Jerry Bannister Like many Canadian historians, I have followed with interest the ongoing debate over John A. Macdonald, including the recent letter sponsored by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Among the thoughtful responses to the letter, I’d highlight three points. First, as Andrew Nurse explains in Borealia, we should be wary of pro-Macdonald calls for “balance,” which… Continue Reading
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Andrew Nurse The Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI) and the Friends of Canadian History have issued a statement in “In Defence of Sir John A. Macdonald and his Legacy.” The statement–which is actually not just a statement but a petition—is a response to the on-going statue wars in which Macdonald and his legacy have come under an… Continue Reading
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Dale Barbour Jessica Dunkin, Canoe and Canvas: Life at the Encampments of the American Canoe Association, 1880-1910. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2019. Canadians are drawn to the canoe. While it leaves barely a ripple in the historiography of nation building, colonialism, and leisure in other countries, Canadian historians have dug deep into the role… Continue Reading
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Jerry Bannister Like everyone else this evening, I’m struggling to keep up with the news. What’s striking about the latest crisis in the United States is that, even at the very heart of American power, there remains so much confusion about what’s happening on the ground in Washington. Despite the ocean of tweets, there is… Continue Reading
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Brent Wilson [This essay is part of a series of contributions to be published over the coming years by members of the research group “Military Service, Citizenship, and Political Culture: Studies of Militias in Atlantic Canada.” Any questions about the project can be sent to Gregory Kennedy, Research Director of the Acadian Studies Institute at the Université de Moncton… Continue Reading
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Denis Robillard In the spring of 2015, a watercolor dated to 1762 entitled An East View of the Great Cataract of Niagara was sold at a Christie’s auction house in London for the stunning price of $217,000. The painting is one of the earliest works by Thomas Davies, an artillery gunner who did several tours… Continue Reading
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Alanna Loucks Montréal was always a crossroads. Located along the St. Lawrence River, the continental highway, the city developed as a space defined by mobility and fluidity. This connected and dynamic character influenced the diverse demographic landscape of Montréal, and facilitated and encouraged the relationships that inhabitants developed within the city and across the French… Continue Reading
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Angela Tozer Canadian settler colonialism set the stage for the current attacks on Mi’kmaw fishers from Sipekne’katik First Nation. From the end of summer and into the fall of 2020, settler fishers argued that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) needed to circumscribe Mi’kmaw fishers in favour of commercial Nova Scotia fisheries. The… Continue Reading
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Renée Girard In early modern France, foraging practices were associated with a ‘primitive’ style of food procurement, with times of dearth, and with poverty. God had given nature to his children for them to control, and agriculture was understood as a determinant of civilization. Foraging practices, it was believed, brought humans back to the level… Continue Reading
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Jerry Bannister Last spring, in response to Denis McKim’s thoughtful post about the potential impacts of the pandemic on the study of Canadian history, I started a short piece on how the larger social crises were shaping our historical perspectives. As spring turned into summer, and we took advantage of the Atlantic bubble, my notes… Continue Reading
