Reluctant Nation

Reluctant Nation is a Canadian historical docudrama television miniseries which aired on CBC Television in 1966.

Reluctant Nation
Genre	docudrama
Written by	Eric Koch Melwyn Breen
Starring	Tom Harvey Arch McDonnell
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
Production
Executive producer	Eric Koch
Producer	Melwyn Breen
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	CBC Television
Release	15 September (1966-09-15) – 20 October 1966 (1966-10-20)

Premise

This series was produced as a Canadian Centennial project, featuring dramatic portrayals of historical Canadian leaders who are interviewed in the format of contemporary television journalism. This public affairs style highlighted concerns which faced the early Canadian Confederation such as dealings with the United States and Europe, dealings among Canadian provinces and the role of francophones in the new nation.^[1]

John Saywell of York University was a series consultant.

Cast

• Arch McDonnell as a reporter
• Tom Harvey as a reporter
• Antony Parr as Andrew George Blair
• Claude Bede as William Stevens Fielding
• Jack Creley as Wilfrid Laurier
• Robert Christie as John A. Macdonald
• Robert Goodier as Honoré Mercier
• Paul Kligman as Oliver Mowat
• E. M. Margolese as John Norquay
• Norman Welsh as Goldwin Smith
• William Osler as William Van Horne

Scheduling

This half-hour series was broadcast on Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. (Eastern time) from 15 September to 20 October 1966.