Great Canadian Political Cartoons, 1946 to 1982
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by Charles Hou and Cynthia Hou
Moody’s Lookout Press, Vancouver, 2011
240 pp., illus., $39.95 paperback
Reading Great Canadian Political Cartoons 1946 to 1982, I don’t know whether to laugh or weep. Remove the dates from the book’s title, and these cartoons could be ripped from today’s headlines.
Among my personal favourites: the 1969 cartoon depicting student radicals in Montreal tromping on a taxpayer who’s left holding the bill from their days of rioting; a 1960 cartoon that shows an old jalopy carrying Canadian magazines that’s being squeezed between two massive trucks overflowing with American titles; and a 1978 cartoon depicting a group of hockey players representing “Tories” and “Grits,” “English” and “French,” and “East” and “West.” They’re engaging in “Canada’s National Sport,” which, the cartoonist asserts, is punching each other’s lights out.
This is Charles and Cynthia Hou’s third collection of editorial cartoons, and it’s a welcome addition to any Canadian’s bookshelf.
Editor's note: At the time of posting this review a link to Chapters-Indigo was not available. Clicking on the link will take you to Amazon.ca instead.
— Mark Collin Reid (Read bio)
Mark Collin Reid is the Editor-in-Chief of Canada's History.