Grit

The Life and Politics of Paul Martin Sr.

Greg Donaghy author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of British Columbia Press

Published:1st May '15

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Grit cover

When politics mattered – Grit examines the remarkable life and political career of one of twentieth-century Canada’s foremost politicians.

Grit examines the remarkable life and political career of Paul Martin Sr., a liberal reformer and cabinet minister from 1945 to 1968, who championed health care and pension rights, new meanings for Canadian citizenship, and internationalism in world affairs.

“I am not afraid to be called a politician,” declared Paul Martin Sr., defending his life’s work in politics. “Next to preaching the word of God, there is nothing nobler than to serve one’s fellow countrymen in government.” First elected to the House of Commons in 1935, Martin served in the cabinet of four prime ministers and ran for the Liberal Party leadership three times. This book examines his remarkable career as a liberal reformer and politician who tackled the issues of his day with consummate political skill and gritty determination.

Cutting a broad swath through the history of twentieth-century Canada, Greg Donaghy uses extensive interviews and untapped archival sources to challenge the prevailing view of Martin as simply an ambitious Windsor ward heeler and party operator. Martin embraced a tolerant politics of compromise and accommodation that sought to unite Canadians in search of a more just and equitable world. Though some mocked his ambition and doubted his progressive politics, his resolute championing of health care and pension rights, new meanings for Canadian citizenship, and internationalism in world affairs would leave an indelible mark on Canada’s political landscape.

Greg Donaghy paints a picture of a man whose ambition never superseded his fundamental decency, his connection to individuals both great and small, and his unwavering loyalty to colleagues, constituents and indeed a country that often treated him with something less than loyalty. This is both a fascinating study of twentieth-century Canada and the somewhat poignant story of a boy with big dreams. -- Penny Bryden * Ontario History *
During his lifetime Martin published two volumes of memoirs, and the diaries he kept while High Commissioner. But they are dull stuff: too long, too detailed, too stiff; as one reviewer put it, he left out the politics. Donaghy’s impeccably researched and immensely readable biography, which draws on new material and numerous interviews, shows the extent to which Martin undersold himself. It also reveals him to be a very complex, highly intelligent, well-read, thoughtful, likeable, convivial, and witty man. It is one of the best biographies I have read in the last decade. -- Lorna Lloyd, Keele University * British Journal of Canadian Studies, Vol. 29 No. 2, Fall 2016 *

In his detailed biography, Greg Donaghy ably chronicles the key roles that Martin played in ... Canadian political and international history ... Grit will surely serve as a valuable reference tool for scholars interested in the inner workings of policy formation and ministerial wrangling, and it illuminates our understanding of one of Canada’s important twentieth century political operatives.

-- Matthew Hayday, University of Guelph * Canadian Journal of History *

ISBN: 9780774829113

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 880g

496 pages