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

Larry Ostola speaks with Donald Murray about his book Howie Morenz: The Greatest Season in the Life of Hockey’s First Legend Howie Morenz was hockey’s first superstar, a dazzling skater and prolific goal scorer who electrified crowds while leading the Montreal Canadiens to three Stanley Cups. The 1930-31 season finds Morenz at the peak of his powers. His Canadiens dominate the NHL and Morenz is le...

Larry Ostola speaks with Reinhold Kramer and Tom Mitchell about their book "P.S. Burn after Reading” After Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko defected in 1945, Canada was shocked by the revelation that its own citizens were engaged in espionage for the Soviet Union. P.S. Burn After Reading explores how the Canadian government used the controversial Kellock-Taschereau Commission – sometimes judiciou...

Larry Ostola speaks with William Jenkins about his book Canada and the Great Irish Famine. In the summer of 1847, over four hundred ships arrived in the Gulf of St Lawrence, carrying Irish men, women, and children who were fleeing the starvation and misery of the Great Potato Famine. Tens of thousands of famine refugees rebuilt their lives in different parts of Canada, in places urban and rural, A...

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Hayward Blake and Raymond Blake about their book Outport Woman: Life on the Ocean's Edge. Every family has a story. Some just haven’t been told – until now. Outport Woman uncovers the remarkable life of Minnie Beatrice Blake, a woman who spent nearly eighty years on Newfoundland’s rugged South Coast. Through Minnie’s experiences, readers are invited into a world of resil...

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Kent Roach about his book Justice for Some: A Comparative Study of Miscarriages of Justice and Wrongful Convictions. This book defines the differing concepts of miscarriages of justice, wrongful convictions and innocence in relation to the presumption of innocence and the rationing of justice. It compares inquisitorial systems, with examples from Europe, South America an...

Donald Wright speaks with Bill Moreau about his book The Writings of David Thompson, Volume 3: From the Northwest to Montreal, Selected Letters and Contributions to Newspapers, published by the Champlain Society in 2025. David Thompson is one of the touchstone figures in the early history of Canada, and is celebrated for his distinguished fur trade career with the Hudson’s Bay Company and North We...

Larry Ostola speaks with Robert D. Banks about his book, Warriors and Warships: Conflict on the Great Lakes and the Legacy of Point Frederick. The untold story of Point Frederick, where early nineteenth-century Canadians built warships that stopped invasion and brought peace. Warriors and Warships brings to life a much neglected part of Canada’s military history, covering the warships and the peop...

In this masterful and engaging biography, acclaimed journalist Steve Paikin brings to life John Turner (1929-2020), one of the most glamorous and successful politicians in Canadian history. Born in England, raised in BC, Turner was a champion sprinter and a Rhodes scholar who captured the national imagination as escort for Princess Margaret on her 1959 Canadian tour. Elected to Parliament in 1962,...

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon interviews Stacey Barker and Krista Cooke on the lives of Canadian women and their involvement in the two world wars of the 20th century. They along with co-author Molly McCullough wrote Material Traces of War: Stories of Canadian Women and Conflict, 1914-1945 published by the University of Ottawa Press in 2021 as part of the Canadian Museum of History’s Me...

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Keith Mercer about his book, Rough Justice: Policing, Crime, and the Origins of the Newfoundland Constabulary, 1729–1871. 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 to the establishment of the Newfoundland Constabulary in 18...

Greg Marchildon speaks with Steven High about his book One Job Town: Work, Belonging, and Betrayal in Northern Ontario. There’s a pervasive sense of betrayal in areas scarred by mine, mill and factory closures. Steven High’s One Job Town delves into the long history of deindustrialization in the paper-making town of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, located on Canada’s resource periphery. Much like hundred...

On the Ground (2023 reissue) by The Champlain Society

Greg Marchildon speaks with Dimitry Anastakis about his book Re-Creation, Fragmentation and Resilience: A Brief History of Canada since 1945 This book is an engaging survey of post-Second World War Canada, exploring ten themes key to the Canadian experience since 1945. An accessible narrative brings together recent scholarship to show how Canadians first re-created the nation following the Second...

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Joan Sangster about her book Demanding Equality: One Hundred Years of Canadian Feminism. 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 feminism, beginning with nineteenth-century tracts and continuing beyond the recent inter...

Greg Marchildon speaks with Peter Russell about his book Canada’s Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests. 150 years after Confederation, Canada is known around the world for its social diversity and its commitment to principles of multiculturalism. But the road to contemporary Canada is a winding one, a story of division and conflict as well as union and accommodation. In Canada’s Odysse...

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Monika Gagnon and Brandon Webb about their book Concordia University at 50: A Collective History, which celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the merging of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University in Montreal in August 1974. Distinct from traditional institutional histories, this volume approaches Concordia University’s history from the ground up by sharing a...

Larry Ostola speaks with Don Abelson about his book History Has Made Us Friends. Separated by the world’s longest land border and engaging in over three billion dollars in trade daily, Canada and the United States share security concerns, cultural interests, and a history spanning more than 250 years. Alan Rock, former Canadian ambassador to the United States, has said that this special relationsh...

James Stewart (J.D.M.) speaks with Charlie Feldman about his book, Unparliamentary: Tales from Canada’s Colourful Parliamentary Past. From fistfights to scandals, Unparliamentary provides a sourced account of unexpected events that have marked the history of Canada’s Parliament. It offers an intriguing look into surprising moments that occurred on Parliament Hill, highlighting the unpredictable na...

Donald Wright speaks with Carman Miller about his book The Black Box: Lady Bessie Borden’s Family, 1863–1956. In a remarkable tale of tragedy, war, family conflict, and imperial diplomacy, The Black Box presents a collective biography of four generations of women in an elite Nova Scotia family during the late-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. These intelligent, educated, artistic women were pra...

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Donald Savoie about his book Louis J. Robichaud. Louis J. Robichaud, the first elected Acadian premier of New Brunswick, transformed an inward-looking province with an ingrained aversion to change into a vibrant modern society now home to strong political, administrative, and educational institutions. Donald Savoie draws a portrait of adroit political leadership and of a...

Larry Ostola speaks with Craig Baird about his new book Canada’s Main Street. Much has been written about the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first major transportation network that bound Canada coast to coast, but almost nothing about The Trans-Canada Highway, even though more people use it regularly, it’s at least as vital to the nation’s business, and its story is every bit as fascinating as the...

Larry Ostola speaks with Brendan Kelly about his book Habs Nation. The history of the Montreal Canadiens is about more than just hockey. It’s also the story of how hockey’s most winning team has always skated hand-in-hand with its home province of Quebec. Brendan Kelly takes a fresh look at the ups and downs of the Habs since the heyday of the “Flying Frenchmen” in the 50s, 60s and 70s and shows h...

Larry Ostola speaks with Sylvain Charlebois about his book, Poutine Nation. Poutine Nation traces the evolution of poutine from its origins in rural Quebec to its status as a global phenomenon. Though it was once dismissed as lowbrow junk food, poutine has now earned a place in fine dining, fast food chains, and global pop culture. Through a mix of history, cultural analysis, and personal anecdote...

James Stewart (J.D.M.) speaks with Ed Conroy about his book, ImagiNation: The Golden Age of Toronto Kids' TV. Featuring over one hundred children’s programs broadcast between 1950 and 2000, ImagiNation is a memory-filled trip for anyone who spent their weekdays after school or Saturday mornings staring at the idiot box. The story of each Toronto-produced series is covered — from inception through...

James Stewart (J.D.M.) speaks with Peter MacLeod and Richard Johnson about their book, Democracy’s Second Act: Why Politics Needs the Public. Democracy’s Second Act is a smart, story-driven blueprint for how democracies can move beyond gridlock and cynicism by giving ordinary citizens real power between elections. Drawing on vivid case studies from Ireland, Canada, France, and beyond, MacLeod and...