Curious Canadian History

While both the modern American and Canadian game of football emerged from similar roots, they took very different paths to arrive at the game we recognize today. Americans were much quicker to modify and adapt their game into a uniquely American form of sport, while Canadians were slower to abandon the English roots of rugby and hesitant to adopt rules that could very well make their game seem too...

Because New France was a colony almost perpetually at war the enforcement of law and order in the 17th and 18th centuries was considered vital to the very survival of the struggling French colony challenged by both a growing British empire and powerful Indigenous enemies. Yet, the imposition of law and order reflected the complex social layers that existed within the colony and saw different forms...

In 1979 a conference was held in Toronto which became a pivotal event for both Toronto and Canada’s lesbian community. While so much attention at the time was focused around the emerging visibility of Canada’s gay community, it was heavily gendered, focsuing almost exclusively on gay men, much less visilbity existed for Candaa’s lesbian community. The 1979 conference was thus a key moment in helpi...

In the late 18th century tension in Ireland boiled over into a full scale uprising. This uprising was put down yet some Irish republicans fled to Newfoundland where they found a social, economic and political climate ripe for agitation. While the island was spared some of the more violent conflicts between Catholics and Protestants like that seen in Ireland, the tension between the two faiths...

A deep dive into the iconic Canadian rock band The Guess Who Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A big name change is coming! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The historic and dynamic city of Gravenhurst is explored in this episode written by fellow podcaster Craig Baird from "Canadian History Ehx" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The headlines screamed "Canadian detective foils Fenian bomb plot against the Prince!" When the third in line for the British throne arrived in Halifax in 1883 the entire country was excited for the young prince's tour of the equally young country. Yet, a dramatic turn of events would see Halifax detective Nic Power foil an assassination attempt on the prince's life. Or at least, that's what he an...

Lord Stanley's cup, aka "The Holy Grail," is one of the most sought after trophies in professional sports and arguably the hardest one to win. But the trophy doesn't just represent the ultimate achievement in a professional sport, in many ways it is a symbol and representation of a Canadian identity constantly in flux. In this episode David talks with author Jordan Goldstein about the history of t...

It was in search of furs, and the riches from the fur trade, which drove so many Europeans deeper and deeper into the North American continent. Much of the modern day prairies, western Ontario, interior of British Columbia, northern Quebec were first mapped by European explorers who while seeking fame as explorers were also seeking new untapped regions of fur bearing animals. But the fur trade was...

Nine years before Rosa Parks galvanised the American civil rights movement by refusing to sit at the back of a bus, Viola Desmond sparked the mobilisation of a Nova Scotian community when she refused to be moved from a 'whites only' section in the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Her actions inspired generations of Black Canadians in not only Nova Scotia but across the entire country...

In June 1942 the Japanese submarine I 26 attacked a rather unusual target on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Not since the last Fenian Raid in 1871 had Canadian territory been directly attacked by a foreign enemy. While certainly not a pivotal moment in Canada's war it was nonetheless an surprising and harrowing moment for those involved and for a brief period brought the war home to a tiny pi...

In 1649, ravaged by war, the Wendat made the bold decision to move thousands of people to the island of Gahoendoe. This massive migration of the majority of Wendat was meant to keep the nation alive, yet it nearly destroyed them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently Netflix released a film called “Forgotten Battle,” one of the most expensive Dutch films ever made. The film explores the lives of several characters in and around the difficult battle for the Scheldt Estuary in 1944. What the film barely touches upon, however, is that this battle was fought primarily by Canadians of First Canadian Army and the closing scenes of the movie are a climactic...

Thousands of Canadian merchant mariners lost their lives during the Second World War as part of the valuable supply chain bringing important war material from North America to Great Britain. Despite the high casualty rates, dangerous working conditions, and vital importance of the job, it took years before Canadian merchant mariners were properly recognised for their role in the war and their stat...

Within only a couple of years of the “birth” of American rap music Toronto became the centre for the early Canadian rap and hip hop scene. This episode explores some of the early trends in Canadian rap music as artists struggled to gain mainstream acceptance in a music industry hesitant to accept this new and powerful musical genre. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Africville was a community that for decades stood on the physical, social and racial margins of the city of Halifax. It represented Nova Scotia's legacy of Black migration into Canada but also spoke to the very real challenges people faced settling in a land that saw itself as a white province within a white nation. The story of Africville is one of struggle and resistance but also one of communit...

For years, many Canadian immigrants arrived via ocean liner after a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean. While the first stop for some was Quebec or Montreal or St. John's. for nearly one million people that first stop was the shoreline of Halifax, specifically the immigration facility known as Pier 21. Pier 21 stands as a testament to a dynamic period of immigration to this country and has its...

To kick off Season 7 we are going to explore the history of Canada's mission in Afghanistan from a broad perspective highlighting the four phases of Canada's war and looking at some of the challenges to Canadian efforts in the tumultuous country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode David sits down for a fascinating and important conversation with Dr. Crystal Fraser, an historian at the University of Alberta and an expert in the history of residential schools in Canada. Dr. Fraser's 150 Acts of Reconciliation can be read at 150acts.weebly.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our Season 6 finale we look at one of the biggest blockbuster films of the early 20th century, which presented a twisted racial reimagining of a traumatic period in American history. Even though the film was controversial, almost everywhere it was shown it drew large audiences, and this was true even in Canada, where the film ran in most major cities to widespread public acclaim. Hosted on Acas...

In 1964 a top secret diplomatic mission was carried out by Canadian J. Blair Seaborn on behalf of the United States to find some sort of settlement with the North Vietnamese government in Hanoi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the height of the Cold War, Canadian anxiety over Soviet espionage reached reached such a fervour that a top secret Security Panel was formed to remove security threats from within the civil service. A part of this security campaign was the targeting of gay men working in government, who were thought to be particularly vulnerable security threats. Funding was thus directed towards a series of t...

The Georgian Bay Canal was a proposed canal project connecting Georgian Bay to Ottawa to Montreal and then to the Atlantic Ocean and the world. While there were many merits for its construction it was never built. This episode explores the interesting story of the dream of this canal during an unbridled period of infrastructure in a young Canada. Today's episode was written by author Ray Love. Hos...

In 1966 the people of Windsor, Ontario and then the country were shocked when a young man recently released from the Kingston Penitentiary went on what became Canada's first shooting spree. A horrific crime that was a key part of an unusual and head-scratching story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.