Category Archives: Canadian history

Whose Past? A Public Forum on Harper’s Review of Canadian History

Legacy Gallery, June 3rd, 8 pm.  Broad and Yates St., Victoria, B.C. “Whose Past?   A Public Forum on Harper’s Review of Canadian History”  will be a spirited discussion about the Harper Conservatives’ recent moves to review Canadian history through a Parliamentary committee.   The forum will include perspectives from a secondary school educator, an indigenous scholar, a range of generations as… Read more »

Podcast: After the Cuts: The Future of History in Canada

On April 19, the Canadian Historical Association organized a panel as part of the Annual Meeting of the National Council on Public History in Ottawa entitled “After the Cuts: The Future of History in Canada.” The panel was designed to analyze the changes to historical work in Canada stemming from recent federal budget cuts, revised mandates, and institutional reorganizations. Chaired… Read more »

Not All Resource Towns Are Created Alike

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By Kayla Jonas Galvin  Company Towns: Corporate Order and Community Neil White University of Toronto Press, 2012 Cloth $55.00, ebook $54.95 I chose to review Neil White’s Company Towns: Corporate Order and Community because of my recent involvement in an interesting project within a company town, Kapuskasing, Ontario. For those unfamiliar with the term, a company town is one that… Read more »

Historicizing the Lobster Fishery Tie-up

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By Suzanne Morton “Cape Breton Lobster Fishers on Strike” ran the headline.  On 8 May the lobster fishermen of Gabarus, Cape Breton struck demanding a price of  $3.25 per hundred lobsters instead of the $2.35 offered by the buyers.  The processors said there were too many lobsters being caught and they were losing money. The Gabarus men were joined by… Read more »

Commemorating the Unprecedented; Canada, the Arctic Council, and the History of the Present

By Andrew Stuhl Today marks an important turning point in Canadian history. Or does it? This morning Canada assumes the chairmanship of the Arctic Council. Formed in 1996, the Council promotes cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic states and with the region’s indigenous communities. It is a high-level governmental forum that, while limited in its decision-making capacity, has shaped… Read more »

Backward as Forward: Reflections on Canada’s “Modern” Political Scene

By Christine McLaughlin While it is too soon for the historian to comment on the long-term effects of recent changes on the Canadian political landscape, the larger rightward shift is perhaps best evidenced by the federal New Democratic Party’s decision to “modernize” its constitution at its recent convention by “toning down” references to socialism. Pointing to “pragmatic” economic policies that… Read more »

“The Portuguese in Toronto” Photo Exhibit: An Organizer’s Reflection

From May 13-19, Toronto’s City Hall will feature “The Portuguese in Toronto,” a free photo exhibit. What follows are some reflections on how historians can engage with the public by one of the exhibit’s organizers. Raphael Costa On May 13, 2013, the Portuguese Canadian History Project’s (PCHP) photographic exhibit celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of mass Portuguese migration to Canada will… Read more »

Eat Your Primary Sources! Or, Teaching the Taste of History

By Ian Mosby History has a distinct taste. Actually, it also has a distinct smell, feel, sound, and look to it but – as a historian of food and nutrition – I always find myself coming back to the taste of history. No, I’m not talking about the musty, acrid taste of dust and mildew as you open up a… Read more »

The Public Historian in the History Wars: A Report from #NCPH2013

By Pete Anderson I had the good fortune to facilitate a lively discussion on the role of public historians in the history wars at a ‘dine around’ session during the recent annual conference of the National Council on Public History, held in Ottawa from April 17-20. We had representatives from both Canada and the United States of various ages and… Read more »

The New History Wars?: Avoiding the Fights of the Past

The new history wars are not battles over the meaning of Canadian history. They are battles over public financing of historical research and historical preservation.