Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)
The Champlain Society
349 episodes
3 days ago
Greg Marchildon speaks with Ron Graham about his book, The Coutts Diaries: Power, Politics, and Pierre Trudeau 1973-1981. Jim Coutts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau from 1975 to 1981, was one of the most powerful men in Canada during those tumultuous years. Equally admired and attacked, respected and reviled, he was, in the words of one contemporary journalist, “a political phenomenon such as Canada has never known before: Machiavelli masquerading as a cherub.” The man who “exercised more backroom power than anyone else in modern Canadian political history,” Coutts not only knew everyone and saw everything at the centre of the action, he wrote it all down. Now, for the first time, his secret diaries have been edited into a single volume that offers an astonishing, behind-the-scenes look into public events and private lives during some of the most dramatic years in Canadian history.
Ron Graham is an author and journalist based in Toronto. He has written extensively over many decades on Canadian politics, history, religion, business, and culture.
If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.
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Greg Marchildon speaks with Ron Graham about his book, The Coutts Diaries: Power, Politics, and Pierre Trudeau 1973-1981. Jim Coutts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau from 1975 to 1981, was one of the most powerful men in Canada during those tumultuous years. Equally admired and attacked, respected and reviled, he was, in the words of one contemporary journalist, “a political phenomenon such as Canada has never known before: Machiavelli masquerading as a cherub.” The man who “exercised more backroom power than anyone else in modern Canadian political history,” Coutts not only knew everyone and saw everything at the centre of the action, he wrote it all down. Now, for the first time, his secret diaries have been edited into a single volume that offers an astonishing, behind-the-scenes look into public events and private lives during some of the most dramatic years in Canadian history.
Ron Graham is an author and journalist based in Toronto. He has written extensively over many decades on Canadian politics, history, religion, business, and culture.
If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.
Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)
25 minutes 30 seconds
3 weeks ago
Scene: How the 1960s Transformed Canadian Art
Larry Ostola speaks with Harry Malcolmson about his book, Scene: How the 1960s Transformed Canadian Art. Scene traces this remarkable reshaping of the nation’s artistic landscape. Written by renowned art critic Harry Malcolmson, the book offers an insider’s view of how a surge of artists, galleries, collectors, and critics propelled Canadian art onto the global stage. Malcolmson explores the forces behind this creative renaissance, from the patriotic fervor surrounding Canada’s Centennial and Expo ’67 to landmark projects like Toronto City Hall. Through vivid anecdotes and sharp analysis, he captures the energy of the decade and profiles over twenty influential Canadian artists who defined the period. Richly illustrated, Scene examines how growing nationalism, cultural confidence, and economic prosperity converged to shape a new artistic identity. It also charts the rise of key institutions, including the Art Gallery of Ontario and the National Gallery of Canada.
Harry Malcolmson is an art critic and a prominent collector of art and historical photography. Previously, he worked as a lawyer and was a regular contributor to publications such as the Toronto Telegram, Saturday Night, and Canadian Art. Together with Ann Malcolmson, he assembled The Malcolmson Collection, which spans the history of photography from the 1840s and is regarded as one of the most important collections of historical photography in Canada.
If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.
Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)
Greg Marchildon speaks with Ron Graham about his book, The Coutts Diaries: Power, Politics, and Pierre Trudeau 1973-1981. Jim Coutts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau from 1975 to 1981, was one of the most powerful men in Canada during those tumultuous years. Equally admired and attacked, respected and reviled, he was, in the words of one contemporary journalist, “a political phenomenon such as Canada has never known before: Machiavelli masquerading as a cherub.” The man who “exercised more backroom power than anyone else in modern Canadian political history,” Coutts not only knew everyone and saw everything at the centre of the action, he wrote it all down. Now, for the first time, his secret diaries have been edited into a single volume that offers an astonishing, behind-the-scenes look into public events and private lives during some of the most dramatic years in Canadian history.
Ron Graham is an author and journalist based in Toronto. He has written extensively over many decades on Canadian politics, history, religion, business, and culture.
If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.
