National Project, Regional Perspective: Newfoundland, Canada and Identities, 1949-1991 Shannon Conway Thesis submitted to the University of Ottawa in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctorate in Philosophy in History Department of History Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Shannon Conway, Ottawa, Canada, 2020 I dedicate my doctoral dissertation to my late grandfather, Frank Flynn. My grandfather was enthusiastically supportive of my desire to be a historian. Sadly, he unexpectedly passed away only days before I received my first PhD acceptance offer. In the years since, I have often wished to be able to talk with him about Newfoundland history, my dissertation, and Irish whiskey preferences. ii Abstract The Canadian government has long striven for an official national identity grounded in a cohesive sense of national unity, but this has been in contrast to the regional reality of the Canadian state. The postwar period reveals increased concern within Canada regarding its national identity, when the federal government was attempting to construct an intrinsic identity and trying to encode what it meant to be Canadian. When Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, it became an additional element in this enduring struggle. After confederation, a cultural revival in the province further entrenched its distinct identity during the same period in which it was acclimatizing to a new Canadian reality. The main goals of this research are to comprehend how Newfoundland understood official Canadian identity in its post-confederation period and how the province pursued a distinct identity while becoming a part of Canada. This project examines how Newfoundland understood official constructions of Canadian identity during the post-1949 period to observe how Canada’s official national identity was understood outside of the dominant central-Canada perspective. This alternative regional perspective provides an understanding of how the realities of Canada’s regionalism play a role in why the official national identity was not as homogenous or uniting as the federal government had idealized. By addressing the national question of Canadian identity through a regional Newfoundland perspective, this project seeks to deepen and expand our knowledge and understanding of modern Canada and its continued regional realities. iii Table of Contents Dedication...................................................................................................... ii Abstract.......................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements............................................................................ ............ v Introduction: Canadian and Newfoundland Identities................................... 1 Chapter 1: Confederation and Identity........................................................... 42 Chapter 2: Canadian Culture, Commissions, and the Changing Official Canadian Identity..................................... 76 Chapter 3: The Shift from the Problem of National Identity to a Problem with National Unity................................................................ 142 Chapter 4: Newfoundland’s Identity in Canada, 1949-1990.......................... 182 Chapter 5: The Newfoundland Provincial Government: Culture, Nationalism, and Identity, 1949-1989....................... 226 Chapter 6: From the Meech Lake Accord to Renewing and Strengthening Intrastate Relations: Newfoundland and Canada, 1987-2003................................. 273 Conclusion: Re-engaging with Canada’s ‘Limited Identities’....................... 319 Bibliography.................................................................................................... 336 iv Acknowledgements Since beginning my doctoral program in September 2015, I have grown considerably as an academic and the multitude of experiences I have encountered also allowed for as much personal growth. Undertaking a doctoral program and writing a dissertation is a challenging and individual experience, though such an endeavour cannot be completed entirely alone. I would first like to acknowledge and thank my supervisor, Dr. Chad Gaffield for taking me on as a doctoral student and for allowing me to pursue every aspect of this degree and my professional development over the past five years in my own way. His encouragement and support during this program has been unwavering and thoroughly appreciated. I would also like to thank the Department of History at the University of Ottawa for accepting me as a doctoral student and providing me with not only the financial aid necessary for undertaking the program but also for permitting a wealth of experience in the university environment. I have greatly enjoyed my time at the University of Ottawa and would particularly like to thank Drs. Damien-Claude Bélanger, Richard Connors, Sylvie Perrier, and François Lalonde. I would like to acknowledge the University of Ottawa’s former Institute of Canadian and Aboriginal Studies (now known as the Institute of Indigenous Studies) for their financial support over the years, especially for awarding me the Angela Mattiacci Fellowship. As well, Memorial University of Newfoundland has provided much support during my research, especially the staff at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies and the financial support from Memorial University’s v Institute of Social and Economic Research and the J.R. Smallwood Foundation for Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, for which I am considerably grateful. I particularly want to thank Dr. Kurt Korneski, for without his suggestion of pursuing an academic graduate program I would not be where I am. His steady encouragement and guidance during my previous graduate work ensured that I could continue to pursue doctoral studies. Whether as a mentor or a friend, his support has always been appreciated over the years. My loving family and friends in Newfoundland have been exceptionally supportive throughout this years-long process, and importantly ensured that I took some much-needed downtime over the years – thank you all for that. Lastly, I want to thank my partner Mark (and his wonderfully welcoming family). He has been a constant support and an equal partner while I researched, wrote, and revised this dissertation – that is a true test of integrity and I now get to do so from the other side. Thank you all. vi Canadian and Newfoundland Identities Introduction: Canadian and Newfoundland Identities I hear of Canadians looking for an identity. To me that’s funny. Newfoundlanders have one.1 In the summer of 1978, an unidentified interviewee from Newfoundland described the relationship between the state of national identity in Canada and Newfoundland. In a report submitted to the federal Task Force on Canadian Unity, the interviewed individual emphasized that Newfoundlanders have a solid sense of self in terms of their cultural identity. Even with three decades of Canadian-born citizens, residents still readily identified as Newfoundlanders (or Labradorians) before identifying as Canadians; the explanation was two-fold. Firstly, Newfoundlanders had a defined, regionalized identity within Canada, which permits ease of recognizable cultural identification. Secondly, Canadian identity was, in comparison, not as clearly articulated; it lacked the uniting essence typical of a national identity. This is demonstrated in the interviewee’s statement that Newfoundlanders had an identity while Canadians were searching for one. While Canadians are often content and even proud to be Canadian, what it means to be Canadian is not unanimous throughout the country. In contrast, regional identities largely flourish within Canada. This contrast, combined with my interest in the formation of official Canadian national identity and the resilience of Newfoundland identity since its union with Canada, ultimately led to this research project investigating the relationship between these developments. 1 A Statement from an unidentified interviewee from Newfoundland conducted during the summer of 1978 for a report submitted to the Task Force on Canadian Unity. G.A. Rawlyk, ed., The Atlantic Provinces and the Problems of Confederation: Report to the Task Force on Canadian Unity, (St. John’s, NL: Breakwater, 1979), 375. 1 Canadian and Newfoundland Identities Prior to confederation with Canada, Newfoundland (like Canada) was an autonomous state within the British Empire, complete with its own passports, currency, and Prime Ministers. Many scholars agree that Newfoundland has since kept its own separate cultural identity, with an established cultural nationalism, and a small but dedicated few who romanticize notions of separatism, like Québec, though Newfoundland has never come close to separation.2 Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, at the onset of a period when public concern was pushing governments in countries like Canada to take action, and adopt new perspectives, on humanitarian and civil rights issues. At this time, new perspectives on national identity caused questioning of Canada’s official identity, which led the federal government to begin a period of introspection on the matter followed by a series of attempts at constructing an intrinsic Canadian identity. How did Newfoundland understand Canadian identity, the identity of the country it was joining, during this period? How and why did Newfoundland pursue a distinct identity within Canada? What do these understandings demonstrate in terms of Canada’s struggle for identity? Canadian historians