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The Canadian Revolution: From Deference to Defiance
A social, political, and economic revolution has forged a profoundly different Canadian society in the closing decade of the 20th century. In the manner of his seminal history of the Quiet Revolution and the Pearson years, The Distemper of Our Times , Peter C. Newman details the tempestuous transformation of Canadian reality in the 1990s. The Canadian Revolution looks at the politicians, poets, tycoons, and performers who have made the history that matters most. Newman brings these often-unrecognized pivotal moments into sharp focus, highlighting key political figures like Pierre Trudeau and Preston Manning and the very different visions of Canada that have struggled for ascendance in the past decade.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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About the author
Peter C. Newman
56 books27 followersPeter Charles Newman (born Peta Karel Neuman), CC, journalist, author, newspaper and magazine editor (born 10 May 1929 in Vienna, Austria; died 7 September 2023 in Belleville, ON). Peter C. Newman was one of Canada’s most prominent journalists, biographers and non-fiction authors. After starting out with the Financial Post, he became editor-in-chief of both the Toronto Star and Maclean’s. His 35 books, which have collectively sold more than two million copies, helped make political reporting and business journalism more personalized and evocative. His no-holds-barred, insiders-tell-all accounts of Canada’s business and political elites earned him a reputation as Canada’s “most cussed and discussed” journalist. A recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, Newman was elected to the Canadian News Hall of Fame in 1992. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1978 and a Companion in 1990.
Early Life and Education
Originally named Peta Karel Neuman by his secularized Jewish parents, Peter C. Newman grew up in the Czech town of Breclav, where his father ran a large sugar beet refinery. As Newman wrote in 2018, “I lived the charmed life of a little rich boy in Moravia, Czechoslovakia — until age nine, that is, when the world as I knew it vanished.” Fleeing the Nazis, his family came to Canada as refugees in 1940.
Newman initially attended Hillfield School in Hamilton, Ontario, a prep school for the Royal Military College of Canada. But, envisaging a business career for his son, Newman's father, Oscar, enrolled him as a “war guest” boarder at Upper Canada College in 1944. There he met future members of the Canadian establishment whose lives he would later document.
After graduating, Newman joined the Canadian Navy Reserves. He was a reservist for decades and eventually reached the rank of captain. For many years, he was rarely seen in public without his signature black sailor cap.
Career Highlights
Once he mastered English, Newman began writing, first for the University of Toronto newspaper, then for the Financial Post in 1951. By 1953, he was Montreal editor of the Post. He held the position for three years before returning to Toronto to be assistant editor, then Ottawa columnist, at Maclean's magazine. In 1959, he published Flame of Power: Intimate Profiles of Canada's Greatest Businessmen. It profiles 11 of the first generation of Canada's business magnates. In 1963, Newman published his masterly and popular political chronicle of John Diefenbaker, Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years (1963). According to the Writers’ Trust of Canada, the book “revolutionized Canadian political reporting with its controversial ‘insiders-tell-all’ approach.” Five years later, Newman published a similar but less successful study of Lester Pearson, The Distemper of Our Times (1968).
In 1969, Newman became editor-in-chief at the Toronto Star. During this period, he published some of his best journalism in Home Country: People, Places and Power Politics (1973). He then published popular studies on the lives of those who wielded financial power in the Canadian business establishment. These included his two-volume The Canadian Establishment (1975, 1981), The Bronfman Dynasty (1978; see also Bronfman Family), and The Establishment Man: A Portrait of Power (1982). A third book called Titans: How the New Canadian Establishment Seized Power was added to this series in 1998.
Newman was also editor of Maclean's from 1971 to 1982. He transformed the magazine from a monthly to a weekly news magazine — the first of its kind in Canada — with a Canadian slant on international and national events. In 1982, he resigned to work on a three-volume history of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Honours
Peter C. Newman received the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Toronto Star's Excellence in Journalism award in 1998. He received a National Newspaper Award and in 1992 he was elected to the Canadia
Early Life and Education
Originally named Peta Karel Neuman by his secularized Jewish parents, Peter C. Newman grew up in the Czech town of Breclav, where his father ran a large sugar beet refinery. As Newman wrote in 2018, “I lived the charmed life of a little rich boy in Moravia, Czechoslovakia — until age nine, that is, when the world as I knew it vanished.” Fleeing the Nazis, his family came to Canada as refugees in 1940.
Newman initially attended Hillfield School in Hamilton, Ontario, a prep school for the Royal Military College of Canada. But, envisaging a business career for his son, Newman's father, Oscar, enrolled him as a “war guest” boarder at Upper Canada College in 1944. There he met future members of the Canadian establishment whose lives he would later document.
After graduating, Newman joined the Canadian Navy Reserves. He was a reservist for decades and eventually reached the rank of captain. For many years, he was rarely seen in public without his signature black sailor cap.
Career Highlights
Once he mastered English, Newman began writing, first for the University of Toronto newspaper, then for the Financial Post in 1951. By 1953, he was Montreal editor of the Post. He held the position for three years before returning to Toronto to be assistant editor, then Ottawa columnist, at Maclean's magazine. In 1959, he published Flame of Power: Intimate Profiles of Canada's Greatest Businessmen. It profiles 11 of the first generation of Canada's business magnates. In 1963, Newman published his masterly and popular political chronicle of John Diefenbaker, Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years (1963). According to the Writers’ Trust of Canada, the book “revolutionized Canadian political reporting with its controversial ‘insiders-tell-all’ approach.” Five years later, Newman published a similar but less successful study of Lester Pearson, The Distemper of Our Times (1968).
In 1969, Newman became editor-in-chief at the Toronto Star. During this period, he published some of his best journalism in Home Country: People, Places and Power Politics (1973). He then published popular studies on the lives of those who wielded financial power in the Canadian business establishment. These included his two-volume The Canadian Establishment (1975, 1981), The Bronfman Dynasty (1978; see also Bronfman Family), and The Establishment Man: A Portrait of Power (1982). A third book called Titans: How the New Canadian Establishment Seized Power was added to this series in 1998.
Newman was also editor of Maclean's from 1971 to 1982. He transformed the magazine from a monthly to a weekly news magazine — the first of its kind in Canada — with a Canadian slant on international and national events. In 1982, he resigned to work on a three-volume history of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Honours
Peter C. Newman received the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Toronto Star's Excellence in Journalism award in 1998. He received a National Newspaper Award and in 1992 he was elected to the Canadia
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 30, 2020
If you, my American neighbors south of the 49th parallel and Great Lakes, think of Canada as always placid, Read Peter C. Newman's "The Canadian Revolution, 1985 1995: From Deference To Defiance" and think again. During this ten-year period, Canada's character had changed. Divisiveness that was likely always there had burst through the surface in the decade's worth of time mentioned in the title. Canadians finally began to develop a deepening distrust in their government that had done nothing but accelerate to this very day (2020-10-29). This book is dated, yet it is also an excellent wake-up call about Americans who would like to know more about their neighbors to the north. And if you have any ideas about Canada, prepare to have a few of your bubbles burst.
June 22, 2021
Long winded, highly opinionated and leaves no room for debate. Newman strings words together eloquently, and yet this book is a struggle to get through. If I could compare this with an experience in my life, it would would be falling down the stairs, getting up, and proceeding to fall down them again. History wise, the book is somewhat interesting, but I would recommend any reader interested find another book or do the research themselves, rather than read this.
June 1, 2025
As stated by the author in the end, « this is a journalist’s book ». Starting with an over-blown title, the survey of news stories from 1985 to 1995 has some values, but Newman is too judgmental, and by repeating « revolution » every second page or so, he diminished its value.
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June 15, 2023Canada has a lot to be proud of. A good read and a eye opener.
February 14, 2015
Decent book dealing with Peter Newman's (the former editor of Maclean's Magazine) assertion that the period of time between 1985-1995 was a "quiet revolution" for Canada, in which its citizens rejected the Charlottetown Accord and then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's platform. Solid read, but way too dated for most audiences.
That said, if you wanted a Canadian perspective on things like the OJ Simpson case or Kim Campbell's run as PM, you could do a lot worse. Even the Mulroney trashing has been done better in many other books.
That said, if you wanted a Canadian perspective on things like the OJ Simpson case or Kim Campbell's run as PM, you could do a lot worse. Even the Mulroney trashing has been done better in many other books.
August 12, 2015
This book, while being very informative, was a little bit difficult to follow at times. It took my much longer to get through it than expected. I also felt like I was missing some context in order to understand some of the broader concepts. That said it was a great read from a time in history that I did not have an opportunity to learn about in school as much of it was too fresh to be dissected. Highly recommended.
July 26, 2011
Excellent account of the Mulroney era and its effects.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews