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When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada
Peter C. Newman, Canada's most "cussed and discussed" political journalist, on the death spiral of the Liberal Party.
The May 2, 2011 federal election turned Canadian governance upside down and inside out. In his newest and possibly most controversial book, bestselling author Peter C. Newman argues that the Harper majority will alter Canada so much that we may have to change the country's name. But the most lasting impact of the Tory win will be the demise of the Liberal Party, which ruled Canada for seven of the last ten decades and literally made the country what it is. Newman chronicles, in bloody detail, the de-construction of the Grits' once unassailable fortress and anatomizes the ways in which the arrogance embedded in the Liberal genetic code slowly poisoned the party's progressive impulses.
When the Gods Changed is the saga of a political self-immolation unequalled in Canadian history. It took Michael Ignatieff to light the match.
The May 2, 2011 federal election turned Canadian governance upside down and inside out. In his newest and possibly most controversial book, bestselling author Peter C. Newman argues that the Harper majority will alter Canada so much that we may have to change the country's name. But the most lasting impact of the Tory win will be the demise of the Liberal Party, which ruled Canada for seven of the last ten decades and literally made the country what it is. Newman chronicles, in bloody detail, the de-construction of the Grits' once unassailable fortress and anatomizes the ways in which the arrogance embedded in the Liberal genetic code slowly poisoned the party's progressive impulses.
When the Gods Changed is the saga of a political self-immolation unequalled in Canadian history. It took Michael Ignatieff to light the match.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published November 22, 2011
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100 people want to read
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 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 25, 2011
Back when a certain NDP candidate named Thomas Mulcair shocked the Ottawa establishment by winning a 2007 by-election in the former Liberal stronghold of Outremont, the press went wild. They wrote reams about the Liberals' poor campaign, droned on and on about how far the party had fallen, and speculated endlessly about what it all meant for the party's future. In the process, they all but pronounced the Liberals dead, but they spilled almost no ink about who had beaten them and none at all about how he had done it. When I wrote about that race and its press coverage, I sarcastically called the piece "Outremont won by Liberals' phantom opponent!" This book is like that, writ large.
In fact, the story behind how the book came to be--which Newman doesn't even try to hide--kind of says it all. Newman was absolutely convinced that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was destined to become the Prime Minister of Canada; so convinced that he talked a publisher into giving him a book contract to write the story of Ignatieff's journey to his destiny before Ignatieff had even set foot on that road. Then, when it all didn't quite work out as planned, instead of being just a little bit embarrassed and lying low for a bit, Newman decided instead to switch gears and write a book about how the Liberals had engineered their own demise by just, well...generally sucking. Never mind the two parties that beat them; those folks are mere extras in this narrative that imagines the Liberals as the sole agents of absolutely everything in Canadian politics, even their own defeat. The result is a deeply weird book about the irrelevance of the Liberal Party that refuses to truly acknowledge that irrelevance. Only in Canada.
I actually do find Michael Ignatieff interesting as a person (or, I should say, as a character), so it would be an exaggeration to say the book was a complete wash for me. The parts of it that are more biography than an attempt to tell the story of the slow death of a party are much better, and that's why I'm not giving it only one star. But even there, the book is so full of overwrought writing (like "his father, who was the lodestar of his journey through life") that there's simply no room in it for any sort of substantive analysis, and this renders the overarching narrative incoherent. I certainly learned quite a bit about what it was like to be Michael Ignatieff during the last few years, but I never quite shook the impression that the book's central argument was rather shoddily stitched together from the remnants of what it had originally been "destined" to be.
I'm impressed that Newman managed to rescue his book contract from the jaws of death under such dire circumstances, but when all is said and done, the end result just doesn't work very well.
In fact, the story behind how the book came to be--which Newman doesn't even try to hide--kind of says it all. Newman was absolutely convinced that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was destined to become the Prime Minister of Canada; so convinced that he talked a publisher into giving him a book contract to write the story of Ignatieff's journey to his destiny before Ignatieff had even set foot on that road. Then, when it all didn't quite work out as planned, instead of being just a little bit embarrassed and lying low for a bit, Newman decided instead to switch gears and write a book about how the Liberals had engineered their own demise by just, well...generally sucking. Never mind the two parties that beat them; those folks are mere extras in this narrative that imagines the Liberals as the sole agents of absolutely everything in Canadian politics, even their own defeat. The result is a deeply weird book about the irrelevance of the Liberal Party that refuses to truly acknowledge that irrelevance. Only in Canada.
I actually do find Michael Ignatieff interesting as a person (or, I should say, as a character), so it would be an exaggeration to say the book was a complete wash for me. The parts of it that are more biography than an attempt to tell the story of the slow death of a party are much better, and that's why I'm not giving it only one star. But even there, the book is so full of overwrought writing (like "his father, who was the lodestar of his journey through life") that there's simply no room in it for any sort of substantive analysis, and this renders the overarching narrative incoherent. I certainly learned quite a bit about what it was like to be Michael Ignatieff during the last few years, but I never quite shook the impression that the book's central argument was rather shoddily stitched together from the remnants of what it had originally been "destined" to be.
I'm impressed that Newman managed to rescue his book contract from the jaws of death under such dire circumstances, but when all is said and done, the end result just doesn't work very well.
May 21, 2012
Would love to give this one a more accurate 3 1/2 stars. I could not muster a 4 for it. A nice tight little history of the Liberal Party of Canada and how they lost their way, leading to the debacle of the last federal election. Completely devoid of any humour, really just a dry political recanting of a party whose best days are seemingly behind them.
I wish there were a Canadian version of Hunter Thompson to tell this tale.
I wish there were a Canadian version of Hunter Thompson to tell this tale.
December 20, 2012
Its clearly evident this book was written in a rush. Newman promises an analysis of the death of the liberal party, however, he doesn't make a case for its actual death. Moreover, his promised historical overview rushed, haphazard and non-sequential. In actuality, Newman offers some historical content interposed with a retelling of the 2011 election and Ignatieff's move to Canada.
Newman strangely thought Ignatieff would win and revitalize the Liberal Party as did some party insiders. However, I never got a clear idea from Newman why this was so. Speaking as someone from the left of the Liberal Party, I never saw his appeal and knew intuitively he would fail, even before the negative advertising campaign. Newman notes his Iraqi position but doesn't fully elucidate Ignatieff's inability to connect.
I appreciate his contention that 20th Century Canada was a Liberal creation and wished he would've developed that idea more fully and compared it with Harper's vision. There are alot of themes and ideas in the book worth developing but the book drifts from one idea to the next. Perhaps after Ignatieff lost the election, Newman should have started over and give a new focus to his book.
Newman strangely thought Ignatieff would win and revitalize the Liberal Party as did some party insiders. However, I never got a clear idea from Newman why this was so. Speaking as someone from the left of the Liberal Party, I never saw his appeal and knew intuitively he would fail, even before the negative advertising campaign. Newman notes his Iraqi position but doesn't fully elucidate Ignatieff's inability to connect.
I appreciate his contention that 20th Century Canada was a Liberal creation and wished he would've developed that idea more fully and compared it with Harper's vision. There are alot of themes and ideas in the book worth developing but the book drifts from one idea to the next. Perhaps after Ignatieff lost the election, Newman should have started over and give a new focus to his book.
December 12, 2011
Another book that I couldn't put down because I couldn't stand the author. Very smarmy and egotisical. Still, an interesting and enjoyable read.
January 20, 2012
I do not agree with everything he says, but this is a very good book giving context on the Liberal party run from WWII to today.
Read
September 24, 2022I've had this on my shelf since it was published but just finished it now. Very chatty, short book. I lived through the Ignatieff years, reported on it, and was in the room, as it were, for much of what Newman writes about. So: It's obviously a bit dated. The Liberal Party did not die. The NDP did not replace it. But still some important observations about party renewal.
October 31, 2014
Very poignant and compelling title, it got me to read this book – not a waste of time.
Peter C. Newman is pessimistic about Canada’s once dominant force in politics, believing it came to a vicious end following an unprecedented defeat in the last elections. His book – its main focus was initially utterly different: the making of the next Prime Minister, cosmopolitan intellectual, Harvard professor Michael Ignatieff – enumerates and details the factors of the "Government Party’s" demise. "Professionalism", arrogance, the leader’s inexperience, infighting, public opinion.
It was interesting to read on partisan, behind-the-scenes actions and intimate accounts of the Liberals’ demise over the years. Newman, with his lengthy, solid experience of reporting on politics and interviewing national leaders, gets back in time on numerous occasions to draw analogies, narrate interesting anecdotes and put them into perspective to better understand the current situation. Sometimes he resorts to an awkward novel-like style of narration, sort of trying to stylize his storytelling – put me off every time and got me turning pages.
Newman’s book was written too soon, as it announced the Liberal party’s death sentence the same year it lost the elections. He didn’t wait to see if the party restructured; instead, he proclaimed it terminally ill in a matter of months after it got hit by the Orange tornado in Quebec and the Conservative takeover in Ontario. Hence the book appears hastily rushed, like it’s got a deadline to respect; a 3 year manuscript reworked in some months and published. It didn’t mention robogate, for example. If he waited even further, Newman could see that the party regenerated – I'm unsure if it completely though, as only VIP Liberals would know – and got what it so desperately needed: Justin Trudeau, its remedy and, perhaps, overnight saviour.
The book, I believe, warned of the possibility of the diminishing of the LPC into oblivion; fortunately, the latter is now leading the polls and seems heading to 24 Sussex in 2015.
Peter C. Newman is pessimistic about Canada’s once dominant force in politics, believing it came to a vicious end following an unprecedented defeat in the last elections. His book – its main focus was initially utterly different: the making of the next Prime Minister, cosmopolitan intellectual, Harvard professor Michael Ignatieff – enumerates and details the factors of the "Government Party’s" demise. "Professionalism", arrogance, the leader’s inexperience, infighting, public opinion.
It was interesting to read on partisan, behind-the-scenes actions and intimate accounts of the Liberals’ demise over the years. Newman, with his lengthy, solid experience of reporting on politics and interviewing national leaders, gets back in time on numerous occasions to draw analogies, narrate interesting anecdotes and put them into perspective to better understand the current situation. Sometimes he resorts to an awkward novel-like style of narration, sort of trying to stylize his storytelling – put me off every time and got me turning pages.
Newman’s book was written too soon, as it announced the Liberal party’s death sentence the same year it lost the elections. He didn’t wait to see if the party restructured; instead, he proclaimed it terminally ill in a matter of months after it got hit by the Orange tornado in Quebec and the Conservative takeover in Ontario. Hence the book appears hastily rushed, like it’s got a deadline to respect; a 3 year manuscript reworked in some months and published. It didn’t mention robogate, for example. If he waited even further, Newman could see that the party regenerated – I'm unsure if it completely though, as only VIP Liberals would know – and got what it so desperately needed: Justin Trudeau, its remedy and, perhaps, overnight saviour.
The book, I believe, warned of the possibility of the diminishing of the LPC into oblivion; fortunately, the latter is now leading the polls and seems heading to 24 Sussex in 2015.
July 5, 2014
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. In addition to analyzing how the Liberals gained and maintained power for the majority of the 20th century, the author also weaves in Michael Ignatieff's story. It is an extremely interesting narrative that the author was able to create, guiding the reader through the many signs pointing to Liberal's demise leading up to Ignatieff's failed attempt to become prime minister. Newman offers an in-depth analysis of the party that (he suggests) exerted too much arrogance and entitlement for their own good.
This book was relevant at the time it was published, right after Liberal's worst electoral failure in history. It is still relevant now. However, it remains to be seen if Newman's premise, that Liberal (big L) Canada is dead, holds.
This book was relevant at the time it was published, right after Liberal's worst electoral failure in history. It is still relevant now. However, it remains to be seen if Newman's premise, that Liberal (big L) Canada is dead, holds.
August 14, 2012
It was Taylor Owen and David Eaves' review of this book in the LRC (http://reviewcanada.ca/reviews/2012/0...) that made me want to read this. After having done so, I still liked the review better than the book, but no one in Canadian political writing beats Peter Newman. He's seen it all.
Here's a link to an interesting talk I attended where he talked about this book and reflected on the changes in political journalism over his many decades in the biz: http://www2.samaracanada.com/blog/pos...
Here's a link to an interesting talk I attended where he talked about this book and reflected on the changes in political journalism over his many decades in the biz: http://www2.samaracanada.com/blog/pos...
January 12, 2012
The book is fairly interesting, but it feels like they really pushed the book out the door. The editing was terrible in places, and the sheer prose was turgid to say the least. The book however, had a number of good points, though they are depressing points. I don't really want to talk about the politics of it here though.
November 29, 2012
Excellent book. An interesting look at the collapse of the Liberal Party. Newman is not optimistic about a comeback.
January 1, 2013
I'm not a 'fan' of politics or the details. This book is well written and gives a good idea to the reader of what life was like at this time.
August 20, 2013
Fascinating subject and one must applaud attempts to dramatize canadian politics. Fizzles a bit at the end, but I guess that is due to the subject matter doing just that....
September 17, 2013
A historical account of the Liberal party since the time of Trudeau. It's like watching a train wreck
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews