Canada's Founding Debates: A Conversation With the Founders

by Janet Ajzenstat (Editor), Ian Gentles (Editor), William D. Gairdner (Editor)

How countries are formed is fascinating, instructive, and critical to their ongoing health -- witness the numerous references to the Federalist Papers and the Constitution in the recent Impeachment hearings. Canada is no exception -- the founding debates of 1864-73 held in six of the seven territories of British North America show politically and historically astute men forming a great nation. And their concerns are as contemporary as today's paper as Canada continues its search for unity and purpose.Canada's Founding Debates is not a transcript of all the debates but highlights the most interesting and salient arguments of the founders on the issues of liberty, opportunity, identity, and nationality. The editors respond to the issues, showing how significant they are today. In addition, the book reveals the positioning of the country a neither British nor American, but something fundamentally new and creative.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada

502 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Janet Leslie Ajzenstat was professor of political science at McMaster University. The author of numerous works on Canadian political history, she is best known for The Political Thought of Lord Durham, where she argues that Durham's call for French-Canadian assimilation was consistent with liberal principles.

Reviews

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably would've enjoyed this a lot more if I'd used it as a reference instead of reading it through in order

[Philip Girvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable reading for anyone interested in the circumstances that led to the provinces adopting a federal, rather than legislative, union. Great speeches collected on the topics of liberty and its excesses, and the role of government toward securing and maximizing citizens' liberty while avoiding the pitfalls that following the founding of the American and French republics.

No doubt the book could have been three or four times the length. The editors have done a commendable job selecting relevant passages.