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Roderick Benns: Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 10:00 AM
 “I’m a representative-government guy,” Chris writes, “and I take that to mean that the government is chosen by, and always accountable to, a majority of the members of the House of Commons. If that majority comes from three or four or seventeen different parties or factions, makes no difference. Governments should be accountable to the House, not to some calculation of what share of the popular vote some party or other got, or what a particular leader’s situation is. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Friday, February 17, 2012 11:22 AM
There was a lot of discussion during the minority Harper years about how Parliament works – or at least should work. The Harper Conservatives have tried to advance the clear and simple notion that the party that wins the most seats wins the election – period – as if gaining the confidence of Parliament did not have to be taken into account. Of course, this is silly. However, I also find it silly to consider other extremes – that when the clear will of the people is to eject a government and install a new one, the ‘will’ of Parliament can change all of that. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2012 12:33 PM
As he held his mother’s hand and waved goodbye to Scotland, five-year-old John A. Macdonald could not have known how much weight would come to rest on his slim shoulders. He could not have known that he was sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to a colony that not only would depend upon him for its very creation, but also its very survival. John A. Macdonald would serve Canada for a staggering 48 years in public office, 19 of them as prime minister. He is the only Canadian prime minister to win six majority governments. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Friday, February 03, 2012 10:36 AM
 It’s never too early or too late to celebrate the birthday of our first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Especially if you’re a teacher who likes to plan well in advance, this project is for you. The Historica Dominion Institute created theSir John A. Dayproject to raise awareness about the life and legacy of our first leader. (By an Act of Parliament in 2001, the Canadian Government officially declared January 11 to be Sir John A. Macdonald Day.) With Macdonald’s 200 birthday bicentennial just around the corner in 2015, I would encourage all teachers to factor in our first prime minister for upcoming lessons and projects this spring and fall. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Monday, January 30, 2012 9:39 PM
Last month I learned that my first year political studies professor,Rae Murphy, had passed away. Among many other books, Rae wroteBrian Mulroney: The Boy from Baie Comeau. He was an excellent teacher who kept his own politics (in his case, left leaning) out of the classroom and instead simply cultivated a strong love for Canada’s history within his students. When it came time to pick a prime minister to write about, I didn’t want to pick one of the ‘greats’ so that my paper would stand out. |
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Posted on Monday, January 23, 2012 1:01 PM
As Prime Minister Stephen Harper prepares to meet with national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo, as well as other First Nations leaders this month, it’s fascinating to remember how different things were when Canada began. On a related note, I am nearly through Richard Gwyn’s masterful second volume on John A. Macdonald (Nation Maker – Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times.) Gwyn reminds us that the American Indian was in drastically worse shape than their Canadian counterparts during the late nineteenth century. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 12:35 PM
 I think our greatest prime minister who did not serve a full term in office was John Thompson. In fact, I’d go so far to say that in a parallel universe, Wilfrid Laurier’s 15 years in office is pared down to only two terms against this intelligent, highly skilled young leader. It would be a dream political match-up. The two would have fought it out over the course of 15 years or so, for the hearts and minds of Canadians. Thompson, born and raised in Nova Scotia, served between 1892 and 1894, for almost exactly two years. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Saturday, January 14, 2012 3:38 PM
Welcome! Here, we pledge to talk regularly about Canadian history, with a special emphasis on our 22 prime ministers. Today, I'd like to take a look at 'How the East Won and How Canada Lost.' We live in a country where there is an acute lack of national consciousness – of national memory. We’re decentralized. We have regional self-absorptions. I think we should have listened to the Americans 100 years ago. Not the ones living in the U.S. – the ones who chose to move here, especially to our Canadian west. |
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