Dennis Gruending

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Follow to get new release updates and improved recommendations
OK
About Dennis Gruending
Dennis Gruending is a Canadian writer and blogger and a former Member of Parliament. He has worked as a newspaper and television reporter and as a radio host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has written or edited eight books, including biographies of Allan Blakeney, the former social democratic premier of Saskatchewan, and of Justice Emmett Hall, whose Royal Commission recommended Medicare for Canada. His book Great Canadian Speeches was a best seller and described by one reviewer as a history of Canada as seen from the podium. His eighth book, Speeches That Changed Canada, was released by Fitzhenry & Whiteside in 2018.
Dennis writes two blogs: greatcanadianspeeches.ca, and pulpitandpolitics.ca. He loves to hike in the woods near Ottawa, Canada where he lives. He and his wife Martha have walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, the Wiklow Mountains in Ireland and the Cotswold Way in Great Britain.
Dennis writes two blogs: greatcanadianspeeches.ca, and pulpitandpolitics.ca. He loves to hike in the woods near Ottawa, Canada where he lives. He and his wife Martha have walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain, the Wiklow Mountains in Ireland and the Cotswold Way in Great Britain.
Customers Also Bought Items By
Are you an author?
Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.
Author Updates
-
Blog postNelson Mandela In February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years in a South African prison. He was later to become president of that nation. He is also one of only five people ever to have been granted honourary Canadian citizenship. He first addressed the Canadian Parliament in 1990, not long after his release from prison. In September 1998, he was nearing the end of his political career when he addressed Parliament for a second time. He thanked Canadians for their efforts to end1 week ago Read more
-
Blog postPM Stephen Harper On June 11, 2008 Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an apology in the House of Commons for the Canadian government’s removing Indigenous children from their parents and homes and placing them in residential schools. The goal was to forcibly assimilate succeeding generations of Indigenous children. Also in 2008, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) began its work, documenting the history and lasting impact on students and their families, and telling that <3 weeks ago Read more
-
Blog postIt is difficult to be in leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some politicians, including B.C.’s John Horgan, have high approval ratings. Others, notably, Alberta premier Jason Kenney and Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe have failed dismally in their tasks, and Kenney especially is paying for it in sinking popularity. Which brings us to Ontario’s premier Doug Ford. … Continue reading Doug Ford’s COVID-19 bluster1 month ago Read more
-
Blog postMuriel Kitagawa During the second World War, the government considered Canadians of Japanese origin to be security risks. Beginning in 1942, the government forcibly moved 22,000 men, women and children away from coastal areas in British Columbia and interned them in camps in the interior. The Japanese had few public defenders as wartime opinion formed against them. Muriel Kitagawa’s family was stripped of its possessions and relocated. She became a writer and activist. In this speech at a pu1 month ago Read more
-
Blog postRev. Moses Coady Moses Coady was a Roman Catholic priest who was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and lived there for most of his life. Coady taught at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish and chaired its department of extension. He was fervent believer in using adult education to encourage people to improve their lot by organizing unions and co-operatives. He gave this speech in Cape Breton on April 9, 1950.
“Democracy means equality of opportunity; it means that each indi2 months ago Read more -
Blog postAt this time of year people who I know often share their reading list for the 12 months just past. I always find that interesting and have decided to mention some of the books that I read in 2020. I would appreciate your comments on any of them, or on your favourites. Here goes: January … Continue reading My reading list from 20202 months ago Read more
-
Blog postWilliam Aberhart The Great Depression dealt a cruel blow to Canada’s prairie provinces, which suffered a prolonged drought at the same time. Desperation led to agitation and a search for alternatives to the traditional parties. In Alberta, William Aberhart embraced the theories of social credit and used his radio show to promote the doctrine. In this speech in December 1934, Aberhart promised that each citizen would receive a monthly allowance from the government. His detractors called it fu2 months ago Read more
-
Blog postChristmas in our culture has both a religious and a secular appeal, and many of us have stories about Christmases past. Here is one. Gap year When I was 20 years old, a friend Gary and I took a year out from university and travelled in Europe. A lot of students did that in the … Continue reading Christmas in Rome, 19682 months ago Read more
-
Blog postRoy Romanow, Medicare Commissioner Former Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow was appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien in 2001 to lead a one-man royal commission into health care in Canada. Romanow had been a youthful confidant of Saskatchewan premier Tommy Douglas, whose government introduced Canada’s first public, tax-financed, medical care insurance plan. After eighteen months of consultation and research, Romanow concluded that Medicare should remain a public program, but that it must3 months ago Read more
-
Blog postShirley Carr, CLC Shirley Carr was the first woman to lead the Canadian Labour Congress. She could be blunt,as indicated in this speech made to a Canadian Club audience in 1986, shortly after her becoming CLC president. Employers and governments, she said, must recognize that unions are legitimate representatives of the interests of working people, and should be accepted as actors on the national scene.
“You can fight us or learn to accept us as a legitimate actor”
The Speech3 months ago Read more -
Blog postThe federal government plans to resettle 30,000 refugees in Canada in 2020-21, which is laudable but modest at a time when the United Nations estimates that 79.5 million people were forced to flee their homes in 2019. Canada is a wealthy country with the capacity to help out but there are numerous obstacles involved. One … Continue reading Scrap the Safe Third Country Agreement3 months ago Read more
-
Blog postJacques Parizeau, Quebec referendum Early in the 1995 referendum campaign on Quebec sovereignty, it appeared that the federalist NO side would win easily. But on October 30, the NO side won by a razor thin majority with 50.6 per cent of the vote. Premier Jacque Parizeau created controversy in his concession speech by blaming the loss on “money and the ethnic vote.” The Premier had also pre-recorded a speech in the event of victory and it was circulated under embargo to some outlets. That spe4 months ago Read more
-
Blog postThe Parti Quebecois called a sovereignty referendum for October 1995, and polls indicated the PQ might win. Belatedly, Prime Minister Jean Chretien joined the fray, and on October 25 he made this televised address to Canadians. He played on love of country, and the serious economic consequences for Quebec if it chose to separate.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien “What is at stake is our country”
The Speech For the first time in my mandate as prime minister, I have asked to speak d4 months ago Read more -
Blog postNDP leader Tommy Douglas, circa 1970 Most Canadians supported Pierre Trudeau when he implemented the War Measures Act in October 1970, and an overwhelming majority of MPs supported him as well. But NDP leader Tommy Douglas and most of his caucus were opposed. Douglas said he was appalled by the kidnappings, but he believed that the government had enough powers to deal with the crisis without invoking the draconian War Measures Act. Douglas was vilified at the time, as can be seen from the fr4 months ago Read more
-
Blog postMichael Lynk is the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, but the Israeli government denies him access. In fact, one of Lynk’s predecessors was detained upon arrival in Israel and was put on a departing plane on the following day. Lynk, who is also a law professor … Continue reading UN rapporteur for Palestine denied access5 months ago Read more
There's a problem loading this menu right now.
Get free delivery with Amazon Prime
Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books.
Books By Dennis Gruending
$7.99
In Pulpit and Politics, author and former MP Dennis Gruending examines the competition between religious progressives and conservatives for power and influence in Canadian public life. After the 2011 election resulting in a majority Conservative government—partly because of the support of religious conservatives—the rivalry between the two camps has become even more pronounced. Gruending looks closely at the political ideology and tactics employed by religious conservatives in the public arena, and he also documents the efforts by religious progressives struggling to have their voices heard on issues of equality, environment, human rights, justice, and peace. Ever with an eye on history and world events, Gruending follows this contest between progressives and conservatives from Parliament Hill to the church basements, synagogues, temples, and universities of the nation and abroad.
Pulpit and Politics is a provocative expose of the competition between religious progressives and conservatives for power and influence in Canadian politics.
“…a must-read for anyone who wishes to grasp the spiritual tensions at play behind Stephen Harper's majority government." - Marci McDonald, journalist and author of The Armageddon Factor
“…well informed observations on the role of faith in politics, and the politics of faith, an insightful guide to the current political landscape." – Rev. Bill Blaikie, United Church minister and former MP.
Dennis Gruending is an Ottawa-based author and a former MP: www.dennisgruending.ca
Pulpit and Politics is a provocative expose of the competition between religious progressives and conservatives for power and influence in Canadian politics.
“…a must-read for anyone who wishes to grasp the spiritual tensions at play behind Stephen Harper's majority government." - Marci McDonald, journalist and author of The Armageddon Factor
“…well informed observations on the role of faith in politics, and the politics of faith, an insightful guide to the current political landscape." – Rev. Bill Blaikie, United Church minister and former MP.
Dennis Gruending is an Ottawa-based author and a former MP: www.dennisgruending.ca
Other Formats:
Paperback
More Information
Anything else? Provide feedback about this page