Donald Creighton was for many years one of Canada's foremost historians, a firm believer that history was closer to art than it was to science. Marked by beautiful, carefully crafted prose, The Road to Confederation reflects a style that perhaps no contemporary historian would dare: romantic,
suspenseful, fearlessly narrative, and full of unapologetic opinions. If not politically correct and sanitized, it is a fascinating exploration of the personalities, the political logjams, even the debt problems that marked the period leading to Confederation.
The book was also, as Donald
Wright's excellent introduction argues, haunted by doubt. Not only had Canada failed to live up to Creighton's vision, Creighton himself was writing from the perspective of a rapidly changing country. Quebec was moving towards a liberal, secular, and nationalist identity; English Canada was
embracing bilingualism and diversity; debates about nuclear weapons were raging; and living next to the United States was becoming increasingly uneasy. The road was becoming ever less straightforward. In many respects, The Road to Confederation reveals as much about the 1960s as it does the
1860s.
Can echoes of Creighton's vision be seen even now, as Canada reinserts "Royal" into its military's name and remains entranced by William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the future of the Royal Family?
Introduction to the Wynford Edition
List of Illustrations
1. Maritime Initiative
2. The Astonishing Agreement
3. First Responses
4. Mission to Charlottetown
5. The Bases of Nationhood
6. The Design Completed
7. Uncertain Reception
8. The Hard Check
9.
Appeal to Caesar
10. Imminence of Failure
11. The Calculated Risk
12. The Last Chance
13. Summer of Frustration
14. Achievement
A Note on Sources
References
Index
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Donald Creighton (1902-1979) was English Canada's leading historian. A member of the University of Toronto's Department of History, Creighton wrote a dozen books, including The Commercial Empire of the St Lawrence, the two-volume biography of Sir John A. Macdonald, and Canada's First Century.
For his outstanding contributions to Canada's intellectual life, he received many awards and honours, including the Tyrrell Medal, the Governor General's Award, the Molson Prize, and honorary degrees from universities across the country. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Companion
of the Order of Canada.
Donald Wright is associate professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick. He is a visiting fellow at Clare College, University of Cambridge, in 2011-12. His publications include The Professionalization of History in English Canada (Toronto,
2005) and The Canadian Historical Association: A History (Ottawa, 2003).
Canada's First Century (Reissue) - The late Donald Creighton and Donald Wright
The Unknown Country - The late Bruce Hutchison and Introduction by Vaughn Palmer
The Struggle for the Border (Reissue) - Bruce Hutchison
Introduction by Vaughn Palmer
No Passport - The late Eugene Cloutier
Translated by Joyce Marshall
Regions Apart - Edward Grabb and The late James Curtis
French Canada in Transition - Everett Hughes
Introduction by Lorne Tepperman and Foreword by Nathan Keyfitz
