Category Archives: Local History

The Value of Thinking Big: Experimenting with Pedestrian Space in Toronto, 1970s and 2014

By Daniel Ross In cities across Canada, citizens are emerging from their winter hibernation to a spring and summer season packed with street festivals, concerts, and other special events. In Toronto alone there are hundreds each year, from Salsa on St. Clair to Pride to the literary Word on the Street, and on summer weekends it’s hard to walk more… Read more »

Memory and the Built Landscape: Edmonton’s Architectural Heritage Website

By Tim O’Grady When you think of important events in your life, chances are you associate them with physical places. Whether it is your childhood home, a former school, or a family cottage or favourite vacation spot, the connection between memory and place is intangible, though very real. People are connected to the buildings in their city. They have lived… Read more »

“Remembering the past is a useful step toward moving forward together”: Observing Civic Commemorations in Toronto

By Kaitlin Wainwright Today marks 180 years since the former Town of York was incorporated as the City of Toronto. It was given a new name, distinguished from New York and a dozen or so other places in the province. The city’s earliest neighbourhoods were the five wards named for the patron saints of the British Isles: St. George, St…. Read more »

Toronto’s Rob Ford Phenomenon and Diversity within Canada’s Evolving Suburbs

By Jay Young An earlier version of this post originally appeared on the History News Network in late January.  Toronto Mayor Rob Ford sure is in the news a lot these days. In late December, the US liberal-leaning Talking Points Memo website announced it had awarded him their annual scandal-of-the-year trophy, marking the first time this infamous recognition went to a… Read more »

From the Classroom to the Front Lines of Heritage Preservation

By Christine McLaughlin I’ve spent many years in a university classrooms studying and teaching history. In true academic fashion, I’ve published an article that critically analyzes public history production and memory in a postwar industrial city. My recent appointment to Heritage Oshawa by City Council has offered me the opportunity to translate this theoretical engagement into concrete action. This has… Read more »

Spring 2014 History Matters lecture series line-up announced

ActiveHistory.ca and the Toronto Public Library are pleased to announce the Spring 2014 History Matters lecture series. This season’s series focuses on the theme of “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Past and Present.” The lectures are part of the TPL’s Thought Exchange programming. “What Sir John A. Macdonald Thought About ‘Indians’ and Other Courtroom Tales” William Wicken Wicken discusses the January 2013… Read more »

Rural Foodscapes and the Taste of Modernity

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[This post is part of Foodscapes of Plenty and Want – a theme week at ActiveHistoy.ca that features podcasts exploring a number of topics related to the interconnected histories of food, health, and the environment in Canada. For more information and a schedule for the week, see the introductory post here.] If Canadians were asked to describe the cuisine or foodways of… Read more »

Going Local: ‘Stronger than Steel’ and Progressive Locality

By Lachlan MacKinnon On Labour Day Weekend, Sydney, Nova Scotia celebrated the opening of the Open Hearth Park on the remediated site of the former steel plant with a series of musical performances, a gourmet street fair, and a procession of former steelworkers through the park. The celebration, titled “Stronger than Steel,” revealed some of the ways that the experiences of… Read more »

History Feature in Newest Issue of Atlantic Books Today

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By Angela Mombourquette, Editor, Atlantic Books Today Three times a year, the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association publishes a 48-page magazine dedicated to exploring the latest in Atlantic Canadian books. Today, we’re pleased to tell you that we’ve done something extra special with the newest issue of Atlantic Books Today. Thanks to support from the Canada Book Fund, we’ve added a 16-page… Read more »