1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456513803321

Autore

Wardhaugh Robert Alexander <1967->

Titolo

Mackenzie King and the Prairie West / / Robert A. Wardhaugh

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto, [Ontario] ; ; Buffalo, [New York] ; ; London, [England] : , : University of Toronto Press, , 2000

©2000

ISBN

1-4426-7686-8

1-282-04224-6

9786612042249

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (343 p.)

Collana

Heritage

Disciplina

971.2/02

Soggetti

Liberalism - Prairie Provinces - History - 20th century

Electronic books.

Prairie Provinces Politics and government 20th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. In Search of the New Jerusalem, 1874-1919 -- 2. Following Phantoms, 1919-1921 -- 3. Belling the Cat, 1922-1924 -- 4. The Angels on Side, 1924-1926 -- 5. Leaving the Plough in the Furrow, 1927-1930 -- 6. The Stiffer the Application, the Swifter the Cure, 1931-1935 -- 7. The Radical Has Left Us, 1936-1940 -- 8. Viewing the Mountains without Scaling the Hills, 1941-1950 -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

It is usually assumed that the decline of the Liberal party on the Canadian prairies began in 1957, following the electoral triumph of the 'beloved prairie son,' John Diefenbaker, and the Progressive Conservatives. According to Robert Wardhaugh, however, the disintegration of Liberal fortunes in the prairie west began much earlier, during the tumultuous era of William Lyon Mackenzie King.Guiding us through a maze of western issues, from tariffs to freight rates, Wardhaugh analyzes the political management of the prairie west by Canada's longest-serving prime minister. He argues that Mackenzie King courted the prairies as long as western settlement was central to national economic development, but changed his attitude during the



Depression years when the region became a financial burden. King's sympathy for western concerns abated even further, says Wardhaugh, during the years of war and post-war reconstruction, when the emphasis was on industry and, more precisely, the manufacturing concerns of central Canada. The decline of Liberal Party's influence in the west thus paralleled the growing divide between the region and central Canada.This study provides a meeting ground for a number of interlocking themes. In analyzing Mackenzie King's treatment of the prairies, Wardhaugh creates a comprehensive view of the process of western alienation, at the same time clarifying the differing political interests of the three prairie provinces.