Darryl Raymaker - Trudeaus Tango: Alberta Meets Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968–1972

Published by

The University of Alberta Press

Ring House 2

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E1

www.uap.ualberta.ca

Copyright 2017 Darryl Raymaker

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Raymaker, Darryl, 1939, author

Trudeaus tango : Alberta meets Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 19681972 / Darryl Raymaker.

Includes bibliographical references and index. Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 9781772122657 (softcover). ISBN 9781772123197 (EPUB). ISBN 9781772123203 (Kindle). ISBN 9781772123210 (PDF)

1. CanadaPolitics and government 19631968. 2. CanadaPolitics and government19631984. 3. AlbertaPolitics and government19351971. 4. Federalprovincial relationsCanadaHistory20th century. 5. Raymaker, Darryl, 1939. 6. Trudeau, Pierre Elliott, 19192000. 7. Alberta Social Credit PartyHistory. I. Title.

First edition, rst printing, 2017.

First electronic edition, 2017.

Editing by Joan Dixon.

Proofreading by Joanne Muzak.

Indexing by Stephen Ullstrom.

Cover design by Alan Brownoff.

Cover photo : Pierre Elliott Trudeau at the Liberal Leadership Convention of 1968. MG26 04, Vol 1. File 1-67. Pierre Elliot Trudeau Fonds. Library and Archives Canada. Used by permission

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written consent. Contact the University of Alberta Press for further details.

The University of Alberta Press supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with the copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing University of Alberta Press to continue to publish books for every reader.

The University of Alberta Press gratefully acknowledges the support received for its publishing program from the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Media Fund.

To the memory of my wife Pat (19442017), for her unswerving loyalty, support, and wise counsel through our arduous but happy and fascinating fifty years of adventures as Alberta Liberals.

Contents

LLOYD AXWORTHY

CA-NA-DA 1967

DECEMBER 1967MARCH 1968

MARCHAPRIL 1968

APRILJUNE 1968

APRILJUNE 1968

MAYJUNE 1968

JUNE 1968

JUNEDECEMBER 1968

JANUARYAPRIL 1969

MARCHMAY 1969

APRIL 1969OCTOBER 1970

DECEMBER 1968OCTOBER 1970

JANUARY 1969OCTOBER 1970

APRIL 1969SEPTEMBER 1970

SEPTEMBER 1968 SEPTEMBER 1969

JANUARY 1969FEBRUARY 1970

FEBRUARYOCTOBER 1970

DECEMBER 1968OCTOBER 1970

AUGUSTDECEMBER 1970

OCTOBER 1970MARCH 1971

JULY 1970MARCH 1971

NOVEMBER 1970JULY 1971

JULY 1971

FEBRUARYSEPTEMBER 1971

JULYDECEMBER 1971

JULY 1971MARCH 1972

september 1971may 1972

january 1971june 1972

december 1971july 1972

aprilaugust 1972

septemberoctober 1972

octobernovember 1972

Acknowledgements

SINCE DECEMBER 1963 when I purchased my first Liberal Party membership, I have participated in the whole gamut of party activities. Ive stuffed envelopes, ran as a candidate (four times), raised money, and served party organizations right up to the National Executive of the Liberal Party of Canadaall the while living and earning my living in Alberta, not exactly a Liberal Party breeding ground. Despite this hostile political environment, through it all, I learned much about Canada and the provinces, observed some history close up, and met many interesting and powerful people.

Sometime after I ran in what was to be my last campaign in 1984, I decided that I should share some of my experiences in Canadian politics and history, and so I set about writing about them. This narrative describes events of the years 1968 to 1972, the first term of the Trudeau government and an era of great political change in Canada and Alberta. It is written from my perspective as an Alberta Liberal Party activist who at that time hovered only around the edges of political power, but who nevertheless acquired a pretty good knowledge of his province and his party. Notwithstanding my party affiliation, in telling the story of the events and the personalities that dominated politics during those days, I have striven to be objective.

I have many to thank for helping me through this project. First and foremost I thank my wife, Pat, who sadly passed away before the publication of this book. Pat was, in her own right, a skillful political practitioner, and was loyally at my side every step along the way. I also thank our children Derek, Patrick, and Nicole, who over the years always strongly supported our activities despite our absences from the home front to attend to the smoke-filled rooms or the political hustings.

I also thank Peter Midgley of the University of Alberta Press, for reviewing my very raw and long manuscript, seeing something worthwhile about it, and offering me encouragement and guidance throughout the project. I owe a great debt to my first-class editor Joan Dixon, whose skill with her literary scalpel, along with her patience, tact, and humour turned my original behemoth of a manuscript into something readably efficient. I also thank journalist and author Frank Dabbs, for sharing his experiences and insights with me in both politics and publishing, and encouraging me to embark upon this project. I am also appreciative of the contribution of those who shared with me their experiences in the Liberal Party and politics over the years: Nick Taylor and the Honourable Allen Sulatycky reviewed my manuscript and offered excellent suggestions and encouragement; the Honourable Roger Kerans, Bryan Mahoney, Albert Ludwig, John Moreau, and Stan Cichon, all great Liberals, shared their anecdotes and stories and helped in any way they could. I am also indebted to Blair Williams, Charles Kelly, and David Thomson for relating to me some of their experiences and anecdotes of working in Ottawa. For their insight and knowledge of the oil and gas industry of those days and checking the accuracy of my narrative, I thank my old oilmen friends Richard Anderson and James Walasko. I also thank my dear friends Tim Crago and Ana-Marija Maroti, and countless others not only for their help, but also for their painful reminders that I should finish the book rather than just talk about it.

Foreword

LLOYD AXWORTHY, MARCH 2017

DARRYL RAYMAKER is a charter member of one the most exclusive associations in Canadahes an Alberta Liberal.

He has used his long experience as an activist for the Liberal cause to write an intriguing tale that centres on Pierre Elliott Trudeaus first term as prime minister and the unrealized opportunity to bridge one of the classic fault lines of Canadian politics: the rift between the Liberal Party in Ottawa and Albertas political class. In this volume, Raymaker provides an informed participants view of the dynamics at work in Canada at a time when both the nation and Alberta were in a phase of accelerated growth and new political power alignments were being forged; a time when key decisions were being made on resource development, on CanadaUS relations, on federalprovincial entanglements, and on defining the contours of the nations emerging presence in the world.