Books October 2011
Oh . . . Canada
A review of The Trouble with Canada . . . Still by William Gairdner.
In 1990, William Gairdner, a relatively unknown academic and author, burst onto the scene with The Trouble with Canada. The book was a citizen’s call to action—and a rather fierce one at that. It challenged decades-old Canadian thinking about liberty, family, taxes, history, and politics, and exposed its horrendously flawed system of left-leaning principles and policies. At a time when Canadians relished complacency and shunned innovative thinking, Gairdner’s tome woke up right-thinking individuals to the dangers that lay ahead if the country continued down the same path. In many ways, The Trouble with Canada helped rejuvenate Canada’s conservative movement with fresh ideas and a bold new political direction. Alas, the impact of Gairdner’s devastating intellectual critique only went so far.
Since the end of World War I, Canada has had a love-hate relationship with political conservatism. The...
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