John Turner was Canada’s 17th Prime Minister but only for a short time. He succeeded Pierre Trudeau as Leader of the Liberal Party and wanting his own mandate to run the country, called an election in 1984 and lost in a landslide to Brian Mulroney.
This is an interesting biography of Turner who was born in 1929 and died in 2020.
The author did a lot of research and interviewed many people who were friends, foes or colleagues of Turner. He held important positions as the Minister of Justice, Attorney General and Minister of Finance. He resigned in 1975 over a dispute with Trudeau over ways to curb inflation. He spent 1975 to 1984 as a lawyer on Bay Street in Toronto..
There’s a lot of name dropping in the book and it brings back memories of the political scene when Turner was in government.
Essentially he was a very good, smart man, athlete, Rhodes scholar, lawyer, practicing Catholic, corporate board member and highly regarded by friends and foe alike. His ability to make contact and engage with strangers and friends allowed him to contribute widely to the boards on which he sat.
He loved his wife, and his four children and spent as much time as was available to be with them. He was always willing to speak to groups and individuals about the value of public service and encouraged many to seek office.
Interesting book. ( )