Divided Loyalties: The Liberal Party of Canada, 1984-2008

by Brooke Jeffrey

The Liberal Party has governed Canada for much of the country's history. Yet over the past two decades, the 'natural governing party' has seen a decrease in traditional support, finding itself in opposition for nearly half of that time. In Divided Loyalties , Brooke Jeffrey draws on her own experience as a party insider and on interviews with more than sixty senior Liberals to follow the trajectory of the party from 1984 to the leadership of Stéphane Dion in 2008. Riven by internal strife, leadership disputes, and financial woes, the Liberal Party today faces unprecedented challenges that threaten its very future. Conventional wisdom attributes the origins of the disarray to personal conflict between Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin. However, Jeffrey argues that this divisiveness is actually the continuation of a dispute over Canadian federalism and national unity which began decades earlier between John Turner and Pierre Trudeau. This dispute, as evidenced by recent leadership crises, remains unresolved to this day. An insightful examination of the federal Liberal Party, Divided Loyalties sheds much-needed light on an increasingly fissured party.

Genres: Politics, History, Canada

672 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 2010

Reviews

[AndrewMillerTheSecond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't decide between 3 or 4 stars for this one; I'll say 3.5. A great, well-researched history of the party, held back unnecessarily by some pretty clear biases. Jeffrey relied on primary sources as well as interviews with key players to provide an account that gives equal weight between key players and the basics of party machinery. The sections after each election about the caucus bureau and the PMO were a little too dry for my liking, but if you're curious about the Liberal Party they are inevitable components.

Jeffrey believes the social/business, left/right divide to the party did not explain why their party lost their historical internal cohesion in the late '90s and early aughts. The opening of constitutional reform by Brian Mulroney exacerbated a new divide between federalists and decentralists. The Chretien/Martin feud, which consumes much of the book, is in Jeffrey's mind both a battle of liberalism vs centrism and a strong federal government vs devolution to the provinces (but this war has simply taken on new players as of 2008). Unfortunately, the author pretty obviously views Paul Martin with contempt and about as uncharitable as possible to him. To be clear, I am no Martinite; his severe austerity regime in the 1990s was unconscionable. But read the chapters on his government and you'll understand you're not getting a neutral history--it is absurdly negative. Jeffrey even appears to endorse the Pierre Trudeau/Chretien view of federalism in the final couple of paragraphs of the book, implying it's the best way for the party to retake its place as Canada's "natural governing party". However, there is some good information to deduce from the rivalry between the two and Jeffrey at least gives each side weight.

The book is not terribly exciting if you're looking for anything other than a deep history of the Liberal Party. Even if you are, be sure to take what she says about Paul Martin (and John Turner, to some extent) with a good dose of skepticism; otherwise, this is the best you're going to get on the politics of the Liberal Party during this period.

[Stanley Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

entertaining read about the factionism of the liberal party of canada