Tag Archives: Canada

John Turner & Political Leadership – What’s Old is News

By Sean Graham  John Turner & Political Leadership | RSS.comIn our premier episode, I’m joined by Steve Paikin of TVO’s The Agenda to talk about Prime Minister John Turner, whose lengthy career spanned the decriminalization of homosexuality and abortion, stagflation, and free trade. We discuss Turner’s career, legacy, and what we can learn about modern politics from studying Canada’s 17th… Read more »

History and the Atrocity of Silence

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Owen Griffiths “Dear brothers and sisters! I have been waiting to come here and be with you!” With these words, Pope Francis began his long-awaited apology for the Catholic Church’s role in more than a century of abuse and marginalization of Indigenous Canadians, what the Truth and Reconciliation Report called “cultural genocide.” Reactions to the Pope’s July 2022 visit and… Read more »

150 Acts 5 Years Later: What Does Truth and Reconciliation Look Like in 2022?

If you are a Survivor of Indian Residential Schools and need support, please call the National Indian Residential School Crisis line at 1-866-925-4419 or text 686868. You can also call the Canadian Mental Health Association toll free at 1-833-456-4566 (in Quebec 1-866-277-3553) or visit crisisservicescanada.ca. Other self-care acts include taking a walk, calling or texting a friend, nourishing your body… Read more »

History Slam 220: Canada’s Abortion History

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/History-Slam-220.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham Last Friday, the United States Supreme Court made its much anticipated decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization case. In the majority opinion, the court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which ruled that the privacy clause in the U.S. Constitution protected a woman’s right to an abortion…. Read more »

History Slam 216: Heroin & the History of Canada’s Drugs Laws & Use

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/History-Slam-216.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham In recent years, there has been no shortage of news stories on opioids and overdose deaths in Canada. What tends to be missing from these reports, however, is the historical context that shapes public understanding of these issues. The legal, social, and cultural processes that have shaped both access and perception… Read more »

History Slam 213: Colonial Violence, National Myths, & the Lynching of Louie Sam

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/History-Slam-212.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham On February 24, 1884, Louie Sam, a Stó:lo teenager, was accused by an angry mob of starting a fire that killed James Bell, a shopkeeper in the settler community Nooksack, in what is now Whatcom County, Washington, which borders British Columbia. Without any evidence, the assembled mob determined that Sam was… Read more »

Stories from coast to coast to coast: An interview with Adam Bunch

A man in a suit jacket, jeans, and hat facing away from the camera. He is looking out over a grassy landscape.

Sara Wilmshurst Author, documentarian, and educator Adam Bunch met with one of our editors to talk about his work bringing Canadian history to the masses. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. SW: One of the things that is notable about your Canadian history documentary series, Canadiana, is how much of the country you visit to make it… Read more »

The threat of the truckers protest

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Lesley Wood The trucker’s convoys are a serious problem, not because of their demands, nor even their disruptive tactics, but because of their appeal to the many folks, frustrated about their jobs, their lives and the inaction of governments. Their ostensible goal is to end vaccine mandates.  Which were happening anyway, despite the risk, because all levels of government are… Read more »

History Slam 203: Flying to Extremes

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/History-Slam-203.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham If you read any edition of the Year in Review (100 Years Later) series, you’ll notice that I, to the great frustration of my co-author Aaron Boyes, insist on including advancements in aviation each year. There is something that I find completely riveting about flying – that we can get into… Read more »

History Slam 201: A Canadian Canine War Hero

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/History-Slam-201.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham In 2011, War Horse hit screens around the world. Telling the story of a British teenager’s horse being purchased by the military for service in the First World War, the film grossed over $175 million worldwide. Based on a 1982 novel, the story has also been successfully adapted to the stage and is… Read more »