A Nation’s Paper

“Our goal was not to write a history of Canada or a history of the Globe and Mail,” editor John Ibbitson (who is one of the newspaper’s veteran political columnists) explains in his introduction to the book. “Instead, we searched for issues and events in which the paper intersected with the life of the country, influencing its course.” In that, they’ve succeeded admirably. 

Each of the thirty chapters in this book is an essay of about 2,500 words that explores a specific topic. The range of subject matter is diverse — everything from the Globe’s involvement in and reporting on Confederation to the scandals, regional tensions, linguistic debates, racial divides, economic developments, international relations, constitutional squabbles, and so much more that define Canada. While that may sound like a heavy read, it’s not. 

All the essays in A Nation’s Paper have been published in the pages of the daily newspaper. Without exception, they’re concise, insightful, and easy reading. And, to their credit, several of the writers take a critical look back at the Globe’s at-times-blinkered approach to news and opinions. That’s especially true of the essays that chronicle the history of the newspaper’s approach to news and opinions about Indigenous people, gender inequalities, racial discrimination, LGBT issues, anti-Semitism, and Western alienation. 

Kelly Cryderman, the Globe’s Calgary-based columnist, succinctly summarizes the latter — and so much more — when she quotes from an 1863 Globe article about the place of the “magnificent empire” between the Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountains in a presumed future united Canada. The nineteenth-century writer mused about how “Our sons will occupy the chief places of this vast territory, we will form its institutions, supply its rulers, teach its schools, fill its stores, run its mills and navigate its streams.” 

Times have changed. And, thankfully, so have Canada and the Globe. 

As is the case in any collection of essays with such diversity and such a broad sweep, there’s some narrative overlap and repetition from essay to essay. However, none of it lessens the book’s appeal or its value. 

It’s also worth noting that a carefully curated selection of archival photos provides a strong visual element. Add in the fact that proceeds from sales of A Nation’s Paper are going to the organization Journalists for Human Rights, and there’s yet another compelling reason to recommend this book as a worthwhile read.