John Sandfield Macdonald, 1812-1872

Résumé du livre

John Sandfield Macdonald, in later life the first premier of Ontario, is presented here as a positive force in the politics of his time and a man of considerable vision—a Baldwinite Reformer who, in the years of the Union of the Canadas, fought against the particularism and sectionalism of Grits such as George Brown. He grasped better than most of his Upper Canadian contemporaries the essential duality of the Canadian experience and was more progressive on social issues than many of the Reformers who repeatedly condemned him. Like Sir John A. Macdonald, Sandfield did not like institutional federalism. It was, therefore, ironic that after his 'double majority' faltered when he was premier of the province of Canada, he should oppose Confederation only to find himself as the first premier of Ontario. This man from Glengarry and Cornwall believed in the political integrity of Upper and Lower Canada and saw Montreal as the metropolitan and cultural center of the country. In 1867 he accepted the 'Macdonaldian system,' but he was thereafter accused, unfairly, of being the client of Sir John A. by the frustrated Grits who developed the doctrines of classical federalism and provincial rights rejected by the Fathers of Confederation in 1864. This short biography of a man who has been seen for too long only in the company of other Confederation figures gives a valuable look at the background and foreground of Canadian, especially Upper Canadian, politics during the Union and the years immediately following Confederation. It also presents a portrait of the man himself: affable, gregarious, but sarcastic in his public life; an 'outside pillar' of the Catholic church; awkward and distant in his personal relationships; and only too often seen as an enigma by his associates. BRUCE VODGINS was born in Kitchener, Ontario, and obtained his BA from the University of Western Ontario, his MA from Queen's University, and his PhD from Duke University. Since 1965 he has taught history at Trent University and is at present an associate professor. In 1970 he was on leave for several months at the Australian National University in Canberra. He has published articles on Confederation and on recent Canadian politics and foreign affairs. In 1967 he won a Centennial Medal, and in 1968 he was awarded the Cruickshank Medal for his writings about Ontario history.