Editor's Introduction
In this chapter, Graham introduces the diaries of Jim Coutts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, serving from 1975 to 1981.
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“Alone and very much in need of help”
In this chapter, Graham traces the political career of James Allan Coutts, a Liberal from Nanton, Alberta, through the early 1970s. He examines why Alberta proved hostile to Liberals, how Pierre …
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“Return of the Rainmaker”
In this chapter, Graham examines Jim Coutts’s 1973 efforts to bridge the Trudeau government and Canada’s business community amid a fracturing public-private partnership (as told by …
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“The idea pipeline is dry”
In this chapter, Graham examines the political and economic turbulence surrounding Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government in the first half of 1974 (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime …
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“Political boss of the tour”
In this chapter, Graham examines Jim Coutts’s role managing Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s 1974 federal election campaign, spanning May through July of that year (as told by the diary of …
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“Who was going to be what?”
In this chapter, Graham examines the reorganization of Trudeau’s government following the 1974 federal election (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot …
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“One of the tougher things”
In this chapter, Graham examines September to December 1974, the turbulent months following the Liberal Party’s federal election victory (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister …
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“A great shock”
In this chapter, Graham examines the political turmoil of August and September 1975 within Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s government (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister …
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“Things were getting worse”
In this chapter, Graham examines the economic and political turmoil of September and October 1975, centred on John Turner’s resignation as Finance Minister under Prime Minister Pierre …
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“More comprehensive controls”
In this chapter, Graham examines the Trudeau government’s response to inflation in early to mid-October 1975 (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudea’s …
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“The party situation is deteriorating”
In this chapter, Graham examines how the Liberal Party of Canada faced strategic uncertainty in October 1975, as captured in the diaries of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s secretary, Jim …
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“A strategy to deal with it”
In this chapter, Graham examines how the Trudeau government implemented the Anti-Inflation Program, Canada’s strictest price controls since the Second World War (as told by the diary of Jim …
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“The current system is not working”
In this chapter, Graham examines the political fallout from Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s December 28, 1975, CTV interview, in which he challenged the free-market system’s handling …
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“A grim report”
In this chapter, Graham examines the political struggles of Pierre Trudeau’s government in 1976, as it faced the 1978 election (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre …
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“Too many uncertainties”
In this chapter, Graham examines the turbulent period of 1976 to 1977 in Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government, centred on the Quebec sovereignty crisis triggered by René …
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“The 8-week program”
In this chapter, Graham examines the Liberal government’s internal struggle in spring 1978 (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudea’s prinicpal secretary).
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“To believe in something”
In this chapter, Graham examines late May 1978, when Jim Coutts, a senior minister in the Trudeau government, navigated a cabinet torn between constitutional reform and economic priorities (as …
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“A caged animal”
In this chapter, Graham examines a pivotal summer in 1978, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s government grappled with constitutional reform, the contentious Petro-Canada bid for Husky …
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“Good news and bad”
In this chapter, Graham examines the Liberal Party’s strategy for calling a federal election under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre …
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“Quite shaken”
In this chapter, Graham examines the final week of July 1978, when senior advisers to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau weighed the decision to call an early federal election (as told by the …
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“Big things now”
In this chapter, Graham examines a defining summer in Ottawa, when the Trudeau government, reeling from poor polls, chose between calling an election or staging a forceful television broadcast …
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“You should be in politics”
In this chapter, Graham examines the final weeks of August 1978, as the Trudeau government struggled to craft an anti-inflation and social security package ahead of the 1979 election (as told by …
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“I think it’s terminal”
In this chapter, Graham examines the autumn of 1978, when Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government faced an electoral crisis ahead of fifteen by-elections (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, …
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“No sense of direction”
In this chapter, Graham examines the turbulent final months of 1978, when the Liberal Party of Canada endured devastating by-election losses and a deepening leadership crisis under Prime Minister …
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“Of two minds”
In this chapter, Graham examines the December 1978 to January 1979 deliberations surrounding Prime Minister Trudeau’s decision to face the 1979 federal election (as told by the diary of Jim …
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“We should go now”
In this chapter, Graham examines the tense spring of 1979 as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau prepared to dissolve Parliament and call a federal election (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime …
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“Our best people do not show great confidence”
In this chapter, Graham examines the 1979 Canadian federal election campaign (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudea’s prinicpal secretary).
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“The jig was up”
In this chapter, Graham examines Pierre Trudeau’s final months as Liberal Leader in Opposition, from mid-1979 through his November 21, 1979 resignation (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, …
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“I am running”
In this chapter, Graham examines the dramatic final weeks of 1979, when the Liberal Party toppled Joe Clark’s government and faced a leadership crisis (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, …
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“On the attack”
In this chapter, Graham examines the early days of Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s Liberal campaign for the 1980 federal election, from December 19 to 27, 1979 (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, …
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“Our fears turned to joy”
In this chapter, Graham examines the closing days of the 1980 Liberal campaign, February 6 to 9, as Pierre Trudeau and Jim Coutts navigated rallies across Kamloops, Prince George, Toronto, and …
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“The same old gang”
In this chapter, Graham examines the cabinet selection process that followed Pierre Trudeau’s fourth term in the February 1980 federal election, capturing the fraught debate over Western …
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“There will be no honeymoon”
In this chapter, Graham examines the first three weeks of the 1980 Liberal government, from March 4 to March 27 (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudea’s …
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“Running a government”
In this chapter, Graham examines the first weeks of the 1980 Trudeau government, as Finance Minister Jim Coutts navigated an economy strained by inflation and mortgage rates (as told by the diary …
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“The Quebec question”
In this chapter,Graham examines the weeks leading up to Quebec’s 1980 sovereignty referendum (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudea’s prinicpal secretary).
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“The constitutional question
In this chapter, Graham examines May 21 to June 11, 1980, documenting the weeks after Quebec’s sovereignty referendum (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot …
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“Absolutely thunderstruck”
In this chapter, Graham examines the constitutional and energy negotiations of mid-June 1980, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s government balanced federal authority against provincial …
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“A strong hand”
In this chapter, Graham examines July 1980, the intense political manoeuvring in Trudeau’s Cabinet as it confronted the patriation of the Constitution and the National Energy Program (as …
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“The resolution”
In this chapter, Graham examines the September 1980 period when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau moved to patriate the Canadian constitution and draft a Charter of Rights following the collapse of …
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“The vehicle we do not have”
In this chapter, Graham examines the economic and political pressures of late September 1980 (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudea’s prinicpal secretary).
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“Down to the short strokes”
In this chapter, Graham examines the closing days of Canada’s 1980 constitutional reform, from September 30 to October 9, as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau navigated the entrenchment of the …
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“On a power trip”
In this chapter, Graham examines the autumn of 1980, when the Trudeau government finalized the National Energy Program and navigated the constitutional debate in the Senate (as told by the diary …
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“A dangerous time for a government”
In this chapter, Graham examines late November to early December 1980, capturing the Trudeau government’s deepening political anxiety in Ottawa (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime …
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“A mistake”
In this chapter, Graham examines December 2 to 4, 1980, offering a revealing window into the internal struggle within Pierre Trudeau’s cabinet over whether to advance the constitutional …
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“A remarkable end”
In this chapter, Graham examines the final weeks of December 1980, following political ambitions among Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin Jr., a proposed purchase of Massey Ferguson, and the …
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“The Gang of Five”
In this chapter, Graham examines the political and economic turmoil of January 1981 under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime …
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“A very important day”
In this chapter, Graham examines how Jim Coutts made a pivotal career decision to leave his advisory role to the Prime Minister and run in a Toronto by-election (as told by the diary of Jim …
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“Puzzled and determined"
In this chapter, Graham examines late January and February 1981, capturing a period when federal strategy faced pressure on multiple fronts (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister …
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“What is the situation?”
In this chapter, Graham examines late February and early March 1981, when the Trudeau government wrestled with patriating the Canadian constitution in London (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, …
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“The Americans were coming to town”
In this chatper, Graham examines United States President Ronald Reagan’s March 1981 visit to Canada (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudea’s …
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“A restless time”
In this chapter, Graham examines the Liberal Party’s internal dynamics under Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot …
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“All over the map”
In this chapter, Graham examines the daily life of Cabinet minister John Coutts during mid to late March 1981 (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudea’s …
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“A very intense meeting”
In this chapter, Graham examines March and April 1981, documenting the constitutional crisis as Pierre Trudeau attempted to pass unilateral reforms through Parliament, despite opposition from …
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“A dramatic night”
In this chapter, Graham examines April 13 to 23, 1981, capturing the turbulence of Canadian federal politics in the wake of the Parti Québécois’s decisive victory under René …
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“The hostility in the room”
In this chapter, Graham examines the charged atmosphere of late April and early May 1981, when the federal government clashed with Alberta over the National Energy Program (as told by the diary …
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“A frightened old man”
In this chapter, Graham examines the Trudeau government’s bitter struggle to place Maurice Strong on the Conference of Canadian Business board (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime …
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“A good day for sitting”
In this chapter, Graham examines the daily political life of a Liberal member of parliament in Ottawa during the spring of 1981 (as told by the diary of Jim Coutts, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot …
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“On the subject of me”
In this chapter, Graham examines June 14 to July 3, 1981, tracing Jim Coutts’ shift from senior advisor to Pierre Trudeau to Liberal Party candidate in the Spadina by-election (as told by …
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Postscript
This chapter is postscript, penned by Jim Coutts, offers an intimate account of the days after Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s death in Montreal on September 28, 2000, spanning October 3 to 5.
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Index
This "chapter" is an index.
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