Strength of Conviction

In this accessible memoir, Mulcair, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, writes that his deep philosophical convictions came from the values learned from his Irish Catholic father and French-Canadian Catholic mother. In a family of 11, he witnessed the necessity of consultation, cooperation, and conciliation, which translated into a lifelong commitment to honor dignity, respect, fair treatment and equal opportunity for everyone. Despite financial challenges, Mulcair acquired two law degrees by age 24 and began working in the Quebec department of justice, where he saw policy ideas translated into laws and acquired the fundamental foundation and impetus for his life's work. The book details his career in Quebec's civil service and provincial politics, where he earned the nickname of "Opposition Pit Bull." There are more personal views of Mulcair in chapters about his wife and soulmate Catherine and their family. In 2006, when federal parties began wooing Mulcair, Jack Layton and the NDP won him over, and he describes the party's remarkable rise in the 2011 election. Although the book is political and out just ahead of the 2015 federal election, it is written in a warm, friendly style that offers readers the opportunity to get to know the man who would be prime minister. (Sept.)