27 Hours

You might not think a lot can happen in 27 hours, but Ronald Reagan proved us wrong when he came to Canada on March 10 and 11, 1981. In the course of those 27 hours he attended a concert at the National Arts Centre and a gala dinner, spoke in the House of Commons, planted a tree, met with Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau and Conservative Leader Joe Clark, and dealt with protestors. All of this was done with the grace that is expected from a former Hollywood star. The concert, as well as the entire visit, is ripe with controversy. But, then again, that is to be expected of a man who wants to have friendly relations with a country whose environment he did not seem to care about. And, in spite of the fact that he made huge cuts on federal arts funding, he seemed to really like the concert. Join us to uncover what happened during - and how everybody felt about - Ronald Reagan’s 27 hour visit to Canada’s capital.  

This exhibit was created by Katie Gratton and Rachel Lloyd as part of the course Advanced Research in Music (MUS 4928) at the University of Ottawa. It was created in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Arts Centre.

Authors

  • Katie Gratton
  • Rachel Lloyd

Bibliography

Atherton, Tony. 2006. "A Frugal, Fabulous Dinner for 800." The Ottawa Citizen, September 9, Arts.

Auf der Maur, Nick. 1981. "Reagan brings back the 1960s." The Montreal Gazette, March 11.

Bartlett, Robert V. 1988. "Adapt or Get Out: The Garrison Diversion Project and Controversy." Environmental Review 12(3): 57-74.

Bothwell, Robert. 2000. “Knowing Canada’s Place: Realism More than Idealism Governed Trudeau’s Relations with U.S. Presidents from Nixon to Reagan.” National Post, October 2, News.

Butler, Don, and Bob Marleau. 1981. "Security cloak wrapped tight around Reagan." The Ottawa Citizen, March 7: 53

Cobb, Chris. 1981. "Parade of stars set for Reagan's visit." The Ottawa Citizen, March 3.

Dion, Germain. 1981. "La GRC est prête à tout." Le Droit, March 10.

Ebner, Jeff. 2003. “Chretien’s View of Relationship with U.S. Is out to Lunch." The Ottawa Citizen, July 6, News.

Feld, Werner, and Cheron Brylski. 1983. “A North American Accord: Feasible or Futile?” Western Political Quarterly 36 (2): 286–311.

Fotheringham, Allan. 1981. "Ottawa…to Vancouver this is the week that was." The Montreal Gazette, March 14.

Fredericton Gleaner Staff. 1981. "Kooks in Full Cry." Fredericton Gleaner, March 12.

The Globe and Mail Staff. 1981a. "A Day of Grace Notes.” The Globe and Mail, March 12.

———. 1981b. "Friends, Neighbors, Arm-Wrestlers.” The Globe and Mail, March 10.

———. 1981c. “Hither, Page, and Carry These.” The Globe and Mail, March 16. 

———. 1981d.  “Other 9 -- No Title.” The Globe and Mail, March 10, Entertainment.

———. 1981e. “Reagan Visit Seen as pro Forma Meeting.” The Globe and Mail, March 5.

Gray, John. 1981a. “Reagan’s Power Politics Worry Ottawa Officials.” The Globe and Mail, March 9.

———. 1981b. “PM Fears New Fish War If U.S. Doesn’t Act Soon.” The Globe and Mail, March 13.

Gray, Earle. 2008. “Palin's Pipe.” Oilweek 59 (11): 51–52.

Guly, Christopher. 2017. “A Floral Affair.” Financial Post, May 2017.

Heller, Liane. 1981. "Ottawa Entertains U.S. President with Evening of Fairy-tale Charm." The Toronto Star, March 11.

Jennings, Sarah. 2009. Art and Politics the History of the National Arts Centre. DesLibris, Toronto.

Keough, Sara Beth. 2007. “Constructing a Canadian National Identity: Conceptual Explorations and Examples in Newfoundland Music.” Material Culture 39 (2): 43-52.

King, John, and James Rusk. 1981. “Reagan Visit Ends, Disputes Remain.” The Globe and Mail, March 12.

King, Pauline. 1979. “Ottawa Whirl: Man Who Wasn’t There.” The Globe and Mail, November 15.

Kitchener-Waterloo Record Staff. 1981. "Conflicts Still Cloud Reagan Visit." Kitchener-Waterloo Record, March 11.

Library of Congress. 2017. "U.S. Presidential Inaugurations: Resource Guides." Library of Congress Web Guides. Last updated February 28. Accessed March 24, 2019. https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/inaugurations/index.html.

Malarek, Victor. 1981. “Acid Chants Drown Ottawa’s Welcome.” The Globe and Mail, March 11.

Martin, Lawrence. 1981a. “PM’s All Class Performance Steals the Show from Reagan: In Washington.” The Globe and Mail, March 14.

———. 1981b. “U.S. Unlikely to Ease Stance on Pollution.” The Globe and Mail, March 7.

McCabe, Aileen. 1981. “State Dinner a stiff affair.” The Ottawa Citizen, March 11.

McCall, Christina, and Stephen Clarkson. 1994. “Who Does This Asshole Think He Is?” Saturday Night, October.

Milne, David. 1981. “Canadians Frown at Reagan’s Smiles and Promises.” The Christian Science Monitor, March 23.

Muirhead, Bruce. 2004. “From Special Relationship to Third Option: Canada, the U.S., and the Nixon Shock.” American Review of Canadian Studies 34 (3): 439–462.

National Arts Centre. 2017. "On the Road with Canada 150: Annual Report 2016-2017." National Arts Centre, August 31, 2017. https://naccna-pdf.s3.amazonaws.com/corporate/NAC_AR_2017_E.pdf.

National Arts Centre. 2018. "Funding the Risk: The First Year. National Creation Fund Annual Report 2017-2018." National Arts Centre, August 31, 2018. https://naccna-pdf.s3.amazonaws.com/corporate/nationalcreationfund/ncf-annual-report-2017-18-en.pdf.

The Ottawa Citizen Staff. 2017. “Strange Tales from the Hill.” The Ottawa Citizen, September 26, News.

Ottawa Notebook Staff. 1981. "Other Tories take up fight on patriation as Epp tours." Ottawa Notebook, March 14.

Penticton Herald Staff. 1981. "Deplorable Incidents." Penticton Herald, March 12.

Portman, Jamie. 1981a. "Edmonton’s stars shine through during Reagan’s gala.” Vancouver Sun, March 11.

———. 1981b. “Ottawa’s big gala for Reagan has lots of stars little glitter.” Owen Sound Sun Times, March 11.

Radcliffe, Donnie. 1981. “Odyssey to Ottawa.” The Washington Post, March 11. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1981/03/11/odyssey-to-ottawa/4c9b7cc6-a296-4676-ab6f-a851aef215e4/?utm_term=.e2b149d359a8

Reagan, Ronald, and Pierre Elliot Trudeau. 1981. "Remarks of the President and Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau of Canada Prior to Their Meetings in Ottawa." Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. https://www.reaganlibrary.gov.

Robb, Peter. 2013. “NAC Saw Ticket Sales Jump Almost Nine per Cent in 2011-12; Patrons Spent More than $10 Million at Centre That ‘Fosters Artistic Freedom.’” The Ottawa Citizen, February 12, City.

Rusk, James. 1981. “PM Plays down Chance of Rift with Reagan.” The Globe and Mail, March 10.

Rusk, James, and John King. 1981. “‘Right Signals’ from Reagan, but Nothing Resolved in Talks.” The Globe and Mail, March 11.

Southam News Staff. 1981. "Fanfare scored in four days." Southam News, March 13.

Statistics Canada. “Geographical Region of Canada”. www.150.statcan.gc.ca (accessed March 28, 2019)

Stevens, Geoffrey. 1981. “Style over Substance.” The Globe and Mail, March 12.

Thompson, Brett. 2009. “Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s Peace Initiative: 25 Years On.” International Journal 64 (4): 1117–37.

Unknown. “Calculate the Value of $1.00 in 1981. How Much Is It Worth Today?” Accessed March 25, 2019. https://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=1&year=1981.

U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Canada. "Presidential Visits to Canada." Accessed March 24, 2019. https://ca.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/policy-
history/presidential-visits-to-canada/.

Walker, Gordon. 2015. “The Boundary Waters Treaty 1909 - a Peace Treaty?” Canada-United States Law Journal 39: 170.

Weeks, John. 1986. “An Interpretation of the Central American Crisis.” Latin American Research Review 21 (3): 31–53.

Wonnacott, Ronald J. 1991. “Mexico and the Canada-US Auto Pact.” World Economy 14 (1): 103.

Wright, Gerald. 1981. “Canada and the Reagan Administration.” International Journal 36 (1): 228–240.

Wyszomirski, Margaret Jane. 1988. “Congress, Presidents, and the Arts: Collaboration and Struggle.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 499 (1): 124–135.

Wyszomirski, Margaret. 2004. “From Public Support for the Arts to Cultural Policy.” Review of Policy Research 21 (4): 469–484.