{"product_id":"9780143178743","title":"Extraordinary Canadians: Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert","description":"Canada has no better interpreter than prolific writer and thinker John Ralston Saul. Here he argues that Canada did not begin in 1867; indeed, its foundation was laid by two visionary men, Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin. The two leaders of Lower and Upper Canada, respectively, worked together after the 1841 Union to lead a reformist movement for responsible government run by elected citizens instead of a colonial governor.  \u003cp\u003e But it was during the \"Great Ministry\" of 1848—51 that the two politicians implemented laws that created a more equitable country. They revamped judicial institutions, created a public education system, made bilingualism official, designed a network of public roads, began a public postal system, and reformed municipal governance. Faced with opposition, and even violence, the two men— polar opposites in temperament—united behind a set of principles and programs that formed modern Canada. Writing with verve and deep conviction, Saul restores these two extraordinary Canadians to rightful prominence.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Canada","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47080678785264,"sku":"9780143178743","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780143178743_p0.jpg?v=1763779602","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780143178743","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}