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Portraits (38)
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Alexander Galt: The Stubborn IdealistJulian Biggs 1962 27 minFor Alexander Galt it was the middle of the road, until he saw some hope for his dream of a united Canada. What was he like, this stubborn idealist? How did he measure up to other political strongmen of his time? In this film you sense the personal clashes and the interplay of political ambitions that left their mark on history. -
After the BallotManuel Foglia 2008 1 h 29 minAfter the Ballot is a full-length documentary portraying the gruelling everyday life of two Members of Quebec's National Assembly who, although at opposite ends of the political spectrum, share the fact that their sole power lies in their convictions. One is Daniel Turp, the PQ Member for Mercier. The other is Charlotte L'Écuyer, Liberal MNA for Pontiac. The film aptly illustrates that ordinary MNAs have very little authority since the real power is held by ministers who are subject to the ups and downs of a globalized economy. Meanwhile, their fellow citizens keep asking for the impossible…
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Citizen SamJoe Moulins 2006 1 h 19 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Sam Sullivan, a quadriplegic city councillor running for Vancouver mayor. Blending the rough and tumble of the campaign with intimate moments from Sullivan's daily life, the film is an unflinching portrait of the one-of-a-kind politician.
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Charles Tupper: The Big ManMorten Parker 1961 28 minThis short historical reenactment is a portrait of Canadian Father of Confederation Charles Tupper. The film harks back to a time when the idea of a federal union was still hotly debated, when it was unclear whether Nova Scotia would come in or remain out. It studies a bigger-than-life politician who won over both his bitterest opponent, Joseph Howe, and the people of this Maritime province, to finally lead Nova Scotia into the Canadian Confederation in 1867.
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The Champions, Part 2: Trappings of PowerDonald Brittain 1978 55 minPart 2 of this 3-part documentary series about Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque covers the years between 1967 and 1977, a colourful decade that saw Trudeau win three federal elections, the 1970 October Crisis and the sweeping rise to power of the Parti Québécois.
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The Champions, Part 1: Unlikely WarriorsDonald Brittain 1978 57 minIn Part 1 of this 3-part documentary series, director Donald Brittain chronicles the early years of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque. From their university days in the 1950s to 1967 when Lévesque left the Liberal Party and Trudeau became the federal Minister of Justice, Brittain attempts to get at the heart of what makes these men so fascinating.
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The Champions, Part 3: The Final BattleDonald Brittain 1986 1 h 27 minThe final instalment of this 3-part documentary series about Pierre Elliott Trudeau and René Lévesque spans the decade between 1976 and 1986. The film reveals the turbulent, behind-the-scenes drama during the Quebec referendum and the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. In doing so, it also traces both Trudeau's and Lévesque's fall from power.
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Democracy à la MaudePatricia Kearns 1998 1 h 1 minMaude Barlow is a crusading warrior for social justice and the leader of Canada's largest citizens' rights group, the Council of Canadians. This feature film portrays Barlow's progress from young Ottawa housewife, quietly reading Germaine Greer alone at home, to outspoken activist, locking horns with such formidable opponents as media magnate Conrad Black and Thomas D'Aquino of the Business Council on National Issues. On the front lines in the battle against the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), Barlow cautions against "the rise of corporate rule”, arguing that such agreements enhance the international mobility of corporations at the expense of Canadian social programs and jobs.
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"Dief"William Canning 1981 26 minThis documentary short is a portrait of Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and 13th prime minister of Canada, John George Diefenbaker (1895-1979). Diefenbaker's political career spanned 6 decades. When he died in 1979, his state funeral and final train trip west became more a celebration of life than a victory for death. Interweaving scenes from past and present, the film crafts a tribute to an illustrious Canadian and records how a nation paused to pay homage to "The Chief."
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Eye Witness No. 91948 15 minIn this installment of the Eye Witness series from 1948, we watch as Canada's long-time prime minister, Mackenzie King, retires and his successor, Louis St. Laurent, takes the reins. We then head to Manitoba's Netley marsh, where three of the continent's main duck breeds meet, creating a hunter's paradise. On the BC coast, whaling resumes after a five-year halt, and finally, all across Canada we watch children collect pennies and nickels to buy school supplies for European children.
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Flora: Scenes from a Leadership ConventionPeter Raymont 1977 58 minThis feature documentary offers an incisive look at Canadian politics at the 1976 Progressive Conservative Party leadership convention. Cape Bretoner Flora MacDonald is campaigning for the Party’s leadership, the first woman to do so. We follow MacDonald behind the scenes as she works with her staff to prepare policy, speeches, and strategies to win the race. We also get a glimpse of MacDonald’s sprightly and upbeat attitude as she puts her best foot forward in front of voters, media, and the Party’s elite.
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F.R. Scott: Rhyme and ReasonDonald Winkler 1982 57 minThis feature documentary looks at the multi-faceted career of F.R. Scott (1899-1985), a Canadian poet, thinker and constitutional expert whose work and vision of social justice spanned and influenced an entire era. The film looks at Scott's role in the founding of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Party in the 1930s, his years as a teacher of constitutional law, as a modernist poet, and as a champion of civil liberties. Highlights include Scott's courtroom challenges of the Duplessis regime in the 1950s, his controversial support of the War Measures Act during the 1970 October Crisis in Québec, and readings from his poetry.
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George-Étienne Cartier: The Lion of QuébecJohn Howe 1962 27 minThis short biopic profiles Montreal lawyer-turned-politician George-Étienne Cartier as he campaigns to unite English and French Canada under Confederation. The political world of a century ago comes to life as we hear debates in the Parliament of Upper and Lower Canada amidst political strife and personal feuds. Ultimately, Cartier skilfully allays the fears of party and sectional leaders, convincing them that federal union would protect, rather than weaken, Quebec’s cherished rights of language and religion. The eloquent and enigmatic Cartier was instrumental in shaping the Canada that was soon to emerge.
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Georges P. Vanier: Soldier, Diplomat, Governor GeneralClément Perron 1960 29 minThis short documentary looks at Governor General Georges Vanier: his military service in two world wars, his diplomatic service between the wars and his investiture as Canada's 19th Governor General.
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His Worship, Mr. MontréalDonald Brittain , Marrin Canell , … 1976 57 minThis feature documentary is a fascinating and spirited portrait of the life and times of the legendary Quebec politician and four-time mayor of Montreal Camillien Houde. Using rare archival footage and interviews with ex-colleagues, aides and friends, the film presents a comprehensive profile of this incredible, and, to some, infamous, man.
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John A. Macdonald: The Impossible IdeaGordon Burwash 1961 27 minThis short fiction film tells the story of John A. MacDonald’s rise to power. Canada’s first Prime Minister and one of the Fathers of the Confederation, MacDonald didn’t enjoy an easy political career. When he first shared his vision of a Dominion reaching from sea to sea – an audacious proposal regarded as uncertain even by his supporters – his opponents derided him. “The fox is out of tricks," they taunted. "Bankrupt of ideas, he offers us clouds." This film offers us a memorable flashback
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Kim Campbell Through the Looking GlassMichel Jones 2000 1 h 10 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Kim Campbell, who won the Tory leadership after Brian Mulroney's resignation and became Canada's nineteenth prime minister in 1993. She called an election, and two and a half months later led the Progressive Conservatives to the biggest defeat of any major political party in Canadian history. This film documents the doomed campaign through never-before-seen interviews with Campbell, her family, colleagues and members of the media. They reflect on what brought such a hopeful candidacy to such an astounding upset.
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Love Affair with Politics: A Portrait of Marion DewarTerre Nash 1987 26 minIn this short documentary, Oscar®-winner Terre Nash turns her lens on Marion Dewar, one of Canada's most successful female politicians, while she was mayor of Ottawa. In her 7 years as mayor, Dewar was instrumental in the Rideau Centre project, introduced disarmament referendums into municipal politics, was the leading force in raising Canada's quota for Vietnamese refugees, and became known for her social responsibility and common sense.
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Lord DurhamJohn Howe 1961 28 minThis short drama is a portrait of colonial administrator, Governor General and statesman Lord Durham (1792-1840). When Durham recommended self-government in Canada, he closed the door on his own political success. But in the end, the policies he declared for Canada became the pattern for self-rule in the rest of the Commonwealth.
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A Little Fellow from Gambo - The Joey Smallwood StoryJulian Biggs 1970 56 minThis feature-length documentary paints a lively portrait of Father of Confederation and first premier of Newfoundland Joseph Roberts Smallwood, or "Joey," as he is known to most Canadians.
Following one of Canada’s most colourful political figures during a two-and-a-half-month period that included a stormy Liberal leadership convention, the film reveals a man misunderstood even by his close associates. -
Lord Elgin: Voice of the PeopleJulian Biggs 1959 28 minThis short film tells the story of Lord Elgin, a man’s whose faith in a nation’s right to self-determination was stronger than the threat of the mob or his own fear of failure. Successor to Lord Durham, he established the principles on which Canadian government stands today.
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Louis-Joseph Papineau: The Demi-GodLouis-Georges Carrier 1961 26 minThis short drama is a portrait of Quebec lawyer and politician Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786-1871). A proud, defiant man, skillful in parliamentary debate, and Speaker of the Lower House, his heart was with the people being pillaged by the business elite. When legislation became the instrument of private advantage, Papineau brought government to a standstill.
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Louis-Hippolyte LafontainePierre Patry 1962 28 minThis short film offers a glimpse into the life of Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine, the Chief Justice who died prematurely but left French Canada a legacy of political freedom. Shot entirely in Montreal, the film begins on the day of his death, and flashes back to tense moments throughout his life. French with English subtitles.
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The Man in the Peace TowerRoger Blais 1951 10 minThis short film from 1951 introduces us to Robert Donnell, the man who served as Dominion Carilloneur at that time. The Dominion Carilloneur works inside the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and is responsible for playing the carillon on weekdays and at the request of Parliament. It offers some stunning views of the belfry with its bells, which range in weight from 10 lbs to 11 tons.
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The Man Who Might Have Been: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Herbert NormanJohn Kramer 1998 1 h 38 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Herbert Norman, the Canadian ambassador to Egypt who leapt to his death in 1957. During his remarkable career, Norman had been a trusted aide of General MacArthur in post-war Japan and later played a key role in the Suez crisis. But for years, a US Senate subcommittee probed his past while the FBI accumulated a huge file on him, refusing to accept an RCMP investigation that cleared him of being a communist spy. Interviews with key players and dramatizations help reconstruct Herbert Norman's life.
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Nothing SacredGarry Beitel 2003 51 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Montreal political cartoonists Aislin and Serge Chapleau. In the pages of The Montreal Gazette and La Presse, respectively, they’ve been skewering politicians for 30 years. But who are these biting satirists? The film seeks to answer this question through interviews with the cartoonist's friends, families, colleagues, and even a few of their favourite victims, including Gilles Duceppe and Louise Beaudoin. Featuring many of their classic cartoons, Nothing Sacred pays tribute to gifted iconoclasts whose hilarious characters have seeped into our collective consciousness.
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Québec: Duplessis and After ...Denys Arcand 1972 1 h 54 minThis film establishes a parallel between the 1970 electoral campaign in Québec and the 1936 campaign dominated by Maurice Duplessis. It shows the hope but also the uncertainty that existed in 1970. Had the Quiet Revolution really changed things in Québec? Was it possible that a new leader would emerge on the political scene?
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Reflections on a Leadership ConventionPeter Raymont 1978 21 minFlora MacDonald was Canada's first woman to make a bid for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party. She lost. This documentary shows people who were close to the event. It questions the mechanics of a leadership convention, whether it is the best way to choose a nation's leader, and whether Flora lost because she is a woman. Among the people interviewed are Flora MacDonald herself, the late Judy Lamarsh, political scientist John Meisel, and political commentator Larry Zolf. (Follow-up film to: Flora: Scenes from a Leadership Convention.)
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Robert Baldwin: A Matter of PrincipleJohn Howe 1961 31 minThis film is a reconstruction of Robert Baldwin’s involvement in the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837. Though bound to the cause of constitutional reform by principle, Baldwin’s heart was with the rebels and in the midst of armed revolt, he withdrew to fight a lonely battle with himself.
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A Song for QuebecDorothy Todd Henaut 1988 55 minProduced in 1988, this feature documentary presents a living history of Quebec's last 40 years as seen through the eyes of one couple. Pauline Julien and Gérald Godin, two Quebec artists, share their perspectives on the events that have marked Quebec's evolution. Julien, a singer, and Godin, a poet, express their love and passion for the province (and each other) while providing a unique take on the Quebec nationalist movement.
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Sophie Wollock's NewspaperGilles Blais 1979 27 minThis short documentary profiles Sophie Wollock and the newspaper she founded for the western suburbs of Montreal in l963, The Suburban. A weekly paper distributed free to some 45,000 homes, most of them anglophone, The Suburban became famous for the strongly worded editorials written by Wollock, mainly on the subject of Québec nationalism. The film looks at the paper, then under the guidance of her son, and sums up some of Wollock's more impassioned editorials.
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Two Cabinet MinistersColin Low 1967 18 minA discussion between Eric Jones, M.P.P. for Fogo Island, and John Crosbie, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, on the role of the Fogo Island Improvement Committee and the feasibility of supra-island government.
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Tommy Douglas: Keeper of the FlameElise Swerhone 1986 57 minThis feature documentary traces the political career of T.C. (Tommy) Douglas, former premier of Saskatchewan and leader of the New Democratic Party, who was voted the Greatest Canadian in 2004 for his devotion to social causes, his charm and his powers of persuasion. Known as the "Father of Medicare," this one-time champion boxer and fiery preacher entered politics in the 1930s and never looked back.
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Traitor or PatriotJacques Godbout 2000 1 h 22 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Adélard Godbout, the largely forgotten man who was Premier of Quebec from 1939 to 1944. During his office, Godbout helped lay the groundwork for the Quiet Revolution of the 1950s and 1960s: instituting compulsory education, giving women the vote, creating Hydro-Québec and trying to free the province from domination by the clergy. Yet, during the conscription crisis, he favoured sending volunteers to fight Hitler: a sin for which many would never forgive him. Filmmaker Jacques Godbout takes a fresh look at his great-uncle's legacy.
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The Unbroken LineDiane Beaudry 1979 29 minThis is a historical survey of the office of the Canadian governor general, from its inception through the inauguration of Edward Schreyer to office. Drawing from archival photos and using live-action film footage, The Unbroken Line gives us a look at some of the governors general (and their families) who have contributed to the Canadian political system.
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Why Women RunMeredith Ralston 1999 46 minThis documentary offers a glimpse into the 1997 federal election in the Halifax electoral district. Two strong female politicians, Liberal candidate Mary Clancy and NDP party leader Alexa McDonough, are caught in a tight competition in one of the most contested races in the country. Director Meredith Ralston follows the two women around the campaign trail for weeks, getting inside an election that was often described as “nasty.” Both larger than life and hungry to win, in quieter moments Clancy and McDonough reveal the strains and contradictions of their chosen careers. Why Women Run highlights the accomplishments of women in politics and the problems many women face participating in the political process.
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William Lyon Mackenzie: A Friend to His CountryJulian Biggs 1961 28 minThis documentary short is a portrait of Scottish-born journalist, politician, and rebellion leader William Lyon McKenzie. The first mayor of Toronto, he was an important leader during the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion. This film portrays his election, his later defeat, his exile, and his fight for responsible government.
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Yes or No, Jean-Guy MoreauMichael Rubbo 1979 58 minThis feature documentary profiles Jean-Guy Moreau, a Québécois comedian, impersonator and political satirist who rises far above the level of being merely funny. In this film he prepares to perform in English before a Toronto audience. He will impersonate Premier René Lévesque conducting a press conference. Moreau becomes so caught up with his subject that at times his personality merges with that of Lévesque, as he fends off the questions of a very engaged audience.
