Extraordinary Canadians Wilfrid Laurier

Everyone knows that Wilfrid Laurier was a great prime minister, an astonishing speaker, and a survivor. But nobody has looked at him as more than a mythological figure for a very long time. André Pratte, chief editorial writer of La Presse, uncovers Laurier's full complexity amid the charged political circumstances of the early 20th century. Laurier tried to unite a country deeply divided in the wake of the First World War, grappling with the thorny questions of minority rights, multiple cultures, and regional tensions. A superb orator—his defence of Louis Riel established him as perhaps Canada's greatest speaker—he talked to his listeners as if they were as intelligent and well-read as he. Pratte reveals a Laurier who did not have to create a special political strategy in order to deal with the complexities of Canada. His personality, in and of itself, was a mirror of that complexity. Pratte's Laurier affirms our long and stable history, while recognizing that events are never predictable. Like Laurier, great leaders must accept both to govern Canada successfully.

Wilfrid Laurier is acknowledged as a great prime minister, a superb orator, and a survivor. But he has become more myth than man. André Pratte, chief editorial writer of Quebec’s La Presse, uncovers Laurier’s complexity amid the charged political circumstances of the early 20th century. Laurier tried to unite a newborn country that found itself grappling with the thorny questions of minority rights, regional tensions, and its role in the world. Pratte skilfully reveals a Laurier who did not have to create a special political strategy in order to deal with the realities of Canada. Growing up in French- and English-Canadian cultures, he himself was a mirror of that complexity. Pratte’s Laurier affirms our long and stable history, while recognizing that events are never predictable, and that dialogue, tolerance, and compromise are always necessary.

Everyone knows that Wilfrid Laurier was a great prime minister, an astonishing speaker, and a survivor. But nobody has looked at him as more than a mythological figure for a very long time. André Pratte, chief editorial writer of La Presse, uncovers Laurier's full complexity amid the charged political circumstances of the early 20th century. Laurier tried to unite a country deeply divided in the wake of the First World War, grappling with the thorny questions of minority rights, multiple cultures, and regional tensions. A superb orator--his defence of Louis Riel established him as perhaps Canada's greatest speaker--he talked to his listeners as if they were as intelligent and well-read as he. Pratte reveals a Laurier who did not have to create a special political strategy in order to deal with the complexities of Canada. His personality, in and of itself, was a mirror of that complexity. Pratte's Laurier affirms our long and stable history, while recognizing that events are never predictable. Like Laurier, great leaders must accept both to govern Canada successfully.

A ground-breaking work of nation building, this unique biographical book by many of English and French Canada's best-known writers and thinkers -- Margaret Atwood, Lucien Bouchard, Dr. Samantha Nutt, Ken Dryden, etc. -- tells the story of the extraordinary legacy of the French contribution to our very way of life. In 1913, schoolgirls found a heavy metal plaque peeking out of the soil in St-Pierre, South Dakota. On it they saw engraved characters and signs they could not decipher. They took the plaque back home, and somehow, it found its way into the hands of a local historian who immediately realized the importance of the artifact. One hundred and seventy years earlier, French-Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de la Vérendrye had written about his travels to the west in search of the elusive "Western Sea." In his journal, he remembered: "I placed upon a hillock near the fort a lead plaque with the arms and inscription of the King." That was the plaque found by the children, the proof that de la Vérendrye was the first white man to set eyes on the Rockies, 60 years before Lewis and Clark's famous expedition. Traces of the French-Canadians' contribution to North American history can be found in all regions of the continent. More often than not, we are unaware of or indifferent towards these signs. Yet the descendants of the French travelled farther than one would expect, exploring the land and a wide variety of fields of human activity (science, arts, economy, etc.). Through their audacity, their courage and their determination, they shaped Canada -- and, to a smaller but still significant extent -- the United States. In a unique partnership with Les Éditions La Presse, Legacy is the story of a dozen French-Canadian pioneers, from the era of Nouvelle-France up to the 20th century. This ambitious book project will take the form of a series of biographical essays written by Canadian personalities and leading authors. Through the lives of these extraordinary persons, the authors will reflect on the French-Canadian legacy. They are all convinced that Canada would not be what it is today were it not for these French-speaking Canadians who explored the land, hung on to their culture while respecting that of others, longed for peace, fought with courage, and stood up for a brand of humanism that helped shape the country we live in today.

In celebration of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's 175th birthday -- November 20th, 2016 is "Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day" -- this is the first time his most important and iconic speeches will be published in book form, annotated and with essays by a stunning array of politicians, journalists, and acclaimed academics. "Sunny ways my friends, sunny ways." These were the words used in triumph by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the night he was elected Canada's 23rd Prime Minister. They were also the words Sir Wilfrid Laurier used to call Canadians to greatness a century before. Canada Always brings together the most significant speeches of one of Canada's greatest leaders on the 175th anniversary of his birth. Readers will follow Laurier from his earliest years in Canadian politics, through his history-making fifteen-year Premiership, and then again as his generous vision of Canada is sorely tested by the flames and fire of the First World War. Edited by veteran political speechwriter and PM historian Arthur Milnes, Canada Always features essays of commentary by seven of Laurier's living successors as Prime Minister of Canada. They are joined by Mr. Justice Thomas Cromwell of the Supreme Court of Canada; past Prime Ministerial chiefs-of-staff like Thomas Axworthy, Edward Goldenberg, Nigel Wright, Derek Burney, and Hugh Segal; journalists André Pratte, Steve Paikin, Jane Taber, Lawrence Martin, and Andrew Cohen; past and sitting Premiers Rachel Notley, Christy Clark, Jean Charest, Roy Romanow, Alison Redford, and Bob Rae; distinguished academics including David Asper; former US Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson (on Laurier's legacy in Canada-US relations); while the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair considers Laurier from his unique position as a past Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. As Canada stands on the cusp of her 150th birthday, Canada Always will be an essential part of the library of any Canadian seeking a further understanding of the words that defined our nation: Laurier's words.

From the author of Macdonald, comes a new novel about an extraordinary love triangle set at the apex of Canada’s national life at the dawn of the twentieth century. A deeply absorbing novel of passion and politics, Laurier in Love reveals a side of Sir Wilfrid Laurier as Canadians have never known him: romantic and idealistic, inspiring and seductive, yet conflicted and compromised, as he balances his time between his wife and his mistress. Elegant, silver-tongued Sir Wilfrid Laurier is just beginning his fabled career as one of the nation’s greatest leaders. Some Canadians revile him simply because he is French-Canadian and Roman Catholic, the first Prime Minister from Quebec. Keenly aware of the difficulties lying ahead, Laurier tells his devoted wife, Zoë Laurier, how much he needs her. At the same time, he assures his ambitious, literary lover, Émilie Lavergne, that she too is indispensable to him. Through the eyes of these two fascinating women, we see Laurier the orator, charming Americans in Chicago; Laurier the statesman, starring at Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee celebrations in London; Laurier the conciliator, walking the perilous line between demands of English and French as Canada fights her first foreign war in distant South Africa. The cast of characters includes the aging monarch, the doomed President McKinley, a young Winston Churchill, an even younger Mackenzie King. Both epic and intimate in scale, Laurier in Love gives readers the authentic sense of the man, the era, the politics and the complex personal life Laurier led behind the scenes.

Wilfrid Laurier's life journey took him from a small Quebec village to the Parliament of Canada. He possessed a rare combination of the common touch and political savvy, which he effectively used to remain prime minister of Canada for fifteen years (1896-1911).

One of Canada's best-loved and most-read historians, Laurier LaPierre, provides an intimate portrait of Sir Wilfrid, from his school days at the College classique and McGill University law school, his marriage to his beloved Zoe and his friendship with the beguiling Emile.