A well-known Newfoundlander has opened up a unique window on the recent, and sometimes turbulent, political history of the province.
Jane Furneaux Crosbie’s diaries from the years spanning 1963 to 1980 have been published by Flanker Press.
Jane Furneaux, born in St. John’s in 1931, was the daughter of the only veterinarian in Newfoundland at the time.
Growing up she was known as the “horse doctor’s daughter” and often accompanied her father Jack on calls.
Flanker Press
She married John Crosbie, former federal cabinet minister, in 1952 and her diaries range from the mundane to remarkable observations on some of the most pivotal political events of the last half century.
One of the most explosive was when Crosbie and Clyde Wells revolted against long-time Liberal leader and then Premier Joey Smallwood. They both resigned from cabinet, and crossed the floor to sit as independent Liberals.
Jane Crosbie says the truth of that pivotal political event is not widely known
Clyde Wells and John Crosbie
“John put in his resignation,” says Jane Crosbie, “Joey must have told them, he and…Clyde Wells, as chair to cross the floor.” She says “they didn’t know, they were so innocent, they didn’t actually cross the floor; Joey had them put across.”
Wells went on to become Premier in 1989, while Crosbie joined the Progressive Conservatives, becoming one of the province’s best known and respected federal cabinet ministers under former Prime Ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney.
The Horse Doctor’s Daughter, The Early Diaries of Jane Crosbie, is available in stores now.
John Crosbie and Jane Crosbie
