Where Once They Stood: Newfoundland's Rocky Road to Confederation by Raymond B. Blake and Melvin Baker (review)

Where Once They Stood is a comprehensive history of the Newfoundland discussions between 1864 and 1948 over whether to join Confederation. The authors argue that Confederation was a 'constant political issue', although frequently used as a distraction by anti-Confederate politicians simply to 'smear their opponents'. The authors also argue that when the question of joining Canada was placed on the ballot paper, Newfoundlanders made an 'informed and rational choice' both in rejecting Confederation in 1869 and in choosing Canada in 1948 (p. 308). This is hardly a surprising conclusion. In 1869 the majority of Newfoundlanders could see very few strong arguments for joining the new (and fragile) transcontinental nation of Canada, with whom they had few links. What is surprising is that the movement for Confederation generated as much support as it did–an issue which the authors never really confront. By 1948 the debate over Confederation took place in a very different context. Although some Newfoundlanders still longed nostalgically for an independent Newfoundland, the Newfoundland state that had existed until 1934 had rarely been economically robust and it was difficult to see how it could become any more robust after 1948, and again what is surprising is not that the majority of Newfoundlanders voted to join Canada in 1948 but that so many clung to the delusional belief that Newfoundland had the potential to become a prosperous nation. Blake and Baker accept that it was the desire of the most vulnerable families to gain access to Canada's new social programmes that convinced many to vote for Confederation. But they do not really explain why 48 per cent voted for independence. They make the interesting point that some of those who voted against Confederation did so in the belief that Newfoundland could gain better terms from Canada if Newfoundland became independent first. But that was a minority view and does not explain why anyone other than a small number of right-wing merchants in St John's rejected Confederation. They argue that the fact that women did not have the vote was important in 1869 and that they did have it was important in 1948 but they have no evidence to prove that the outcome would have been any different if women had been given the vote in 1869 or that women disproportionately supported Confederation in 1948. In neither case is it likely that families were divided along gender lines over Confederation. Blake and Baker dismiss the notion that religion was a critical factor in the elections but both in 1869 and in 1948 Catholics disproportionately opposed Confederation and supported independence. The authors also dismiss 'race' as a factor since the vast majority of Newfoundlanders 'traced their lineage to the British Isles' (p. 14). But they did not trace their lineage to the same parts of the British Isles. This book contains a solid study of the negotiations between Canada and Newfoundland over Confederation and of the role of the government of the United Kingdom, but it still leaves some important questions unanswered.