Book Review ~ The Promise of Canada by Charlotte Gray - 150 Years - People and Ideas that Have Shaped Our Country

Such a fascinating read! This book is packed snugly with the story of Canada. Not just politics, but some of the people that created and continue to develop this sprawling, multicultural country. Historian and biographer Charlotte Gray shows us the work that it’s taken to build Canada, including showing some of the dirty laundry over our 150 year span. She includes the need to bind east to west with the railway and the immigrants that built it. With excellent research and elegant narrative, Charlotte Gray chose nine characters from Canada’s first 150 years to paint this picture ~ 

George-Etienne Cartier, the Francophone Father of Confederation 

who advocated for political multiculturalism; 

Emily Carr on Vancouver Island, the Group of Seven in the east and 

the development of the arts in Canada; 

Economist Harold Innis, a prolific writer of nationalism 

about Canada as a ‘natural’ rather than political entity;

Tommy Douglas, a provincial and then federal politician

and his promotion of health care for all that brought in Medicare; 

Sam Steele and the founding of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police 

with their successes, benefits and deficits;

Elijah Harper, former chief of the Red Sucker Lake First Nation, spoke up in the Manitoba Legislature against the Meech Lake Accord and for Indigenous rights;

Supreme Court Justice Bertha Wilson, the first woman on the Supreme Court, 

who had strong views on the Constitutional Rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms;

Margaret Atwood, a Canadian literary treasure 

who has shaped Canadian literature at all levels; 

Preston Manning, the Alberta politician who disagreed 

with the traditional politics of the East throughout his career.

I can only give you a sketch of how Canada came to be, how this country grew and has continued to grow. The recent events since Charlotte Gray’s book was published, shows our strength to survive and thrive no matter the conditions.

“Cbarlotte Gray helps us to better understand who we are 

as an evolving nation ~ a country for all that 

will thrive well beyond the next 150 years.

~ Naheed Nenshi, previous mayor of Calgary, Alberta

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

Author: Charlotte Gray

Copyright: 2016

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Format: Non-Fiction, hardback

Type: History

ISBN: 978-1-4767-8467-0

ISBN: 1-4767-8469-4 (ebook)