Pendemonium: Cartoons and Caricatures

Geoff Hayes is an associate professor of History and the Director of
International Studies Option at the University of Waterloo.

Bruce MacKinnon’s cartoons grace the editorial pages of the Halifax
Chronicle-Herald, but his sketches should also be familiar to anyone who
reads Maclean’s magazine. The fact that comedian Rick Mercer wrote the
foreword to this collection might make one think that MacKinnon is known
for his edgy political commentary. There is an edge here, but his work
is not nearly as pointed as that of Mercer himself or Terry Mosher
(Aislin) at the Montreal Gazette. As befits the politics of Atlantic
Canada, where Tories, Liberals, and the occasional New Democrat still
occupy the political spectrum, MacKinnon is a traditionalist, in both
his artistic and his satirical styles.

A collection of “mug shots” from the last decade highlights
MacKinnon’s real strength of caricature. His portrayals of newsmakers
from Joe Clark and Jacques Parizeau to Jean Chrétien and Bill Clinton
demonstrate that MacKinnon is a deft but largely sympathetic artist.

Although readers outside Atlantic Canada may require some explanation
of the provincial events MacKinnon depicts, most should recall the
Westray mining disaster; these cartoons reflect an ongoing frustration
with the lengthy inquiry that followed. The fates of Atlantic fisheries,
steel mills, and natural gas reserves are also familiar topics to most
Canadians, but through MacKinnon’s pen we get a sense of how immediate
they are in Nova Scotia. His work on the effects of health-care and
education cuts could easily be applied to Toronto, Regina, or Vancouver.


MacKinnon’s depictions of the world reflect an anti-Americanism that
many editorial cartoonists share. Again the symbols are pretty
traditional: Uncle Sam and the American eagle loom large. So do Bill
Clinton and George W. Bush. Neither of these figures gains much
sympathy, but others do. John F. Kennedy Jr. and Joe DiMaggio earned
very touching goodbyes when they died. Even editorial cartoonists have
soft spots.

Certainly this collection should sell well in Nova Scotia, but
MacKinnon’s traditional style and Canadian sensibility can be
appreciated anywhere in Canada.