Commentary
on Historical Errors in
The Dominion Institute's
Great Questions
Debate:
The Federalist Experiment in Living

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Regionalism
Started Long Before
Quebec Separatism
By Bob Rae


Complete text of Bob Rae's essay
as published in the National Post, 10 July 1999
      http://www.greatquestions.com/e/q1_rae_2.html

The Dominion Institute's website
      http://www.dominion.ca/

Bob Rae served as Premier of Ontario
from 1990 to 1995.

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Bob Rae's essay appeared in the National Post on Saturday, 10 July 1999. Five days later, on Thursday, 15 July, the following letter to the editor was printed in The National Post:

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Re: The Federalist Experiment in Living, July 10.

      Like a vast number of Canadians, I like and respect Bob Rae, so I am commenting with sorrow rather than malice when I express astonishment at his lack of knowledge of Nova Scotia history.

      He writes of Joseph Howe pulverizing Charles Tupper in the 1868 election and that the first act of Howe's administration was to try to get Nova Scotia out of Confederation.

      None of this is correct, but it is indicative that even eminent Upper Canadians do not know the history of the Maritimes or understand what we are about.

      Actually, Charles Tupper, who had been premier from 1864 to 1867, resigned and went into the federal Parliament on July 1, 1867. He was succeeded as premier by Hiram Blanchard and in September of 1867, it was Mr. Blanchard who was pulverized by Bill Annand, an esteemed journalist, who then served as anti-confederate and Liberal premier until 1875.

      The only administration that Joseph Howe headed as premier was from 1860 to 1863. In 1867, Charles Tupper was elected to the new federal Parliament by 97 votes from Cumberland County and Joseph Howe was elected to Ottawa from my native County of Hants by 574 votes. Thus, Mr. Howe's overtures to Westminster were made as a federal MP and not as the leader of a provincial administration

      As to 1868, there was no electoral activity in Nova Scotia that year, but the province's unsuccessful efforts to get out of Confederation or to get revised terms did not end then. Even in the years of the premiership of W.S. Fielding between 1884 and 1896, efforts were still being made in that direction.

      Why were these efforts made? Primarily, because the high tariff policy that may have been good for Ontario was punitive for Nova Scotia with a location that depended on international trade for its existence then as it does today.

      That "national policy" built Ontario, but ruined Nova Scotia. Thank God for free trade today; but in the meantime, Ontario has had a head start of more than 100 years.

      I trust Bob Rae will brush up on Nova Scotia history before writing further on such matters.

Gerald A. Regan, Halifax

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Gerald Augustine Regan was Premier of Nova Scotia
from 28 October 1970 to 5 October 1978.

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Also see: Nova Scotia Separatists (1867) In Nova Scotia in 1867 there was a strong feeling that the province should get out of Confederation. The provincial general election of 1867 had swept the government of pro-confederate Premier Charles Tupper out of office. Anti-confederate not only won 35 of 38 seats in the provincial assembly, but also 18 of 19 Nova Scotia ridings in the federal election...

The Wayback Machine has archived copies of this document: Nova Scotia Separatists (1867) by Lloyd Duhaime Archived: 1998 January 23 http://wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 1998 June 29 http://www.wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 1998 December 7 http://wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 1999 February 20 http://www.wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2000 February 29 http://www.wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2000 October 20 http://www.wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2001 January 12 http://wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2001 August 3 http://www.wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2002 June 6 http://www.wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2002 December 6 http://www.wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2003 February 09 http://www.wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2003 April 18 http://www.wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2003 July 05 http://duhaime.org/Canadian_history/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2003 August 03 http://duhaime.org/Canadian_history/cahi1867.htm Archived: 2003 December 10 http://wwlia.org/cahi1867.htm

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Go To:   Nova Scotia History Index
      http://alts.net/ns1625/histindx.html
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First uploaded to the WWW:   1999 August 05
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