John A. – Birth of a Country is a historical and biographical drama which premiered in 2011.
It is about the Canadian politician John A. Macdonald and the establishment of Canada as a confederation in 1867.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Director: Jerry Ciccoritti
** Writer: Bruce M. Smith
** Based on a biography by Richard Gwyn
** Released on DVD in 2011
** Run time: 91 minutes
The cast includes the following:
The first group
** Shawn Doyle as John A. Macdonald (1815-1891) – a conservative politician
** Peter Outerbridge as George Brown (1818-1880) – a liberal politician
** David La Haye as George-Etienne Cartier (1814-1873) – a Quebec politician
** Aidan Devine as Sandfield Macdonald (1812-1872) – a liberal politician
The second group
** Michelle Nolden as Anne Nelson Brown (1827-1906) – George Brown’s wife (married 1862-1880)
** Michelle Giroux as Isabella Clark Macdonald (1809-1857) – John A. Macdonald’s first wife (married 1843-1857)
** Cedric Smith as Edmund Head (1805-1868) – Governor General of Canada 1854-1861
** Ted Atherton as Charles Monck (1819-1894) – Governor General of Canada 1861-1868
Richard Gwyn’s biography of John A. Macdonald is published in two volumes. This drama is based on the first volume, The Man Who Made Us, which covers the time 1815-1867, and which was first published in 2007.
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. This is why I feel free to mention some of them here.
While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here, but the basic story is true.
This drama covers eleven years: the time from 1856 to 1867. When the story begins, in 1856, Canada is still a British colony. When the story ends, eleven years later, Canada is a confederation, larger than before, and a dominion, this is an independent country, which is under the protection of the British monarchy.
There are many characters in this drama, but the story focuses on three politicians:
** John A. Macdonald – a conservative politician
** George Brown – a liberal politician – also the owner of a newspaper: the Toronto Globe & Mail
** George-Etienne Cartier – a Quebec politician
The first of them (John A. Macdonald) was the driving force behind the plan to turn Canada into a confederation. This is why he is regarded as the founder of modern Canada.
He served as prime minister of Canada two times:
The first time for more than five years (1867-1873).
The second time for more than ten years (from 1878 until his death in 1891).
But his time as prime minister is not covered in this drama, because it ends in 1867.
In this drama, we learn about conflicts and problems which Canadian politicians were facing during the time from 1856 to 1867:
# 1. English vs. French
# 2. Conservatives vs. liberals
# 3. Upper Canada vs. Lower Canada
# 4. The location of the capital: Toronto (for the English) or Montreal (for the French). The solution was to reject both and to pick a third place: Bytown, later known as Ottawa.
# 5. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), there was a real danger that Canada might be drawn into the conflict or perhaps even invaded and annexed by the northern states of the US. But Canada managed to stay neutral and was not invaded by the US.
What do reviewers say about this historical and biographical drama?
On IMDb it has a rating of 75 per cent, which corresponds to 3.8 stars on Amazon.
On Amazon Canada there are at the moment 35 ratings of this product, 24 with reviews.
The average rating is 4.1 stars which corresponds to a rating of 82 percent.
If you ask me, both ratings are quite appropriate. This drama is good, but not great. Because there are some flaws here and there. Let me explain:
# 1. There are many politicians in this drama, but they are not always identified by name. It takes a while to find out who is who. Some of them are never identified.
There is an easy way to solve this problem: an on-screen message can appear the first time the character appears on the screen. Unfortunately, this method is not used here.
If you know something about Canadian politics in the 19th century, it will be easier to understand what is going on and to find out who is who.
If you know nothing or
next to nothing, you may be a bit confused when you are watching this drama. You may have to watch it two times, in order to understand what is going on and who is who.
# 2. Isabella Clark (the first wife of John A. Macdonald) appears briefly before she dies. But the timing of her death is wrong. In the drama, she dies around 1862. In the real world, she died five years before: in 1857.
# 3. In 1867, John A. Macdonald married his second wife Susan Agnes Bernard (1836-1920), but she is not seen in this drama, even though the story runs until 1867.
Why not?
Perhaps the director did not wish to introduce a new character just before the end of the drama.
# 4. There is no information about John Macdonald’s time as the first prime minister of Canada. The drama ends in the year when he begins this job. It is a shame to cut off the story at this point. Perhaps the people behind the drama will make a sequel which covers the rest of his life: the time from 1867 to 1891. I hope so.
For many years, John A. Macdonald was regarded as a national hero. Statues of him were erected around the country, and some schools were named after him.
In recent years, however, things have been changing. Critical voices are being raised.
The primary reason for this is his policy with regard to the indigenous peoples of Canada, aka the First Nations. Some people say he ignored them or worse: he did not care about them. These people are calling for the statues of the famous politician to be removed and for the schools to be renamed.
Government policy towards the indigenous peoples of Canada is covered in the following items:
Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life
by James Daschuk
(Hardcover 2013)
(Paperback 2014)
A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System
by John S. Milloy
(2017)
This topic is not mentioned in the drama. Not even with an on-screen message at the end of the story.
I like this historical drama, and I want to give it a good rating, but as you can see, there are some flaws which cannot be overlooked. I have to remove one star because of them. This is why I think this product deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
PS # 1. Regarding the private life of the famous politician, see the following book:
Private Demons:
The Tragic Personal Life of John A. Macdonald
by Patricia Phenix
(Hardcover 2006)
(Paperback 2007)
PS # 2. The following item written by the Canadian artist John Dann is available online:
John Dann,
“Removing my statue of John Macdonald from view is not going to change our history,”
The Toronto Globe & Mail,
14 August 2018
*****
The famous Canadian politician
John A. Macdonald
(1815-1891)
Two times Prime Minister of Canada:
The first time 1867-1873
The second time 1878-1891
*****
John A.
The Man Who Made Us
The Life and Times of John A. Macdonald
Volume One: 1815-1867
by Richard Gwen
(Hardcover 2007)
(Paperback 2008)
*****
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