Million Acre Identity: the Endurance of Complex Traditionalism in Prince Edward Island’S Political Culture

MILLION ACRE IDENTITY: THE ENDURANCE OF COMPLEX TRADITIONALISM IN PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND’S POLITICAL CULTURE by ALISON KATHERINE SHOTT Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Political Science) Acadia University Fall Convocation 2011 © by ALISON KATHERINE SHOTT, 2011 (ii) This thesis by ALISON KATHERINE SHOTT was defended successfully in an oral examination on 15 JULY 2011. The examining committee for the thesis was: ________________________ Dr. William Brackney, Chair ________________________ Dr. Lori Turnbull, External Reader ________________________ Dr. Rachel Brickner, Internal Reader ________________________ Dr. Ian Stewart, Supervisor _________________________ Dr. Geoffrey Whitehall, Department Head This thesis is accepted in its present form by the Division of Research and Graduate Studies as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS (POLITICAL SCIENCE). …………………………………………. (iii) I, Alison Katherine Shott, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I, however, retain the copyright in my thesis. ______________________________ Alison Katherine Shott ______________________________ Dr. Ian Stewart ______________________________ 28 July 2011 (iv) Table of Contents Abstract / (v) Acknowledgements / (vii) 1 Introduction / 1 2 The Study of Political Culture / 10 3 The Farmer Premier: J. Walter Jones and Threats of Incipient Change / 19 4 Challenge Defeated: Alex Campbell, Angus MacLean, and the Comprehensive Development Plan / 31 5 Images, Links, and Negotiations: The Joe Ghiz Era / 60 6 Mitigating Mandated Change: Catherine Callbeck and Electoral Redistribution / 75 7 Traditionalism in the Post-Redistribution Era: Pat Binns and Beyond / 91 8 Conclusion / 107 Bibliography / 115 (v) Abstract This thesis examines the contours of Prince Edward Island’s political culture in five eras of provincial politics since the Second World War in order to evaluate the endurance of traditionalism in the face of significant socio-economic, demographic, and political change. The primary focus is on how political elites and ordinary Islanders have responded to specific crises that challenged the province’s traditional way of life, with the understanding that articulated threats bring normally subconscious assumptions about the political sphere and collective self-image to the surface. Despite the complexities engendered by an emerging rural/urban tension in provincial politics, this thesis concludes that traditionalism continues to be a defining characteristic of the Island’s dominant political culture. (vi) Acknowledgements It was Dr. Ian Stewart who first piqued my interest in Prince Edward Island politics four years ago in his Politics in Maritime Canada course. Since then, he has provided patient guidance, countless suggestions, thoughtful critiques, and an atmosphere in which I was never afraid to test out or work through the myriad of thoughts about PEI that swirled about in my head. I found myself in Politics in Maritime Canada on a Killam Fellowship to Acadia University, granted by the Foundation for Educational Exchange Between Canada and the United States, and it was the Foundation that later gave me the opportunity to explore my fascination with PEI politics through a Fulbright Fellowship to the University of Prince Edward Island. During my Fulbright, the Institute of Island Studies at UPEI brought me into its fold and provided me with the space, resources, experiences, and conversations that helped this thesis come to fruition. To all of the Islanders who aided my research and made my time in the province culturally rich, intellectually stimulating, and simply delightful, I am truly thankful. Despite my notation as a “Come From Away,” I have always felt welcomed and supported in the Island community. This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Jim and Kathy Shott, who have provided unwavering support every step of the way – both on this project and throughout my life. Although the sense of independence they fostered has led me far away from Schwenksville, I have never felt without their love, their encouragement, and the knowledge that I will always feel at home when I talk to or am with them. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for more than I could ever begin to express. 1 1 Introduction In political culture literature, most research is devoted to understanding the events, conditions, and institutions that have shaped a particular political culture, or what a political culture can be used to explain in terms of behaviour and outcomes. Scant attention is paid to what particular cultures actually look like, to their contours and the nuanced details of their assumptions. Without an accurate, detailed understanding of a political culture, the ways in which political scientists employ it will be inherently flawed. Therefore, this thesis seeks to present a nuanced description of Prince Edward Island’s political culture. By focusing principally on what the province’s political culture looks like, this thesis is free from the traditional hindrances and paradoxes of political culture research; from this unhindered examination, a clear picture can be teased out, and later employed to gain a more accurate understanding of its impact in the province’s political sphere. Much of the literature published on Prince Edward Island’s political sphere over the past thirty years has employed David Milne’s concept of the garden myth, the idea that Islanders’ collective self-image is of an “independent agricultural people protected from the world in an unspoiled pastoral setting.”1 This concept, though, was developed with minimal methodological grounding and sparse evidence. Milne asserted the existence of traditionalism, but he did not demonstrate the same; the concept has become pervasive in the literature on Island and Maritime politics, but “is constructed on shaky 1 David Milne, “Politics in a Beleagured Garden,” in The Garden Transformed: Prince Edward Island, 1944-1980, ed. Verner Smitheram, David Milne, and Satadal Dasgupta (Charlottetown: Ragweed Press, 1982), 40. 2 foundations.”2 This instability is compounded by the easy characterization of “traditional,” and the numerous, quick anecdotes about PEI politics that seem to reinforce it. One can point to a plethora of facts that seemingly support the traditional label: the province once banned automobiles, it was the last to remove prohibition and to allow Sunday shopping, only one member of a third party has ever been elected the Legislative Assembly, and strict land ownership limitations remain in place for non-residents. And yet, as Islanders – perhaps sensitive to the condescending undertone that often accompanies the “traditional” label – are quick to point out, it was Prince Edward Island that first elected a premier of non-European descent and was first to elect a female premier. In the early 1990s, in the province second-to-last in enfranchising women, the Premier, Leader of the Opposition, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and Lieutenant Governor were all women.3 Traditionalism may still speak loudly on the Island, but easy labels or pervasive stereotypes cannot capture the full picture of the Island’s political culture. Indeed, where easy characterizations exist, there is the inherent danger that nuances will be lost and subtle changes will be overlooked. Labels are assigned and repeated, but the roots of their truth are blurred by time and use. Therefore, this thesis seeks to contribute to the literature on Maritime and Canadian politics a detailed picture of Prince Edward Island’s political culture, one that is grounded in evidence and methodological variety, and can account for nuances and contours beyond quick labels 2 Ian Stewart, “Vanishing Points: Three Paradoxes of Political Culture Research” in Citizen Politics: Research and Theory in Canadian Political Behaviour, ed. Johanna Everritt and Brenda O’Neill (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 28. 3 Catherine Callbeck, personal correspondence with author, 20 August 2010. 3 and pervasive stereotypes – one that captures the complexities in an enduring traditionalism. * * * Prince Edward Island has undergone significant socio-economic, demographic, and political changes in the post-World War II period, changes that have eroded the foundations of the traditional Island way of life. The image of the province as a society of independent farmers was formed prior to World War II; in 1931, an astonishing 1.2 million of the Island’s 1.4 million acres4 were cultivated on 12,865 farms,5 and the farm population of 55,478 accounted for sixty-three per cent of Islanders.6 By 2006, the number of acres under cultivation had declined nearly fifty per cent, to 619,885, and the number of farms had dropped to 1,700, with a population of 5,2957 – only 3.9 per cent of the provincial total.8 While Prince Edward Island remains the most rural province in Canada,9 the decline of the agricultural industry has caused a transformation in the province’s population. The percentage of rural Islanders declined from seventy-seven percent in 1931, to fifty-five percent in 2006, but many of those who continue to live in rural areas now work in the province’s urban centres of Charlottetown and Summerside.10 As socio- 4 John McClellan, “Changing Patterns of Land Use,” in The Garden Transformed: Prince Edward Island, 1944-1980, ed. Verner Smitheram, David Milne, and Satadal

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