A great may people were involved in the writing of this book, but none more important than Lawrence Martin. It was Martin, the first mainstream journalist to take a critical look at the Harper government in his book Harperland, who encouraged me to take on this project. His support and advice were invaluable.
James Baxter, the publisher of iPolitics.ca, gave me generous leeway to complete extensive research and to write Party of One on time that would otherwise have been devoted to my job as his national columnist. On both a personal and professional level, his support has been unconditional and constant.
Diane Turbide, my editor and publishing director at Penguin Canada, and Tara Tovell, who copy edited the book, provided insightful and meticulous advice on a project made more difficult by stringent deadlines, driven by events beyond everyone’s control. Thank you to production editor Catherine Dorton for her precise attention to language. When I signed the contract with Penguin, neither robocalls nor the Senate scandal had appeared on the national radar, and both stories have unfolded at the snail’s pace of the legal calendar. I thank my editors at Penguin for their support and patience in keeping the book as current as possible.
Two former colleagues from my radio years, Ms. Ronnie Roberts and Dean Staff, smoothed the logistics of arranging countless interviews with people spread out across the country. Without their cheerful assistance, the job would have been much harder.
Suzanne Norman, who teaches a publishing course at Simon Fraser University, was my tutor in how best to reach the widest audience in social media. Her knowledge, perspicacity, and friendship lightened the load.
Special thanks to Jan Reatherford and Jane Fordham, who contributed their energy and ideas to the project. Tragically, Jane passed away before she could see the book come to fruition. She is sorely missed by her family, friends, and by me.
This book also benefitted from the superb reporting of various news agencies and individual reporters covering the Harper government. Heather Schoffield’s reporting team at Canadian Press produced a string of original and important stories on the conduct of the federal government.
Robert Fife of CTV News and Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor of Postmedia News broke major stories that changed the political landscape in Ottawa. They were generous in sharing their observations with me. Elizabeth Thompson, my colleague at iPolitics.ca, contributed many original stories on the modus operandi of the government, often employing her gift for computer-assisted journalism.
I also carefully followed the work of CBC reporters Laura Payton and Hannah Thibedeau in their excellent daily coverage of happenings on the Hill. Veteran Ottawa reporter Tim Naumetz of the Hill Times contributed more than his share of important investigative pieces. I also learned a lot from inspired reporting across Canada, some of the best of it written in The Tyee by author and journalist Andrew Nikiforuk.
It goes without saying that I am grateful to the hundreds of people who talked to me, formally and informally, for this book. Sheila Fraser, Robert Marleau, and Peter Milliken shared their learned insights about the state of our parliamentary democracy. Lifelong diplomat Paul Heinbecker offered badly needly context for the current revolution in Canada’s foreign policy. Major-General Lewis MacKenzie, Alan Williams, and Winslow Wheeler debunked some of the more obvious falsehoods about the disastrous F-35 program. Preston Manning, the dean of Canadian conservatism, provided invaluable insights into Stephen Harper’s career from the earliest days. Individuals like Linda Keen and Helena Guergis, who have felt the full, power of the Harper government’s displeasure, shared the details of their stories, despite the obvious pain in so doing.
Deepening my gratitude to so many people is the fact that there was a fear factor involved in participating in this project that I have never encountered before. Some very prominent Canadians decided not to go on the record with their full stories because they feared official reprisals might be the price of frankness—a favourite charity losing its charitable status, the loss of a pension, or even charges under national security legislation. I respect their decision but regret the loss of their personal accounts, which I hope will one day be told. I should add, Stephen Harper respectfully declined an interview for this book.
Finally, thanks to my wife, Lynda Harris. Without her prodigious work ethic, keen editorial judgment, and dogged determination to see this project through to completion, there would be no book.