In the years 1874-1896, the great experiment of Confederation, so long conceived, so hastily undertaken, was put to the test.  It was freighted with enterprises whose scale was to daunt even some of the most robust minds of the time.  Out of it were to come results not altogether foreseen, aCanada with a character not wholly intended by the makers of Confederation. This complex story Professor Waite tells with its many subtleties, and evokes colours and mutations not before perceived.

Canada 1874-96 ARD DES (Oxford)

History

Waite, P.B.

Americas

MCCLELLAND STEWART

Financed by British spoils from eastern Maine in the War of 1812, modelled on the University of Edinburgh, and shaped by Scottish democratic education tradition, Dalhousie was unique among Nova Scotia colleges in being the only liberal, nonsectarian institution of higher learning. Except for a brief flicker of life (1838-43), for the first forty-five years no students or professors entered Dalhousie's halls a reflection in part of the intense religious loyalties embedded in Nova Scotian politics. The college building itself was at different times a cholera hospital and a Halifax community centre. Finally launched in 1863 and by 1890 embracing the disciplines of law and medicine, Dalhousie owed its driving force to the Presbyterians, retaining a double loyalty to their ethos of hard work and devotion to learning and to a board, staff, and student body of mixed denominations. P.B. Waite enlivens his descriptions of the life of the university with evocative portrayals of governors, professors, and students, as well as sketches of the social and economic development of Halifax. A welcome addition to the histories of Canadian universities, this volume and its forthcoming companion, dealing with the years 1925 to 1980, contribute significantly to our knowledge of the sometimes bitter internecine struggles that accompanied the development of higher education in Canada. "Everywhere is evident the deft turn of phrase, the captivating descriptions, the beautifully drawn word pictures that do much to enliven and illuminate the story ... It possesses many strengths, including clarity and liveliness, and tells us much about Dalhousie as an institution of buildings, presidents, and professors." B. Moody, Department of History, Acadia University.

The Lives of Dalhousie University: Vol. 1, 1818-1925, Lord Dalhousie's College

WAITE

McGill-Queen's University Press

Writing a life of Bennett, who reportedly destroyed his correspondence every seven years, presents challenges for the biographer. Yet, as P.B. Waite shows, Bennett's lasting contributions to Canada are beyond doubt. He describes Bennett's bold initiatives, including his attempt to introduce unemployment insurance and a minimum wage, as well as his founding of the Bank of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - achieved in the teeth of opposition from banking and media magnates. Waite also contemplates Bennett's friendships, his relationships, and his lifelong bachelorhood, shedding new light on his life and personality. With warmth, wit, and a deep knowledge of its subject, In Search of R.B. Bennett brings Bennett the man - his penchants, prejudices, weaknesses, and strengths - before the reader.

In Search of R.B. Bennett

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Few university presidents could be considered 'to the manner born.' Larry MacKenzie was the exception. He discovered this talent when president of the University of New Brunswick from 1940 to 1944. He became president of the University of British Columbia in 1944 and served for eighteen years. Although UBC's present eminence owes much to many people, as biographer P.B. Waite points out, 'it is basically Larry MacKenzie's creation.'

The Lord of Point Grey: Larry Mackenzie of U.B.C.

Univ of British Columbia Pr

The Man from Halifax: Sir John Thompson, Prime Minister

Univ of Toronto Pr

Sir John Thompson was prime minister of Canada for two years during the period between the death of Sir John A. Macdonald in 1891 and the advent to power of Sir Wilfred Laurier in 1896. In some ways he was greater than either of them although his term as prime minister was relatively brief. He died in office at the tragically early age of forty-nine, at Windsor Castle during a visit to Queen Victoria. Thompson was born and raised in Halifax and is buried there. In between he attained nearly all the offices a young Canadian lawyer could aspire to: attorney-general of his native province, justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, minister of justice in the Conservative government in Ottawa for nine years, and finally prime minister. His name was soon forgotten. Yet a man so distinguished by decency and knowledge, with so strong a grasp of his duty, a man so committed to Canada, cannot be easily dismissed. He had perhaps the most formidable intellect of any of the prime ministers. Unlike most of them, Thompson was a family man, passionately devoted to his wife, Annie, and their five children. When away from his wife, Thompson used to say, he was like Charles II of Spain - nasty, disagreeable, and dangerous. But during such times the couple wrote each other every day, a practice that resulted in the richest personal correspondence of any Canadian prime minister. With the help of these letters, Professor Waite has ably and intimately portrayed the private life of a late-Victorian politican: the sacrifice of home comforts, the loneliness of Ottawa, and the sense of public duty that drive Thomson, despite his natural inclinations, to persist in government service.

The Man from Halifax: Sir John Thompson, Prime Minister (Heritage)

University of Toronto Press

P.B. Waite's book on the events leading to the 1867 Confederation of British North American colonies has long been regarded as one of the best, and liveliest, on the subject. Newspapers were a transcript of life and society. More than mere observers of political events, they were participants with close connections to politicians, shaping public opinion according to their competing views. Public opinion, especially in the eastern colonies, was divided about whether Confederation was desirable, and even more so about what form it should take. Was the federation devised at Charlottetown and Quebec the best arrangement for a union? Certain it is that on July 1, 1867, the Province of Canada (today's Ontario and Quebec) and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were united to form a new nation, soon to be joined by the Northwest, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, creating the Dominion of Canada.

The Life and Times of Confederation 1864-1867: Politics, Newsapers and the Union of British North America

Robin Brass Studio, Inc.

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