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
Latest in: John A. Macdonald
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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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Max Hamon The toppling of the statue of John A. Macdonald during a protest against policing in downtown Montreal last month was part of a global revolution in public opinion.[1] As Peter Gossage remarked, “this is no longer Macdonald’s Canada.” Some dismissed this as the continued discords between the two solitudes: “here they go again.”… Continue Reading
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David Wilson This article originated as a paper given at the Canadian Association for Irish Studies annual conference at Quebec in June 2018. Think of this as an essay on the three sins of recycling history, reading history backwards, and misusing evidence. It concerns Jim McDermott, a Fenian firebrand from New York who enters Canadian… Continue Reading
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This essay is the second in a three-part series on Confederation that provides critical historical context for Canada’s sesquicentennial anniversary. The first essay was posted on 26 June. The third essay will be posted on 30 June. E.A. Heaman July 1 marks 150 years since Canadian Confederation. So what? Confederation is political history, a field… Continue Reading
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Elsbeth Heaman In recent years I’ve sometimes had the feeling that I’m stalking Michael Bliss. Time and again I’ve wandered into a particular historical thicket, and found that he had been there ahead of me. It wasn’t purposeful, but my work continually took me there. Shirley Tillotson invited me in on a collaborative project on… Continue Reading
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Denis McKim Donald Wright’s Donald Creighton: A Life in History is a splendid biography of one of English-speaking Canada’s greatest historians. The objective of this essay, which draws on Wright’s book, is twofold. First, it seeks to illuminate major aspects of Creighton’s writings on northern North America before the consolidation of Confederation, including the importance… Continue Reading
Borealia 