Rock Star

We tend to define Joseph Roberts “Joey” Smallwood by two roles: as the first premier of Newfoundland and as the self-described last father of Confederation. And it’s true the “little fellow from Gambo,” who measured five feet five inches, was a political firebrand of the highest order. Few Canadian politicians have matched Smallwood’s fiery rhetoric, perpetual enthusiasm, and passionate support for his beloved Rock. As his fellow Newfoundlander Rex Murphy once wrote in the National Post, what Smallwood “lacked in altitude he more than made up for in attitude.”

But the eternal march of history has a tendency to push past some of the more revealing details. Smallwood was also a newspaperman and jack-of-all-trades. He was a hardline socialist (although he later shed aspects of this philosophy) and a left-leaning populist. During his twenty-three-year reign as premier, his folksy persona masked but did not fully hide an autocratic leadership style. While he’s...