Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 1987

Graeme S. Mount is a history professor at Laurentian University.

For most of the twentieth century, the Canadian Annual Review has been a
basic research tool for social scientists, and the 1987 edition is no
exception. Like its predecessors, it offers a fair and thorough account
of Canadian political life for the year in question. Yet, despite the
Canadian Annual Review’s deserved reputation for objectivity, J.R.
Miller makes little effort to soften his negative thoughts on Grant
Devine’s Saskatchewan government.

In 1987, Canada’s leaders signed the Meech Lake Accord, members of
Parliament voted not to reintroduce capital punishment, and Simon
Reisman negotiated the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
Liberals won a majority in Ontario and swept New Brunswick, while the
NDP achieved majority status in the Yukon. René Lévesque, Walter
Gordon, and Margaret Laurence died. To cause embarrassment, South
African ambassador Glenn Babb toured Indian reserves. Prince Edward
Island produced poisoned mussels. Defence Minister Perrin Beatty sought
nuclear submarines for the Canadian Armed Forces, while Ottawa
terminated the Forces’ commitment to Norway. The Canadian Annual
Review provides extensive coverage of these stories.

It also reviews less well-remembered ones. Days before President Reagan
visited Ottawa (where Svend Robinson heckled him in the House of
Commons), Prime Minister Mulroney threatened to go to the World Court
over sovereignty in the Northwest Passage. Canada and India shared
common concerns about Sikhs; Canada closed its embassy in Finland and
established diplomatic relations with Albania. Canadian interest in the
Turks and Caicos Islands brought a hands-off warning from a high-ranking
Barbadian. Quebec-based Propair aided Nicaragua’s contras.

In many respects, 1987 was a typical year. The Mulroney government
appeared doomed to extinction, Conservatives bashed the CBC, and Canada
Post went on strike. President Reagan refused to take action on acid
rain, while Canada and France clashed over fishing rights near
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Federal politicians discussed day care and a
fixed-link to Prince Edward Island.

For 1987 as for other years, the Canadian Annual Review will long
provide the best available summary.