The Liberal Party has governed Canada for much of the country's history. Yet over the past two decades, the 'natural governing party' has seen a decrease in traditional support, finding itself in opposition for nearly half of that time. In Divided Loyalties, Brooke Jeffrey draws on her own experience as a party insider and on interviews with more than sixty senior Liberals to follow the trajectory of the party from 1984 to the leadership of Stéphane Dion in 2008.

Riven by internal strife, leadership disputes, and financial woes, the Liberal Party today faces unprecedented challenges that threaten its very future. Conventional wisdom attributes the origins of the disarray to personal conflict between Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin. However, Jeffrey argues that this divisiveness is actually the continuation of a dispute over Canadian federalism and national unity which began decades earlier between John Turner and Pierre Trudeau. This dispute, as evidenced by recent leadership crises, remains unresolved to this day. An insightful examination of the federal Liberal Party, Divided Loyalties sheds much-needed light on an increasingly fissured party.

Brooke Jeffrey, a former senior public servant and policy adviser to Liberal Party leaders, is professor of political science at Concordia University.

Brooke Jeffrey's profile page

‘Brooke Jeffrey brings a unique perspective to what happened to the liberal government party at the end of twentieth century… Divided Loyalties tells a thoroughly readable story while simultaneously offering a new and thought-provoking analysis.’

Canadian Historical Review; vol 93:03:2012

‘Jeffrey has written a solid account of the liberal party of Canada. Smoothly narrated, rich with detail, Divided Loyalties is a worthy addition to the shelf of Canadian politics. Present day academics and future historians will be grateful for the wealth of material that Jeffrey has woven together.’

Ron Graham, <em>Literary Review of Canada, vol19:03: April 2011</em>

‘Divided Loyalties does an effective job of putting a quarter-century of Liberal history into a coherent whole, while adding some illuminating detail along the way.’

<em>The Globe and Mail</em> January 21, 2011