Ted Barris

I’m going to tell you about a person who helped save Canada. And I was fortunate to witness his work.

His mission began long before this moment, but in November 1976, when the Parti Québécois won the provincial election and René Lévesque became premier of Quebec, a lot of Canadians were suddenly afraid. Lévesque’s platform called for the separation of Quebec from Canada. At that time, I worked as producer/host at CFQC AM Radio in Saskatoon. Dennis Fisher was the station’s general manager. Right after the Parti Québécois victory, he called us together.

“The nation has never been so threatened,” he said. “It’s up to us to do something.”

I remember looking around the room at my radio colleagues. Here we were situated in the middle of the Prairies, a long way from having any influence over the potentially divisive events unfolding in Quebec. Our two morning show co-hosts – Denny Carr and Wally Stambuck – were seasoned broadcasters. They certainly knew a lot of people, but even they admitted feeling helpless about events that might change the very existence of Canada.

“What if we broadcast a show of unity on Canada Day?” Fisher suggested to us. “What if we invited people from all across Canada to tell Quebecers how we care about them on our program? And what if we stage our Canada Day show in a place that epitomizes our message?”

Carr, Stambuck and I (their novice producer) wondered what Fisher had in mind. Was he planning to move the show to the national capital, or maybe to Quebec? No, he told us, the show would bring proud Canadians – by phone, by letter and in-person – to a town of 2,000 residents about a two-hour drive west of Saskatoon, near the Alberta border. The “Wal and Den Show” on the upcoming Canada Day – July 1, 1977 – would be broadcast from Unity, Saskatchewan!

Dennis Fisher was born in 1934 on a farm outside of Hague, Saskatchewan. He was the youngest of a family of 12. He first worked professionally as an illustrator. But his passion was country music and played bass in various bands around the Prairies; in 1958 he even played bass for Johnny Cash at a venue in Saskatoon. Showbiz acquainted him with local radio, and in 1959, he started as promotion manager at CFQC Radio, then station manager until he retired in 1991.

Even more than his station manager’s position at QC, Fisher loved the stories from his part of Canada. He took great pains to preserve Aboriginal culture on the Prairies. He had a vast network of First Nations and veteran friends. And he knew more about Louis Riel and the North West Resistance than most historians. In fact, I met Dennis when he knew I was compiling a book about steamboat commerce on western rivers in the 19th century. One day, he invited me to his office where he revealed a red, leather-bound journal. It was the actual diary of Louis Riel.

“It contains Riel’s notes about rebellion,” Fisher told me. “He even planned to capture a Canadian steamboat on the Saskatchewan River.”

For a novice historian, this was gold. What’s more, each spring Fisher would take me out to Batoche – where Riel had made his last stand against the Canadian militia in 1885. There, before the first sprouts of green grass poked up through Prairie earth, Fisher shared with me his discoveries of Gatling-gun shells, cannon fragments, jacket buttons and even debris from the home of Riel’s military strategist, Gabriel Dumont. In 1985, Dennis spearheaded a campaign to erect a statue of the historic Métis leader.

On the day our Canada Day broadcast went to air – from 9 to noon, July 1, 1977, in Unity, Saskatchewan – our show included the personal messages of three Canadian prime ministers, most provincial premiers, industry and professional leaders from coast to coast, and hundreds of Prairie listeners – all expressing their visions of a united Canada. Alan Blakeney, then premier of Saskatchewan, even flew in for the occasion. He arrived in time to offer his personal wish to keep Quebec in Canada and to cut a huge July 1 birthday cake, shared by the residents of Unity.

“It’s been a great 110th birthday for Canada,” our two hosts said as the show wrapped up this uniquely Canadian broadcast.

My patriotic and passionate friend Dennis Fisher died peacefully last Thursday, Oct. 1, at age 86. His wife Jean was at his side. Jean’s life partner accomplished much in his lifetime. But I’ll always remember that he cared enough for Canada, its values and its legacy to step up when its existence was threatened.

His message is as cogent in 2020 as it was in 1977. When some accentuate our differences as means to pull us apart, Dennis Fisher saw diversity as a thread to draw us closer, and make us stronger.