Red Tory Blues

During the federal election campaign of 1930 an eleven-year-old boy attended a campaign meeting in his native Prince Edward Island. The meeting was fascinating; the boy was booked. In the six decades since, politics has been a ruling passion in the life of Health Macquarrie. In this memoir he looks back on his years with the Progressive Conservative party, as an organizer, Member of Parliament, and senator.

He first ran for office in 1956 leaving behind a career as a professor of political science. He ran (and won) eight times in the PEI constituency of Queens, before being appointed to the Senate in 1979.

All the Tory brass are here, from R.B. Bennett to Brian Mulroney. Macquarrie reflects on their respective strengths and foibles, and vividly recalls some of the fractious and factious days in the PC party.

The foreign policies of Conservative governments are a recurring theme. Both his academic and parliamentary careers have reflected Macquarrie ''s keen interest in international affairs. He recalls his years at the UN General Assembly, his involvement in the Biafra crisis, and his longtime advocacy of Canadian membership in the Organization of the American States. Always deeply interested in the Middle East, he has visited the area thirteen times; he discusses his sensitivity to the situation of the Palestinians, and reflects also on the Gulf War.

But at the heart of the book are Tory politicians. Tory politicians, and a deep love of his Island province and his country, Macquarrie deplores some of the characteristics of the Conservative party of today, including what he sees as a less vigorous nationalism than that of some of its predecessors. Wholly supportive of the opening of his party to Quebec and the spirit of Meech Lake, he reveals anxiety about a right-wing trend in the contemporary Conservative party, and worries that as a Red Tory he may be the last of his kind.

In his memories, as in his political career, Heath Macquarrie is outspoken, provocative, fiercely patriotic, and passionately engaged in global issues. Red Tory Blues offers a unique view of Canadian politics, as insightful as it is entertaining.