Angus L. Macdonald: A Provincial Liberal

• Published in: American review of Canadian studies Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 547 - 550
• Main Author: Messamore, Barbara J
• Format: Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Taylor & Francis Inc 01-12-2007
• Subjects: Biographies; Canada; Canadian studies; Henderson, T Stephen; Liberalism; Liberals; Macdonald, Angus L; Nonfiction; Political actors; Premier-Canada; Regional studies; Canada
• ISSN: 0272-2011; 1943-9954

[T. Stephen Henderson]'s treatment of [Angus L. Macdonald]'s experience in a wartime federal cabinet post reveals larger questions: in this instance, Canada's naval preparedness. The author cites prime minister Mackenzie King's diary notation on the occasion of Macdonald's appointment to the portfolio of minister of defense for naval services: "[LJiving at Halifax, he would be familiar with the Atlantic Coast and would be an invaluable addition to the Cabinet in wartime" (95). Unfortunately, mere proximity to salt water was not enough to guarantee an informed approach to building a wartime navy. Henderson deals kindly with Macdonald in this respect, while conceding that his administration of Naval Affairs "did not rise to brilliance" and that naval historians have been critical (95). He maintains that the fault may have lain more with Macdonald's senior staff and his willingness to trust them than with Macdonald himself. Canadians usually know the heroic story of the growth of Canada's navy from a mere 13 vessels at the outset of the war to an impressive 400 fighting ships and 500 auxiliary craft, but Henderson reveals some troubling behind-the-scenes challenges raised by this phenomenal growth that get less attention. Indeed, questionable standards of training in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the need to modernize vessels contributed to a difficult decision in the winter of 1942-43: at the height of the Baltic of the Atlantic, Britain requested that the RCN be removed from Mid-Ocean Escort Forces (114). The chapter on the World War II era also deals with the divisive issue of conscription and Mackenzie King's consequent struggles with his cabinet. Most of this is already familiar ground, but Henderson's treatment of it through the medium of Macdonald's biography offers an insider's perspective. This self-consciously cultivated Scottish identity is a strand of Angus Macdonald's character that Henderson demonstrates vividly. There are some other details that offer intriguing glimpses into Macdonald's nature and values. We learn of Macdonald's family antecedents, his self-financed education, his service in the Great War and loss of a beloved brother, and his early struggles, within the context of his Catholic convictions, to promote the amalgamation of small Nova Scotia colleges, a measure opposed by the local bishop. Henderson charts the course of Macdonald's gradual disillusionment with Liberal prime minister Mackenzie King. Indeed, the chapter dealing with Macdonald's stint in federal politics is entitled "Macdonald versus King." At first, the political neophyte from Nova Scotia hailed King as a champion of liberal values, someone able to avoid the extremes of anti-communist hysteria on one hand and a socialist state on the other. Yet Macdonald, like other Liberal cabinet members, soon grew exasperated with King's evasiveness and suspicious nature. The disillusionment was mutual: King, who had once characterized Macdonald as "a really first class man" (70), later decided that Macdonald was not truly a Liberal at all and confided in his diary that he would be glad to have the vain and selfish Macdonald out of his government altogether (148).