All the 139 MPs invited to participate in our Exit Interviews share one thing in common: they spent some or all of their time in public life working in a minority government. Minorities are relatively rare in Canada and many observers of things governmental
aren't very impressed with how minority Parliaments are working. Adjectives like "unproductive" and "intensely partisan" are commonly descriptors of Ottawa these days.
A pleasant side-effect of this, at least for the history buffs among us, is a mini-resurgence in the working of past minority parliaments. Featuring prominently are the minorities of the Lester Pearson*, from 1963-8, when many of the policy innovations we take for granted today became reality, including the Canada-Quebec pension plan, universal healthcare and the maple leaf flag. As recently as last week, Pearson's legacy was evoked by CBC journalist Don Newman, who appealed to the audience at the
former MPs' annual dinner for the creation of a "Pearson Plan." This approach to confidence, Newman believes, would restore order to what he
views as an increasingly fractious Ottawa. (See him give a similar speech
here).
As one political journalist
notes, however, it'd be nice if we talked about other PMs too, such as Sir Robert Borden, who was head honcho from 1911-1920. He built Canada's only formal coalition government during the very divisive World War One, put Canada on a path to independence from Britain and introduced a number of still-present policies, including rural mail delivery, the income tax and the National Research Council.
One striking thing about the Pearson years, gleaned from this highly-readable
biography by Andrew Cohen, was that what is now viewed as an extremely productive period was not considered that way at the time. In fact, the politics were fierce, and according to Cohen, it was only when it was all over that Canadians realized their nation had been somehow transformed. As the Borden-appreciating journalist observes,
that may be happening again.
* A remarkably succinct summary of those times, complete with relevant tips based on what actually happened by someone who was there, is this Policy Options piece** by Tom Kent, a senior advisor to Pearson.
** Policy Option's urls don't link directly, so you have to click on"back issues" and find the October 2009 issue, then click on the link to the article "When minority government worked: the Pearson legacy," by Tom Kent. Start by clicking
here.