Atlantic Hustle

Atlantic Canada is often presented as a paradox. A have-not region plagued by failed ventures and out-migration, it nevertheless nurtures world-class entrepreneurs such as K.C. Irving, Frank Sobey, Harry Steele and Harrison McCain, who remained rooted in their communities. Harrison McCain: Single-Minded Purpose and Failures and Fiascos: Atlantic Canada’s Biggest Boondoggles explore both sides of this paradox and, in so doing, document the extent to which a regional mindset shapes perceptions of what really happens in Atlantic Canada.

In Failures and Fiascos, popular historian Dan Soucoup takes his readers on a fast-paced ride through 25 regional flops, beginning with the Intercolonial Railway’s “long and winding” route between Moncton and Halifax. The Intercolonial, its construction mandated by the British North America Act, was the first major public...