The “Hamlet” of the Maritimes

When it comes to politics, there really are two Canadas. There’s Atlantic Canada and there’s the Rest of Canada. For a majority of central and western Canadians, politics is, well, politics. Most of the time, there is no true commitment to parties, politicians or causes. Politics represents an occasional electoral exercise, to be discharged as expeditiously as possible to minimize its intrusion on the more important things in life, such as the pursuit of money, golf, gardening, the perfect martini or other personal indulgences.

But among Atlantic Canadians, politics is elemental, a 12-month passion, not a mere quadrennial diversion. It is a region where victory still means patronage—jobs on the public payroll, paved roads, new schools, and so on—and defeat means waiting until next time for a crack at the pork barrel. And although politics may divide easterners along the fault lines of family, religion and language, it is also a glue that helps to hold small...