ActiveHistory.ca and the Toronto Public Library are pleased to announce the 2013 History Matters lecture series. This year’s series focuses on the themes of immigration, ethnicity and citizenship. The lectures are part of the TPL’s Thought Exchange programming. “Beyond Orange and Green: Toronto’s Irish, 1870-1914” Migration historian Dr. William Jenkins (York University) looks at the immigration patterns and political allegiances… Read more »
By Dan Oliana Over the last couple of years, I began to take notice of the churches in my home town of Sault Ste. Marie and admired their architectural design and details. My interest spread and I started looking for other churches and as is human nature, compared them, noticing the marked differences in their range of decorative detail and… Read more »
We’re taking a week-long hiatus from posting new articles during the holidays. The team at ActiveHistory.ca wants to thank all our contributors, guest writers, and readers for making this a very successful 2012. We wish all of you a most happy holidays and we look forward to continuing our work in 2013!
By Jeffers Lennox Having spent four years living in Halifax, I’ve experienced my share of Nor’easters. During my MA year, a huge snowstorm forced the university to close on the day scheduled for my first comprehensive exam. The entire class considered this a divine gift. Having now returned to the east coast after two years in Montreal and two years… Read more »
2014 marks the 100th Anniversary of the start of the First World War. It was the world’s first global conflict and it affected every level of society. Over 500 high school students from Victoria High School are remembered in the Great War Roll of Honour; the first woman officially in the Royal Canadian Navy was a ‘nursing sister’ from Bruce… Read more »
By Daniel Ross He was a controversial mayor from the start. An unabashed populist, he rallied support during his campaigns by promising to cut taxes and reduce waste at city hall. As a result, he won an impressive share of the popular vote. He never denied having links to the city’s business and development community—he ran a successful business himself—and… Read more »
By Pam Sugiman This is the third in a series of posts originally presented as part of a roundtable entitled “What’s the Use of History? Citizenship and History in Canada’s Past and Present,” held in Toronto on October 16th 2012. The event was organized by the People’s Citizenship Guide Project. Personal memory and history As a contributor to this series… Read more »
By Benjamin Bryce Over the past century, the ‘mosaic’ and the ‘melting pot’ have emerged in North America as concepts to explain Canada and the United States’ relationship with immigration and cultural pluralism. The term mosaic traces its origins to John Murray Gibbon’s 1938 book, Canadian Mosaic, while the melting pot emerged in public consciousness as the result of Israel… Read more »
By Sean Kheraj This is the second in a series of posts originally presented as part of a roundtable entitled “What’s the Use of History? Citizenship and History in Canada’s Past and Present,” held in Toronto on October 16th 2012. The event was organized by the People’s Citizenship Guide Project. In 2009, many historians criticized the federal government for its… Read more »
By Jay Bailey Early in my career as a French teacher in Manitoba, I took students to the Festival du Voyageur in St. Boniface, Winnipeg. There I was fascinated by the life and times, the strength, stamina and joie-de-vivre of the voyageurs. In addition, I was intrigued by the fact that the fur trade was dependent on the vagaries of… Read more »
