ukrainian independence.

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Bon Déménagement! Quebec's July 1

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For most of Canada today marks the eve of Canada Day. Tomorrow, millions will attend or watch national celebrations big and small across the country. In Quebec though, June 30 is when most leases end. July 1 is Moving Day, not Canada Day. Quebecois prefer to celebrate their national holiday, St Jean Baptiste Day, on June 24 since not only does it reflect Quebec's unique cultural history, but because so many are busy on Canada (Moving) Day. Some have suggested that placing Moving Day on July 1 is a conspiratorial snub from separatist Quebec to federalists and the “Rest of Canada.” Of course more reasonable voices remind us that it was a Quebec Liberal government that made the change in the 1970s, spearheaded by their Justice Minister, Jérôme Choquette. Let's take it a step further explore the actual debate in the Assemblé Nationale surrounding the change.

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The Myth of Ontario's Fickle Liberal/Conservative Voting

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Kathleen Wynne's electoral victory in Ontario last week has given more life to a common piece of historical myth about Ontario politics. When Ontario votes Liberal provincially, they vote Conservative federally, or vice versa. According to its logic, the Conservatives will win the next federal election with Ontario's help in 2015. There's never any worthwhile explanation offered for this phenomenon, other than it “happens every time” and “Ontario voters are fickle.” A coincidence has become a pattern, but how do we distinguish the two historically?

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Judicial Supremacy and the Right of the Individual in Canada

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 A series of recent Supreme Court cases have ruled against the Canadian government. The rejection of their chosen appointee to the Court, Marc Nadon, on constitutional grounds has angered the government in Ottawa. Rumours and allegations of interference by the Chief Justice, Beverely McLachlin, have swirled over the last week. Ultimately, the Conservatives do not like that an unelected judiciary can supersede the democratically elected Canadian government. The place of the Supreme Court in Canada gives it constitutional authority and stems directly from the 1982 Constitution Act. Its section 52 gave the Supreme Court power to strike down legislation that did not align with the new Canadian constitution. To better understand the position of today's government, today we briefly examine how judiciary authority became supreme in Canada.

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At the Intersection of Security and Discrimination: Canadian Immigration and the Case of Irene Rebrin

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Within academic circles, terms such as “nation” and “Canada” are highly contested. They are loaded with historical, cultural and linguistic meaning, and thus welcome deep investigation which often produces heated debate. The history of Canadian immigration policy is a particularly interesting and contested subject that challenges scholars to investigate the meaning of citizenship and national identity. This is perhaps most evident during a unique period in the immediate postwar years, when the proverbial gates to Canada became “vulnerable” to Cold War Communism.

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The Long History of Progressive Conservatives in Canada

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These are tough days for Canadian Conservatives. Their chosen government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper is losing support from scandals over the Senate and now over the heavily disputed Fair Elections Act. Since its 2003 merger with the Canadian Reform Party (then called the Canadian Alliance), the party has succeeded in forming a minority and majority government much to the chagrin of nearly 2/3rds of the Canadian electorate that voted for other parties. Many disparage the Conservative Party as a destructive right-wing movement that impedes Canada in the 21st century. Criticism of the neo-liberal policies of the Conservatives are usually based in ideological disagreements, which sometimes results in broad generalizations about all Canadian conservatives. It's worthwhile to remember the roots and success of the old Progressive Conservatives – Canadians conservatives should not be defined by one leader or one party in 2014.

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Canada's Cold War - Part I

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Today we launch the first of a series of posts examining Canada's Cold War. It is a political history and our aim is to explore the ups and downs of the relationship between Canada and America. Canada's Cold War was anything but boring – as you will find out in the coming weeks – but we not always the most stalwart ally to our American neighbours.

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“Canada Supports Israel Because It Is Right To Do So” Harper’s Knesset Address

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Last week Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Canadian delegation began their inaugural visit to Israel. The visit, which included laying a cornerstone at the Hula Lake Nature and Bird Park in the north, galvanizes an immense shift in Canada’s position on Israel and the Middle East. We have discussed the Conservative shift on the Middle East several times before, but this week we want to concentrate on Harper’s historic address to the Knesset in particular.

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Wheat and Oil: Diefenbaker, Harper and Canadian-American Trade by Matthew Wiseman

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Matthew Wiseman, a PhD candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University, explores some of the ways in which Canadian prime ministers of the past have capitalized on Canada's resource-rich environment. He provides a historical background to debates surrounding Alberta's tar sands and Canadian economic policy.

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Stephen Harper's Strange Obsession with Israel

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The Canadian government's position on Israel has once again entered the spotlight this week, as Liberal fundraiser Stephen Bronfman pointed out that Justin Trudeau had actually been to Israel, while Israel's close friend Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not. A day later, reports emerged that the Prime Minister would be visiting Israel shortly – perhaps to visit the Bird Sanctuary that is being named in his honour. Again, the strange connection the Conservatives have forged with Israel seems stronger than ever but no less explicable.

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Regional Forces at Play: The 1910 Drummond-Arthabaska By-Election

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Before and after Monday's by-election, Canadian pundits spent pages upon pages debating whether it would simply maintain the status quo or if it was an important sign of things to come for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's majority government. The results were boringly predictable, with the Conservatives winning the two seats they were predicted to win and the Liberals winning the other two. The large number of votes that the Liberals gained in Western provinces was matched by a competitive NDP in Toronto and Montreal, which, before Jack Layton, was the party that received a lot of votes only when Canadians were frustrated with the Liberals – not a contender for 24 Sussex Drive. The answer to the question “Do these results matter?” seems to sway between partisan beliefs. If you're Conservative, they do not. If you're Liberal or NDP, they do. In honour of all this partisan jockeying, let's take a look at one of Canada's most famous by-elections: the Drummond-Arthabaska byelection of 1910.

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