'A Justifiable Obsession': Conservative Ontario's Relations with Ottawa, 1943-1985 by P.E. Bryden (review)

This book explores the relations of the Conservative governments of Ontario (which were in power interrupted for 42 years) with those of the federal governments, primarily of the Liberal Party, in Ottawa between 1943 and 1985. Over this period provincial—federal relations were transformed, mainly due to the context of an increasingly assertive federal government taking on the mantle of a more centralised government following its experience during the Second World War.

Bryden quite rightly points out that Ontario's relations with Ottawa during the post-Second World War period have largely been neglected in the field of intergovernmental relations in Canada due to the 'Quiet Revolution' in Quebec in the 1960s and 1970s, and the growing economic power of Alberta in the 1980s. However, she also explains that a part of the problem has been that 'Ontario' has so often been equated with 'Canada', so scholars have believed that the study of the latter simply covered the former. But A Justifiable Obsession illustrates that even if Ontario politicians themselves might have seen Ontario as forming the foundation of federation, they also had a distinct sense of their own interests, especially economic, but also political and social.

I will take two narrative points to illustrate this. Bryden begins her story with the election of the George Drew Progressive Conser vative government in Ontario in 1943. This was the first Conservative ministry after a long period of Liberal rule. Drew emerged as a champion of provincial rights in the face of a federal government which was keen to assume increasing powers that had previously been the jurisdiction of the provinces, particularly social ones. At the same time he also attempted to pursue Ontario's interests in the face of what he saw as the growing appeasement of Quebec. A good example of this was Drew's opposition to the funding formula of the federal government's proposed family allowances, which he strongly believed would unfairly benefit French-Canadian mothers who tended to have larger families compared to their English-speaking Canadian counterparts. Moving forward nearly forty years, Ontario, as Bryden outlines, was instrumental in the success of the repatriation of the constitution in 1982 in the face of initial considerable opposition from the majority of its sister provinces. This forty-year period also witnessed a reduction in Ontario's economic clout in the country, as the economy began to shift westwards to the resource-rich provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.

Bryden's book is an immensely significant contribution to its field, and fills a scholarly gap which has for far too long remained empty. Furthermore, among the many strengths of the book is its meticulous archival research (which is something unfortunately quite a few contemporary historians shy away from), which provides a solid foundation for a fascinating narrative, and Bryden's writing style makes the book extremely readable and enjoyable. Therefore, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to both specialists and general readers alike. It should take pride of place in Canadian historians and political scientists' bookshelves alike.