Brooke Jeffrey - Road to Redemption

Like its predecessor, Divided Loyalties, this book was four years in the making. Since it covers a much shorter period of time this might seem somewhat surprising, but it must be recognized that the circumstances were quite different.

Instead of a party that was spending most of its time as the government before its unexpected fall from power at the end, this book covers a party in opposition for most of the time, with an unexpected return to power at the end. At least that time frame had been my intention. Somehow I was persuaded to put aside my original plan to end this work with the stunning electoral victory of Justin Trudeaus Liberals in 2015 and instead to continue on, in order to cover what turned out to be the far more problematic 2019 election. Needless to say, this resulted in a further round of research and interviews, as well as an additional two chapters. This second round was in turn affected by both access to relevant individuals and the type of research required.

Throughout this lengthy process I was fortunate to have the cooperation and encouragement of so many of the key players in this drama from both the volunteer and parliamentary wings of the party. I am once again indebted to the lengthy list of individual Liberals who consented to be interviewed, and who gladly shared their recollections and perspectives on the partys evolution during this time period. Many of them were generous with their time and agreed to several in-person sessions. Others responded to additional questions by email or lengthy phone conversations. Most were prepared to have their comments stand on the record for attribution, although in some cases certain of their remarks were understood to be confidential. (A complete list of those interviewed for the record can be found in Appendix A.) A few individuals consented to interviews on the understanding that all of their contribution would remain off the record, to be used largely as background information or presented as anonymous commentary. This small group included Liberals currently active in government or party posts, as well as some senior public servants. Given the nature of political life, and the fact that my discretion in my previous book undoubtedly contributed to their willingness to participate in the preparation of this sequel, I felt their requests were eminently reasonable. To all of them I would like to extend my sincere thanks for their cooperation, and to the Liberals my appreciation of their important contributions to the ongoing success of the Liberal Party of Canada.

I would also like to thank the many individuals at the University of Toronto Press who have worked so hard, most recently under trying conditions, to make the publication of this manuscript possible. This lengthy list includes my long-time editor, Daniel Quinlan, who once again rose to the occasion and made incisive comments and suggestions that greatly enhanced the organization and content of the manuscript; managing editor Robin Studniberg, whose work in producing this book was a particular challenge during the pandemic crisis; and copy-editor Terry Teskey, who undoubtedly saved me from numerous embarrassing literary lapses and made me appear to be a far better writer than I am.

Finally, thanks are due, as always, to my family and friends, and most of all to my husband, for their ongoing support and understanding, and in particular for allowing me to renege on an earlier promise that Divided Loyalties would be my last book. In politics one should never say never.