A Long Way to Paradise by McDonald, Robert A.J.;

Long description:

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The political landscape of British Columbia has been characterized by divisiveness since Confederation. As outsized personalities from Amor De Cosmos to W.A.C. Bennett dominated the halls of power, militant radicals and reformers took to the streets and hustings. A Long Way to Paradise traces the evolution of political ideas from 1871 to 1972 to explore British Columbia's journey to socio-political maturity, answering both why and how British Columbia became Canada's most fractious province. Robert McDonald explains its classic left-right divide as a product of ""common sense"" liberalism that also shaped how British Columbians met the challenges of a modernizing world. McDonald tackles key questions: Why were the Liberal and Conservative parties obliterated in the 1950s? What can account for Bennett's decades-long reign? And why did parties as diametrically opposed as Social Credit and the NDP succeed? This lively overview provides fresh insight into the fascinating story of provincial politics in Canada's lotus land.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

1 Confederation and the Birth of Popular Politics, 1871–83

2 Politics before Parties in a New Province, 1884–1902

3 Singing the Song of Progress in the McBride Years, 1903–15

4 Paradise Modern and the Party of Reform, 1916–28

5 Pattullo's New Liberalism and the Revolt beyond the Rockies, 1928–41

6 Unsettling Capitalism during the Depression, 1933–39

7 The Politics of War and Keeping the Socialists at Bay, 1941–45

8 Right versus Left and Social Credit's Triumph, 1945–52

9 Prosperity for All and Province Building in the Bennett Era, 1952–72

10 Trying to Dress Up the NDP in a Saville Row Suit, 1961–72

11 Bennett's Defeat and BC's First Social Democratic Government, 1965–72

Conclusion

Appendix; Notes; About the Author; Index