Football, Nationalism, and Protectionism: the Federal Defence of the Canadian Football League
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Football, Nationalism, and Protectionism: The Federal Defence of the Canadian Football League by John Valentine A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Canadian Studies Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2016 John Valentine ii Abstract In 1974, Canada’s Liberal minority government acted to protect the Canadian Football League (CFL) from competition by introducing Bill C-22, which promised harsh penalties for anyone operating a football franchise connected to a foreign-based league or team. This legislation was the culmination of a series of measures by which the government had protected the CFL in the early 1960s and 1970s. A number of factors combined to prompt government involvement. From its earliest days, Canadian football was a nationalist concern. The desire to create a distinctly Canadian pastime led early organizers to differentiate it from English rugby and American football by developing and defending distinctive rules for the game. Football associations developed as domestic rather than cross-border organizations, fostering a congruence of the national territory and the Canadian version of the game. The organizational structure of Canadian football reinforced the east-west axis of transcontinental transportation and communications infrastructure fostered by the state since Confederation. Team and regional rivalries became a staple of print and radio news and commentary, integrating football into the national discourse. Following the Second World War, the identification of Canadian football with the Canadian nation intensified as televised games provided fans with more shared experiences of the only Canadian sports league. Fuelled by concerns about growing American cultural influence, nationalism was on the rise in Canada. This, accompanied by the building of the welfare state resulted in more government intervention than countenanced previously. The government introduced policies designed to protect Canadian culture, and, by extension, national identity. When unity became a concern, it iii was felt that the CFL, and the Grey Cup game in particular, could be used to help unite east and west, French and English. The federal government intervened to support the CFL on three occasions: first in 1962 when the CBC was forced to broadcast the Grey Cup game; secondly in 1972 when the CFL was considering American expansion; and finally in 1974 when the CFL was threatened by American competition. This football protectionist moment represents a high-water mark of nationalist state intervention in the postwar period. iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my appreciation to my advisor Dr. Paul Litt for his patience and guidance throughout this process. I would also like to thank my committee members Dr. Norman Hillmer and Dr. Dimitry Anastakis for their assistance. Thanks are also owed to Dr. Andrew Holman for acting as the external examiner, and Dr. Joanna Dean as internal examiner. I am also indebted to many librarians and archivists for providing much needed help. Finally, I would like to thank my family for moving to Ottawa for a year and their support during this process, my father for taking me to my first football game, and my mother for giving up her ticket. v Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. v Chapter 1: Introduction and Methodology .................................................................... 7 1.1 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................ 13 1.2 Methodology: Sources .................................................................................................. 25 1.3 Chapter Outline ............................................................................................................ 29 Chapter 2: Nation, Sport, and Policy: Key Concepts and Literature Review .......... 32 2.1 A Historiography of Canadian Sport ............................................................................ 32 2.2 A Historiography of Canadian Football ....................................................................... 37 2.3 Nationalism................................................................................................................... 40 2.4 Canadian Nationalism .................................................................................................. 47 2.5 Sport and Nationalism .................................................................................................. 52 2.6 A National Sport .......................................................................................................... 54 2.7 Sport and Nationalism in Canada ................................................................................. 59 2.8 Cultural Policy .............................................................................................................. 61 2.9 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 69 Chapter 3: Nation-building and the evolution of Canadian Football: Inception to 1952................................................................................................................................... 70 3.1 The University Game: 1861 - 1874 .............................................................................. 71 3.2 Central Canadian Population: 1874 - 1896 ................................................................... 77 3.3 National Consolidation: 1888 - 1916. .......................................................................... 83 3.4 Canadian Football, Americanization, and Resistance .................................................. 93 3.5 Post First World War Canadian Sport .......................................................................... 99 3.6 Postwar Canadian Football ........................................................................................ 104 3.7 Radio .......................................................................................................................... 110 3.8 Post Second World War Canada ................................................................................ 116 3.9 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 122 Chapter 4: Occupying the Territory: 1950 - 1967 ..................................................... 125 4.1 Technological Nationalism: Television ...................................................................... 130 4.2 Canadian Nationalism in the 1950s. ........................................................................... 138 4.3 Canadian Football in the 1950s .................................................................................. 141 4.4 Canada in the 1960s… ................................................................................................ 144 4.5 Public Policy Embraces Sport .................................................................................... 146 vi 4.5 The Grey Cup Fiasco .................................................................................................. 151 4.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 163 Chapter 5: The Three Wise Men--Gaudaur, Trudeau, and Munro: 1968-1972 ..... 166 5.1 1960s Canada: Cultural Policy and Nationalism ........................................................ 169 5.2 Americanization and Canadian Football .................................................................... 174 5.3 Jake Gaudaur, Pierre Trudeau, and John Munro ........................................................ 177 5.4 Trudeau, Nationalism, and Cultural Policy ................................................................ 182 5.5 The Task Force on Sport ........................................................................................... 185 5.6 Gaudaur and the Federal Government ....................................................................... 191 5.7 The NFL Invasion of Canada .................................................................................... 197 5.8 The CFL Invasion of America ................................................................................... 204 5.9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 216 Chapter 6: Munro Hands-off to Lalonde: 1972-1976. ............................................... 220 6.1 The WFL Invasion of Canada .................................................................................... 226 6.2 The Speech ................................................................................................................ 234 6.3 Forming Federal Football Policy ............................................................................... 244 6.4 Signing the Superstars ............................................................................................... 258 6.5 The Bill ......................................................................................................................