History from the podium
I belong to a group called the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, and they have a publication called Beyond the Hill. Their current issue carries an interview with me by Wade Morris about my recent book Speeches That Changed Canada. He asks not only about the book and the political speeches contained within it, but... Continue Reading →
Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's youthful prime minister, is stepping down. In 2019, Dennis Gruending featured her eloquent speech following a horrific mosque massacre in Christchurch in March 2019.
George Brown was the founder and editor of the Toronto Globe and leader of the Reform Party. Brown was a fierce opponent of John A Macdonald and the Conservatives and he advocated free trade and representation by population. Brown also believed that any close union with Lower Canada (Quebec) was an obstacle to the future... Continue Reading →
On a cold February day 1965, Canada’s new maple leaf flag rose above the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill for the first time. The so-called Great Flag Debate had been long and acrimonious. Now, Prime Minister Lester Pearson made a brief speech. His political adversary John Diefenbaker, seated nearby, used a handkerchief to dab a tear from his eye.
In 2019, some Indigenous leaders in northern British Columbia refuse to allow workers into traditional territory to carry out pre-construction work on a pipeline carrying liquefied natural gas to the coast. Disputes over land and resources between Indigenous peoples and others are nothing new. Back in August 1999-2000, there was a conflict over Aboriginal fishing rights in New Brunswick.... Continue Reading →
Hundreds of government representatives are meeting in Katowice, Poland to agree on how to enforce action to limit further global warming. Sadly, some of the world’s largest oil and gas producers -- the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait -- are trying to block progress at Katowice. Canada’s most prominent environmentalist David Suzuki has been... Continue Reading →
In 2001, I had never heard of Lawrence Johnstone Burpee, but he was to become an inspiration for me. I was writing speeches for Saskatchewan premier Lorne Calvert, who maintained a prodigious schedule. When I broke for lunch after a morning of composing, I would often wander over to the nearby public library in Saskatoon... Continue Reading →
World War I ended on 11 November 1918. Canada’s fighting forces performed well, and some say that Canada forged its identity as an independent nation in the horrible furnace of war. The costs were great -- sixty thousand dead and thousands more who returned mutilated in mind and spirit. In 1921, Arthur Meighen, Canada’s prime... Continue Reading →
It will soon be 100 years to the day since the First World War ended on November 11, 1918. The war began in August, 1914, when Britain’s ultimatum for Germany to withdraw from occupied Belgium expired. The entire British Empire, including Canada, was automatically at war. The House of Commons was on summer break when... Continue Reading →
Tommy Douglas was one of Canada’s great political orators. He first honed his technique as a university student in Brandon participating in debating clubs and drama. He became an ordained minister and perfected his craft from the pulpit before going on to become a Member of Parliament and then Saskatchewan’s premier for 17 years, and... Continue Reading →
Great Canadian Speeches 