“A man can't ask for much more than the chance to make a difference in his chosen field of work. Politics is my vocation. I'm forever grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this great country of ours. I know I am a better person for it.”
— Preface, p. 10
“I learned early that business is business and politics is politics. The proof is how few important businessmen have made good politicians. They may think that they are very smart about everything because they made millions of dollars by digging a hole in the ground and finding oil, but the talent and luck needed to become rich are not the same talent and luck needed to succeed on Parliament Hill.”
— Chapter Four, The Politics Of Business, p. 91
“To my mind losing is always better than never trying, because you can never tell what may happen.”
— Chapter Nine, Main Street...Bay Street, p. 195
“For all its prestige, its fabulous views, its indoor pool, and its lovely garden, 24 Sussex is more like an old hotel than a modern home.”
— Chapter One, At Laurier's Desk, p. 29
“Three months later, on September 5, 2001, at a pro-am event preceding the Canadian Open at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, I was invited to play a round with Tiger Woods. Nothing in the game of politics had ever been as nerve-racking as that game of golf.”
— Chapter Eight, Tales from the Nineteenth Hole, p. 198
“Aline and I have travelled a very long, very hard road together, from our working class homes in rural Quebec to the palaces of London, Paris, Moscow, and Beijing. Politics was the route, public service the reward.”
— Chapter Fourteen, Vive le Canada, p. 406