Blasts From the Past

Recalling a book I read a while ago and which I unreservedly recommend (Walter Gordon & the Rise of Canadian Nationalism) inspires me to offer a little quiz for the political junkies and history buffs among us.

I give you below four quotations from parliamentary speeches, all from 1956. Guess the party to which each speaker belongs. Just ask yourself, "Does this sound like a Liberal, a Tory, or a socialist?". The speakers' identities are given after the full list of quotations (hint: David Orchard is NOT on the list). Don't cheat. Ready? Here goes:


1."Canadians should declare their economic independence of the United States".

2. "If the government is re-elected, Canada will become virtually a forty-ninth economic state in the American union".

3. "What is happening before our eyes is nothing less than economic invasion by our neighbours to the south".

4. "History shows us that economic domination, if not resisted, if not altered, inevitably leads, by a process of absorption, to ultimate political domination as well".




Answers:

1. George Drew, Tory Leader of the Opposition; former Tory premier of Ontario.

2. John Diefenbaker, Tory M.P.; eventual party leader and prime-minister.

3. Leon Balcer, Tory M.P.; Diefenbaker's Québec lieutenant.

4. Davie Fulton, Tory M.P.; Diefenbaker's Minister of Justice.


Don't feel too badly if you failed the quiz: these days, it's hard to recognise real Toryism when you hear it.