Book Review: The Promise of Canada - 150 Years People and Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country

Intelligence and intuition has shaped our country, but was driven by the vision of many Canadians - some before Canada was born. I feel quite inadequate to write this review, but feel that The Promise of Canada by Charlotte Gray is an important piece of literature. From the vision and collaboration of George-Étienne Cartier and John A. MacDonald, the establishment of a federal police force in the Northwest Mounted Police, and the development of our provinces, Charlotte Gray only begins to show us that there has been so much more to the creation of the country that it is today. Simplicity has not been a watch word for all that has been accomplished. Literature and Canadian culture has been introduced and developed by artists such as Emily Carr and Margaret Atwood, along with publishing houses within our own borders. Universal medical care was created with the push by Tommy Douglas in Saskatchewan. Women’s Rights and Indigenous Rights have been discussed and debated and are hard won. Bertha Wilson was the first woman on the Supreme Court and Elijah Harper of the Red Sucker Lake First Nation said ‘no’ to the Meech Lake Accord and stood firm against his opponents in the Manitoba Legislature when he said ‘Our relationship with Canada is a national disgrace’. Charlotte Gray has peered beneath all the names and dates, and with her very astute researchers eye, has gleaned names and details that do not make the news. And still this is only a beginning.

I have never been a history buff, and was concerned that this book would not be of interest to me. I suppose that my high school experiences of memorizing dates and battles in countries that I really couldn’t relate to had something to do with that. However, this is one history book that I will keep in my collection, especially to read when the politicking and sound bytes gloss over the contributions that are are the meat of all that this country has become.

“There is no single story. Canadians have never been a homogeneous people, 

and Canada has been under construction since its earliest days.”

~  Charlotte Gray

Title:  The Promise of Canada - 150 Years That Have Shaped Our Country

Author:  Charlotte Gray
Published by:  Simon & Schuster Canada
Copyright:  2016 by Charlotte Gray
ISBN: 978-1-4767-8467-0
Format:  Hardcover
Genre:  Non-fiction