Inventing Atlantic Canada : Regionalism and the Maritime Reaction to Newfoundland's Entry Into Canadian Confederation

Inventing Atlantic Canada is the first book to analyse the reaction of the Maritime provinces to Newfoundland's entry into Confederation. Drawing on editorials, government documents, and political papers, Corey Slumkoski examines how each Maritime province used the addition of a new provincial cousin to fight underdevelopment. Slumkoski also details the rise of regional cooperation characterized by the Atlantic Revolution of the mid-1950s, when Maritime leaders began to realize that by acting in isolation their situations would only worsen. Although this book has taken a number of years to complete, it seems like this is the most difficult bit to write. In large part this is because over the years it took to complete this book I've become indebted to so many people who have contributed to my understanding of history and of the Atlantic region. This study began as a dissertation at the University of New Brunswick under the supervision of Margaret Conrad, who not only taught me how to write history but to be a historian as well. The rest of my committee -David Frank, Gail Campbell, Don Wright, and external examiner Jim Kenny -were also invaluable in helping mould my ideas concerning Newfoundland's entry into Canadian Confederation. It was completed while I was teaching at Mount Saint Vincent University, where my colleagues were without fail supportive and encouraging. Atlantic Canada is often held up as a bastion of friendliness. This certainly describes the Atlantic Canadian scholarly community, which has to be one of the kindest and most supportive ones around. A number of scholars generously offered me their time and expertise. In particular, Hal Fredericks allowed me access to his personal copy of Senator A. Neil McLean's unpublished Letters of a Business Man to a Student of Economics, Stephen Henderson pointed me to some important leads in the Angus L. Macdonald Papers, Ed MacDonald helped me understand the personalities of Prince Edward Island politics, and Jim Hiller not only answered my queries about 1940s Newfoundland but also directed me toward granting agencies that helped fund my research. These agencies, the J.R.

When Newfoundland entered the Canadian Confederation in 1949, it was hoped it would promote greater unity between the Maritime provinces, as Term 29 of the Newfoundland Act explicitly linked the region's economic and political fortunes. On the surface, the union seemed like an unprecedented opportunity to resurrect the regional spirit of the Maritime Rights movement of the 1920s, which advocated a cooperative approach to addressing regional underdevelopment. However, Newfoundland's arrival did little at first to bring about a comprehensive Atlantic Canadian regionalism.

Inventing Atlantic Canada is the first book to analyse the reaction of the Maritime provinces to Newfoundland's entry into Confederation. Drawing on editorials, government documents, and political papers, Corey Slumkoski examines how each Maritime province used the addition of a new provincial cousin to fight underdevelopment. Slumkoski also details the rise of regional cooperation characterized by the Atlantic Revolution of the mid-1950s, when Maritime leaders began to realize that by acting in isolation their situations would only worsen.

Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 Introduction 13 1. Newfoundland–Maritime Connections from Colonization to Confederation 32 2. A Province Divided: Nova Scotia and Newfoundland’s Entry into Confederation 50 3. ‘... both islands would benefit’: Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland’s Entry into Confederation 79 4. ‘... for the general expansion of the economy’: New Brunswick and Newfoundland’s Entry into Confederation 97 5. ‘... preaching a dangerous gospel’: Regional Union and Newfoundland in the 1940s 120 Epilogue: Term 29 and the Atlantic Revolution 137 Notes 147 Bibliography 193 Index 207 Inventing Atlantic Canada is the first book to analyse the reaction of the Maritime provinces to Newfoundland's entry into Confederation. Drawing on editorials, government documents, and political papers, Corey Slumkoski examines how each Maritime province used the addition of a new provincial cousin to fight underdevelopment. Slumkoski also details the rise of regional cooperation characterized by the Atlantic Revolution of the mid-1950s, when Maritime leaders began to realize that by acting in isolation their situations would only worsen."--Résumé de l'éditeur