The Ramble

We begin to realize we are in trouble in the first chapter, “From Colony to G7 Partner: Canada in a Global World.” One might assume it would explain our changing role in the world. Instead, the meat of the discussion concerns the Progressive Conservative leader Brian Mulroney’s efforts, led by Charles McMillan, the author of this book, to develop policy before the 1984 federal election. The chapter is not uninteresting, but it does point to the fact that everything that follows will be more about Mulroney and McMillan than about anything else.

McMillan was a senior adviser to Mulroney until fall 1987, and he led the PMO’s policy unit, which had to coordinate with lead ministers on the various promises made during the 1984 campaign. His account of how his team operated with deputy ministers, political staffers, the Privy Council Office, academics, and consultants is clear and succinct. (And Mulroney, to judge by his memoirs, regarded McMillan as a key...