Which Reminds Me : A Memoir

David A. Lenarcic teaches history at Wilfrid Laurier University in
Waterloo.

These are the reminiscences of a man who enjoyed a long and varied
career as a civil servant and minister of the Crown, written in simple
and straightforward prose. Sharp was at the centre of political events,
especially during the 1960s and 1970s when he held the key portfolios of
Trade and Commerce, Finance, and External Affairs.

The author draws on the depth and breadth of his experiences to do two
things in particular: to cogently explain the “art and practice of
government” as he lived it (such as the role of senior public
servants, the preparation of budgets, and the relative merits of
minority versus majority governments), and to use this insight to
comment perceptively on present-day issues (such as free trade with the
United States and the Constitution). In this respect, Sharp concludes
that the pattern that emerges from his career is one of “learning to
be Canadian”—an appreciation of the accommodation and compromise
that are necessary to preserve national unity.

This book is also, of course, history. Reflections on such significant
personalities as Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau are interspersed with
recollections of such major events as the introduction of medicare and
the FLQ crisis. It is here, though, that the book is less satisfactory.
Sharp admits that his memoir is not a “personal autobiography,” and
for that reason it tends to be somewhat distant and formal, more
“fact” than “revelation.” Nevertheless, because the book links
the past with the present and future, contemporary Canadians will find
that it has many relevant things to say about the nature of their
country.