Skip to content
Accessibility
Prime Ministers and Premiers (17)
-
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. -
Comfort and IndifferenceDenys Arcand 1991 1 h 48 minEnglish sub-titled version of a film showing facts and opinions that lead to the Québec referendum on independence in 1980, with the participation of a historical character: Machiavelli.
-
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.
-
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.
-
"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."
-
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.
-
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.
-
In Bed with an ElephantKent Martin 1986 59 minThis feature documentary provides a gripping retrospective of United States-Canada relationships through a study of successive presidents and prime ministers. Using archival film footage, it demonstrates that Canadian prime ministers, from John A. Macdonald down, all began their tenures by making overtures to their American counterparts. Attitudes and outcomes have varied widely. The almost comic antipathy between Kennedy and Diefenbaker, for instance, is as palpable here as is the folksy camaraderie of Reagan and Mulroney. Part four of Reckoning: The Political Economy of Canada series.
-
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
-
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.
-
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. -
Mackenzie King and the Conscription CrisisErna Buffie 1991 31 minFrom the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, Mackenzie King tried to avoid conscription. Most English Canadians thought young men should be sent to fight, while most French Canadians vehemently disagreed. This same division had nearly torn the country apart during the First World War. King had to make a decision in the final year of the war. This docudrama combines archival footage with excerpts from The King Chronicles, a dramatic series written and directed by Donald Brittain.
Some scenes contain graphic language. -
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?
-
Sun, Wind and WoodDorothy Todd Henaut 1978 24 minThis short documentary film illustrates the various ways people fight the high cost of energy by devising ingenious ways to use wood, the sun, and the wind. The film highlights one such project named the Ark. Using natural systems only, this bio-shelter ingeniously provides housing, heat, food and electricity for an entire family.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
