Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to Keith Mercer about his book, Rough Justice: Policing, Crime, and the Origins of the Newfoundland Constabulary, 1729–1871, published by Flanker Press in 2021. In Rough Justice, Keith Mercer examines the history of policing and crime in early Newfoundland. It focuses on the period between the appointment of the first constables on the island in 1729 t...

In this podcast episode, Larry Ostola talks to Gary J. Smith about his book, Ice War Diplomat: Hockey Meets Cold War Politics, published by Douglas and McIntyre in 2022. In Ice War Diplomat, Canadian diplomat Gary J. Smith gives his behind-the-scenes insight into the 1972 Summit Series at the height of tension during the Cold War. Caught between capitalism and communism, Canada and the Soviet Unio...

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon talks to Edward Dunsworth about his book, Harvesting Labour: Tobacco and the Global Making of Canada's Agricultural Workforce, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2022. In Harvesting Labour Edward Dunsworth examines the history of farm work in one of Canada’s underrecognized but most important crop sectors—Ontario tobacco. Dunsworth takes aim at...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Patrice Dutil examines the reach and impact of the Ku Klux Klan in Canada from its beginnings t...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. My name is Greg Marchildon. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes of 2022. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: In this episode, Greg Marchildon interviews Allyson Stevens...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Greg Marchildon talks with Greg Kealey (professor of history emeritus, University of New Brunsw...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Greg Marchildon talks with Dennis Mollinaro about his book An Exceptional Law: Section 98 and t...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Greg Marchildon talks with Ian McKay (Wilson Institute for Canadian History) about his book (wi...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Patrice Dutil discusses the uses of the War Measures Act in twentieth century Canada with Xavie...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Greg Marchildon interviews Matthew Betts, the editor and principal author of Place-Making in th...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon interviews Daniel Meister, the author of The Racial Mo...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon interviews Benjamin Hoy, the author of A Line of Blood...

Welcome to Witness to Yesterday. This summer, we will be reissuing our top 10 episodes. We hope you enjoy revisiting these with us. The Witness to Yesterday team is working hard, and we're excited to bring you the next new season in September, 2023. Thank you for listening. Original Episode Description: Patrice Dutil discusses the life and military career of James Wolfe, the commander of British t...

In this podcast episode, Larry Ostola talks to Robert D. Banks about his book, Warriors and Warships: Conflict on the Great Lakes and the Legacy of Point Frederick, published by Dundurn Press in 2023. In his book, Banks provides a detailed history of the shipbuilding at Point Frederick on Lake Ontario and its lasting legacy. Warriors and Warships illustrates this history by including colour archiv...

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon talks to Arthur J. Ray about his book, From the Frozen Sea to Buffalo Country: The Life and Times of Henry Kelsey of the Hudson’s Bay Company, 1667–1724, published by the Champlain Society in 2022. Henry Kelsey is remembered for being the first European to travel from Hudson Bay to the territories of the Plains Assiniboine and Cree as a young Hudson’s Bay C...

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to Kent Roach about his book, Canadian Justice, Indigenous Injustice: The Gerald Stanley and Colten Boushie Case, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2019. In August 2016, Colten Boushie, a twenty-two-year-old Cree man from Red Pheasant First Nation, was fatally shot on a Saskatchewan farm by white farmer Gerald Stanley. In a trial that bit...

In this podcast episode, Simon Nantais talks to Asa McKercher and Michael D. Stevenson about their co-edited book North of America: Canadians and the American Century, 1945-60, which will be published by UBC Press in October 2023. North of America: Canadians and the American Century, 1945-60, is an edited volume that looks at postwar Canada and Canadian-American relations of the 1940s and 1950s. F...

In this podcast episode, Larry Ostola talks to Norman Poser about his book From the Battlefield to the Stage: The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne, published by McGill-Queens University Press in 2022. In From the Battlefield to the Stage, Norman Poser provides a rounded biography, covering not only the Saratoga campaign of 1777, but also elements of Burgoyne’s eventful life that have never been...

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to Julian Walker about his book Wires Crossed: Memoir of a Citizen and Reporter in the Irving Press published by Friesen Press in 2021. Wires Crossed is first and foremost a love letter to the free press. In Julian Walker’s personal memoir as a citizen and reporter, he calls for a healthier New Brunswick free press—one that is more diverse, competitive...

In this podcast episode, Simon Nantais talks to Mary-Ann Shantz about her book What Nudism Exposes: An Unconventional History of Postwar Canada published by The University of British Columbia Press in 2022. As nudism took root after World War II, its Canadian adherents advanced the idea that going nude and looking at other’s bodies satisfied natural curiosity, loosened social taboos, and encourage...

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to Thomas Telfer and Virginia Torrie about their co-authored book Debt and Federalism: Landmark Cases in Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law, 1894–1937 published as part of the Landmark Cases and Canadian Law Series by the University of British Columbia Press in 2021. Despite having been enshrined in the constitution since confederation, Canadian ba...

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon talks to Malcolm Lavoie about his book Trade and Commerce: Canada's Economic Constitution published by McGill-Queens University Press in 2023. In recent decades, the economic framework of Canada’s Constitution has been a subject largely neglected by judges, scholars, and commentators. With Trade and Commerce, Malcolm Lavoie fills this gap by bringing to lig...

In this podcast episode, Larry Ostola talks to Ted Barris about his book The Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet of Victory published by HarperCollins in 2022. In Battle of the Atlantic, Ted Barris provides a well-researched account of Canada’s longest continuous military engagement during the Second World War. The years 2019 to 2025 mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic - the war’s...

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to Joan Sangster about her book Demanding Equality: One Hundred Years of Canadian Feminism published by the University of British Columbia Press in 2021. In Demanding Equality, Joan Sangster weaves together various moments of women’s activism over a 100 year period to explore what feminism is in Canada. Sangster delves into the riches of Canadian femin...

In this podcast episode, Larry Ostola talks to Steve Paikin about his book John Turner: An Intimate Biography of Canada's 17th Prime Minister published by Sutherland House in 2022. In this biography, acclaimed journalist Steve Paikin illustrates the life and times of Canada’s 17th prime minister, John Turner (1929-2020). One of Canada’s most glamorous and successful politicians, John Turner was bo...