BREAKING BONES IN POLITICAI, CARTOONING; AIS LIN AND THE FUE TRADE F1GHT OF 1988 By PhiUip Todd Dept. of History MCGILL UNNERSITY Montreal, Quebec, Canada February 2004 A thesis submitted to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts C PhiUip Todd 2004 Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 0-612-98481-8 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 0-612-98481-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell th es es le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada Abstract Entertainer or agent provocateur? The modem Canadian political cartoonist, historically speaking, possesses a split identity. The Gazette cartoonist Terry Mosher - a.k.a. Aislin - in his experience, career and involvement in the fall1988 fight against free trade, illustrates the tension inherent in the identity of the modem Canadian political cartoonist. Mosher's experience offers a the ory as to what circumstances might compel a cartoonist to break the cartoonist's compromise - an informaI promise not to use their powerful platform to advance a coherent, systematic and specific political agenda or aim in exchange for editorial independence, journalistic "status," and proper financial remuneration - a state of affairs modem cartoonists are, under normal circumstances, happy to accept. Fantaisiste ou agent provocateur? Le caricaturiste politique canadien moderne souffre, au sens historique, d'une double personnalité. Dans son expérience, sa carrière et son implication en automne 1988 contre le libre-échange, Terry Mosher, du 'The Gazette', aussi connu sous le nom de 'Aislin', met en évidence la dichotomie d'identité du caracaturiste moderne. L'expérience de M. Mosher nous offre une théorie en ce qui concerne les circonstances qui amèneraient à rompre 'le compromis du caricaturiste', une promesse, sans caractère officiel, à laquelle il s'engage à ne pas se servir de sa tribune afin de faire valoir un agenda politique cohérent, systématique et spécifique. En général, ses pairs se contentaient de leur indépendance du rédacteur, de leur prestige professionnel ainsi que d'un salaire satisfaisant en échange de ne pas essayer de prêcher leur propre programme politique. Acknowledgements A very special thanks to Terry Mosher, as weIl as François Cartier and the McCord Museum of Canadian History for their help in accessing most of the material needed to complete this study. A very special thanks to Professor Suzanne Morton for her patient guidance on this project and encouragement along the way. Lastly, a thank youto my parents, Robert and Pilar, my brother, Nicolas, and the friends who offered their endless support, from conception to completion. 11 Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements ii Table of Contents iii Table of Illustrations iiii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 3 1. A NIGHT ON THE TOWN 3 CHAPTER 2. THE RISE OF NEWSPAPERS AND THE POLITICAL CARTOON 19 II. THE MOST INCISIVE AND EFFECTIVE FORM OF COMMENTARY KNOWN TO MAN 19 CHAPTER 3. "THE SA VAGE DARLING OF CANADIAN RADICALS" 33 III. A RELUCTANT RADICAL 33 CHAPTER 4. MULRONEY, FREE TRADE AND THE COMIC BOOK 58 BREAKING BONES IN POLlTICAL CARTOONING 58 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION 73 BETWEEN THE CARTOONIST'S COMPROMISE AND THE CARTOON AS CUDGEL 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY 79 111 Table of Illustrations CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION. FIGURE 1: 1. Figure 1 Aislin, "Ais lin by Aislin." Published Bay Promotion, Dec. 20, 1989. McCord Museum Archive: Aislin Fonds, P090-DOl/1242. FIGURE 2: 2. John Wilson Bengough, National Archives of Canada, ClO0407. Source: Cummings, Carman. Sketchesfrom a Young Country: The Images ofGrip Magazine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1997. Frontispiece. FIGURE 3: 3. Aislin, "Where's the Trough?" Published The Gazette, September 4, 1984. Source: Aislin. Where 's the Trough? And Other Aislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1985. (No pagination.) FIGURE 4: 6. Aisin, "Trudeau Cover." Published Time, October 31, 1969. Source: Aislin. Stretch Marks: 15 Years ofAislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1982. (No pagination. ) FIGURE 5: 7. J.W. Bengough, "How Long is this Spree Going to Last?" Published Grip, September 5, 1885 Source: Cummings, Carman. Sketchesfrom a Young Country: The Images ofGrip Magazine. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1997.43. FIGURE 6: 9. Aislin, "Mulroney Retums Home." Published The Gazette, March 18, 1993. Source: The Gazette, March 18, 1993. FIGURE 7: 10. Aislin, "Self-Portrait-Denounced in House of Commons." Published The Gazette, March 19, 1993. McCord Museum Archive: Aislin Fonds, P090-A01.2/070. CHAPTER 2. THE ruSE OF NEWSPAPERS AND THE POLITICAL CARTOON FIGURE 1: 19. Aislin, "Jean Marchand." Published Maclean 's, Harper's, July 1971. Source: Aislin. Stretch Marks: 15 Years ofAislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1982. (No pagination.) Also publishedLast Post, October 1972 and Mac/ean 's (date unknown.) CHAPTER 3. "THE SA VAGE DARLING OF CANADIAN RADICALS" FIGURE 1: 33. Aislin, "Aislin (Self-Portrait)." Unpublished. Source: Aislin. Stretch Marks: 15 Years of Aislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1982. (No pagination.) FIGURE 2: 36. Aislin, "The Queen and Leaf." Published The McGill Dai/y, April, 1969. Source: Desbarats, Peter and Terry Mosher. The Hecklers: A History ofCanadian Political Cartooning and a Cartoonists' History ofCanada. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ud. 1979.7. (Cartoon later published in Maclean 's, February 1970 and in Britain's Punch, September 15, 1971. FIGURE 3: 37. Aislin, "O.K. Everybody Take a Valium!" Published The Gazette, November 16, 1976. Source: Aislin. Stretch Marks: 15 Years ofAislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1982. (No pagination.) FIGURE 4: 38. Aislin, "The Swinger." Published The Last Post, 1971. Source: Aislin. Stretch Marks: 15 Years ofAislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1982. (No pagination.) FIGURE 5: 39. Aislin, "René Lévesque - Business Fleeing Quebec." Published The Gazette, February 7, 1978. Source: Aislin. Stretch Marks: 15 Years ofAislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1982. (No pagination.) FIGURE 6: 41. Aislin, "Yo Momma!" Source: What's The Big Deal? Some Straightforward Questions and Answers on Free Trade. Text by Rick Salutin; cartoons by Aislin. Ottawa: Pro­ Canada Network.1988, published October 10, 1988. IV FIGURE 7:44. Aislin, "Quit Now, Slime Bucket!" Published The Gazette, September 10, 1983. Source: Aislin. Where's the Trough? And Other Aislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1985. (No pagination.) FIGURE 8: 46. Aislin, "The Quebec Nationalist." Unpublished. 1975. Source: Aislin. Stretch Marks: 15 Years ofAislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1982. (No pagination.) FIGURE 9: 49. Aislin, "Mulroney - Bra." Published The Gazette, Apri128, 1983. Source: Aislin. Where's the Trough? And Other Aislin Cartoons. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited. 1985. (No pagination.) FIGURE 10: 50. Aislin, "Great Moments in the History of Free Trade." Published The Gazette, January 5, 1988. Source: Aislin. Drawing Bones: My 15 years of Cartooning Brian Mulroney. Toronto: Key Porter Books Ltd., 1991. 81. FIGURE 11: 54. Aislin, "I.O.v. Brian," Published The Gazette, September 12, 1984. Source: Aislin. Drawing Bones: My 15 years ofCartooning Brian Mulroney. Toronto: Key Porter Books Ltd., 1991. 31. CHAPTER 4. MULRONEY, FREE TRADE AND THE COMIC BOOK FIGURE 1: 58. Aislin, "Brian, The Patriot." Source: What's The Big Deal? Some Straightforward Questions and Answers on Free Trade. Text by Rick Salutin; cartoons by Aislin. Ottawa: Pro-Canada Network.1988, published October 10, 1988. FIGURE 2: 59. J. W. Bengough, "Riding into Power." Published Grip 28 Sept. 1978. Source: Cummings, Carman. Sketchesfrom