John A.: Birth of a Country is a Canadian historical drama television film directed by Jerry Ciccoritti and written by Bruce M. Smith. It was produced by Indian Grove Productions in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and aired on CBC Television on September 19, 2011.
Dramatizing the events that led up to Canadian Confederation in 1867, it is based on Richard Gwyn's 2008 non-fiction book John A.: The Man Who Made Us. It stars Shawn Doyle as Sir John A. Macdonald, alongside Peter Outerbridge, David La Haye, Aidan Devine, Michelle Nolden, Peter MacNeill, Cedric Smith, Rob Stewart, Ted Atherton, and Patrick McKenna.
The film won two Canadian Screen Award acting categories at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards, for Lead Actor in Television Film or Miniseries (Doyle) and Supporting Actor in a Drama Program or Series (Outerbridge). It also won the top direction (Jerry Ciccoritti) and writing (Bruce M. Smith) awards.
Contents
Cast
Shawn Doyle as John A. Macdonald
Peter Outerbridge as George Brown
David La Haye as George-Étienne Cartier
Aidan Devine as John Sandfield Macdonald
Jean-Michel Le Gal as Antoine-Aimé Dorion
Michelle Nolden as Anne Nelson Brown
Peter MacNeill as Allan MacNab
Cedric Smith as Edmund Head
Rob Stewart as William McDougall
Ted Atherton as Charles Monck
Patrick McKenna as Alexander Galt