Who Speaks for Canada?: Words That Shape a Country

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is also the
author of The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek, and
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Hom

Taken together, the more than 130 powerful “speakers” in Who Speaks
for Canada? go a long way toward providing answers to our perennial
query “Where is here?” That query gets ever more complex as the
concept of “a global village” takes hold. Contributors to this
fascinating collection of thought-provoking essays include many of the
biggest names in Canadian literature, history, and politics.

“Part One: To Confederation” includes William Lyon Mackenzie, Lord
Durham, D’Arcy McGee, George-Йtienne Cartier, and Susanna Moodie.
“Part Two: 1867–1920” includes John A. Macdonald, Pauline Johnson,
Robert Service, Henri Bourassa, Nellie McClung, and J.S. Woodsworth.
“Part Three: 1921–1960” features politicians and philosophers such
as Joey Smallwood, John Diefenbaker, and Georges Vanier. “Part Four:
1960 to the Present,” the longest section, includes George Grant’s
“Lament for a Nation,” René Lévesque’s “An Option for
Quebec,” and Elijah Harper’s “No Ordinary Hero.” Editors Desmond
Morton and Morton Weinfeld made the selections, and each contributes an
introduction.

Reflecting the diversity of Canada through speeches, articles, poetry,
songs, and prose, this well-chosen and valuable collection deserves a
place in every Canadian library.