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Explore every episode of the podcast Curious Canadian History

Dive into the complete episode list for Curious Canadian History. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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TitlePub. DateDuration
S10E1 - The Oak Ridge Experiment03 Sep 202400:22:01

Welcome back to Season 10!! In the first episode of the newest season we take you to Penetanguishene, Ontario along the shores of Georgian Bay where once existed the Oak Ridge ‘Criminal Insane Building.’ Oak Ridge has been deemed the ‘Alcatraz of Canada’ and ‘the most terrible institution of all.’ For decades it housed some of Canada’s most violent criminals and in particular violent criminals with serious psychiatric illnesses. Yet in the 1960s an intensive and radical therapy program arrived, promoting the widespread of drugs and treatment methods that frankly bordered on torture. The Social Therapy Unit at Oak Ridge is still remembered by some as a successful venture in utopian experimentation though for others it embodies a state-authorized subjection of the individual without any checks or balances. A place where patients became test subjects in a radical and controversial program of rehabilitation.


This week’s book recommendation is Watching the Devil Dance by William Toffan, published in 2020 by Biblioasis.


Don’t forget! You can pre-purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:


Amazon

Indigo

Dundurn

Goodreads

Indiebookstores.ca

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Special Episode 2 - Punching Above Our Weight27 Aug 202400:07:19

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT – NEW BOOK**

 

Our very own David Borys has a new book coming out in September titled “Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867” published by Dundurn Press. The book is an easy to read, single volume history of Canada at war since 1867. This photograph-rich volume covers nearly 150 years of the Canadian military, tracing its evolution from a small, underfunded, poorly trained militia to the modern, effective military it is today

 

The book will be released on September 24th in Canada and October 22nd in the United States. 

 

As part of the pre-sale campaign CCH is dropping a series of short readings by David from sections of the book. 


Today’s excerpt takes us back to 1870/71 where the Canadian government has sent out a military expedition to secure the annexation of the Red River Colony. This expedition, known as the Wolseley Expedition, is not sure if they are going to encounter violence when they finally arrive in Red River after what was an arduous and challenging journey to what would become Canada’s newest province.   


You can pre-purchase a copy right now at the below links:


Amazon

Indigo

Dundurn

Goodreads

Indiebookstores.ca

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S9E14 Hockey: The Game as We Know it Today 19 Mar 202400:45:15

Hockey has had both an enduring but also a complicated relationship with ideas about what it means to be ‘Canadian’. While not every Canadian skates, or plays the game, or even cares about the game, the sport itself occupies a serous place in the Canadian cultural psyche. While the game has often been seen as something to unify Canadians, or to express ‘Canadianness’, it has also been exposed for very serious flaws in its culture, its infrastructure, and its dubious place as a game of character and inspiration for Canadian youth. The game of hockey, as we understand it now, has undergone dramatic challenges and changes since its first official appearance on ice in Montreal in the 1870s.  This episode seeks to understand some of the key developments in the game that we now recognize today. From the rules to the rink size, to professionalization, commercialization, internationalization, to the broadening of the hockey cultural mosaic. From its amateur roots to a game that is international in its appeal, incorporating men and women from different socioeconomic classes and ethnic groups, and one that continues to evolve alongside modern value systems while evoking serious discussion on its relevance to modern Canadians. 



Book recommendation: Canada’s Game: Hockey and Identity by Andrew C. Holman published McGill-Queen’s Press in 2009. 

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1867 & All That17 Jan 202000:08:14
Friends of Cool Canadian History have just released their own Canadian history podcast focusing on the political and diplomatic history of this country. Check out the preview for this awesome podcast here!

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S5E9 Cougar Annie – The Wild Woman of Vancouver Island05 Jan 202000:33:02
Ada Annie Jordan was a young mother with a successful business, a growing family and a popular place within early 20th century Vancouver's emerging elite society. Yet, she threw almost all of it away when she moved her family to a remote bay on Vancouver Island and instead of living a life of relative luxury she became a legend.

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S5E8 Little Stalingrad – The Battle for Ortona, December 194309 Dec 201900:26:26
In December of 1943 Canadian soldiers became bogged down in a vicious street battle for the small town of Ortona on Italy's east coast. A battle so ferocious and in such close quarters that it earned the nickname ‘Little Stalingrad.'

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S5E7 Tricky Bob and the 1917 Federal Election25 Nov 201900:20:05
In 1917 Canadian soldiers were engaged heavily on the western front yet volunteer numbers had fallen below that of the monthly casualty rates. Prime Minister Robert Borden thus carried out one of the most controversial political campaigns in Canadian history in order to win the 1917 federal election and ensure that conscription was passed.

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S5E6 Optical Aleutians – The Liberation of Kiska Island10 Nov 201900:19:12
Two almost totally uninhabited American islands off the coast of Alaska are occupied by the Japanese in 1942. In response, an unprecedented joint American-Canadian operation is launched to liberate those islands. This ‘Zombie' liberation will focus specifically on the island of Kiska.

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S5E5 A Murder in the Desert – The Canadian Airborne Regiment and the Somalia Scandal28 Oct 201900:25:51
A deeply troubled regiment with deeply troubled soldiers leads to a deeply disturbing murder of a teenage boy in Somalia.

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S5E4 Amherst’s VIP Prisoner: Trotsky in the Maritimes14 Oct 201900:22:54
While Leon Trotsky is largely known as a central figure in the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union, a brief chapter in his life took him to Amherst, Nova Scotia as part of a British attempt to prevent the radical from returning to war-time Russia. Thus, Trotsky found himself a VIP guest of the British Empire, the Canadian state and the province of Nova Scotia.

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S5E3 The Buffalo Alliance – Poundmaker and Crowfoot30 Sep 201900:22:20
Two of the 19th century's most prominent leaders of the plains First Nations evolve from enemies into friends while faced with grave threats to their people and their way of life, both are thus forced to make hard choices in the tumultuous violent period of the late 19th century.

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S5E2 The Pirate Queen of Canada – Maria Lindsay Cobham16 Sep 201900:19:40
In the early 18th century Maria Lindsay Cobham, her husband, and her crew of misfits prowled the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Cabot Strait, preying on unsuspecting merchant vessels. One of the few pirates to operate in the North Atlantic, Maria not only became captain of her crew but cemented herself in maritime legend as the Pirate Queen of Canada.

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S5E1 Canada’s Forgotten Battle – The Battle of the Medak Pocket02 Sep 201900:24:02
In the autumn of 1993 Canadian soldiers, attempting to stop ethnic cleansing in the Medak Pocket, found themselves in an over-night firefight against a surprising enemy while attempting to keep the peace in the middle of a chaotic war zone.

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S9E13 - Of Fugitives and Orators: The Characters Behind the RCMP’s Complicated History - a special Canadian Time Machine episode05 Mar 202400:32:14

In May 2023, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) commemorated its 150th anniversary. The federal police force – which originally started out as the North-West Mounted Police – is almost as old as the Dominion of Canada itself. This episode examines the complex and painful history of an institution that has historically mistreated Indigenous peoples and women. It also takes us back to the scene of one of the RCMP’s largest manhunts – the search for fugitive Albert Johnson, also known as “The Mad Trapper.” Guests on this episode are Sam Karikas, CEO of the RCMP Heritage Centre, and Jean Teillet, a recently retired Métis lawyer, author, and lecturer, who is also the great-grand niece of Louis Riel.


More episodes are available at: https://lnkfi.re/ctms2e2cch. To read the episode transcripts in French and English, and to learn more about historic Canadian milestones, please visit thewalrus.ca/canadianheritage

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*Special Bonus Episode* The Voices of D-Day06 Jun 201901:02:14
On this day, 6 June 2019, the 75th anniversary of D-Day, we at CCH give you a special bonus episode narrated by Alex Fitzgerald-Black of the Juno Beach Centre that includes testimonies and eye-witness accounts from the young soldiers that participated in the Canadian action at D-Day. We want to thank Alex and the podcast team from ‘Juno Beach and Beyond' for sharing this incredible eye-witness account with us. Enjoy!

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*Special Episode* D-Day 7504 Jun 201900:32:16
Alex-Fitzgerald Black of the Juno Beach Centre joins us today to talk about everything D-Day. 75 years ago today the western Allies were preparing to launch the largest combined-arms operation in the history of the world. An operation that would seek to liberate Western Europe from the grip of Nazi tyranny and help bring about an end to the Second World War. Canada was strongly represented at this momentous occasion and Alex will go into detail about our understanding of this watershed moment in modern history.

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S4E17 Subordinate No More! Canada’s Inter-War Move to Independence26 May 201900:20:22
The First World War led to dramatic changes within the Canadian state, perhaps none more so than Canada's changing role within the British Empire. This change occurred during the 1920s and 1930s where Canada went from colony-nation of the British Empire to equal nation within the British Commonwealth.

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S4E16 The Chatham Coloured All-Stars13 May 201900:16:42
The Chatham Coloured All-Stars were an all-black baseball team from southern Ontario who broke the colour barrier for baseball in Canada.

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S4E15 Separate Spheres Turned Upside Down – French Women and the Survival of New France14 Apr 201900:16:44
This episode explores the various roles women played in New France in support of the fur trade and in turn helping the very colony of New France survive. Roles that were in stark contrast to gender expectations in the old world.

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S4E14 A Search for Asylum – Sitting Bull in Canada31 Mar 201900:17:06
Sitting Bull was a legendary Native American chief who spent much of his life leading a resistance against American expansion into Indigenous territory. After the famous battle of the Little Big Horn Sitting Bull wound up in Canada fleeing the wrath of the American government setting off a politically complicated and ultimately short-lived attempt at asylum.

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S4E12 “The Riot Heard ‘Round the World” – Vancouver’s 1907 Anti-Asian Riot03 Mar 201900:25:02
Intense fear of what Asian immigration might do to a predominately white British Columbia sparked off a violent riot in the streets of Vancouver in 1907. A riot that had reverberations around the globe.

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S4E11 Thérèse Casgrain17 Feb 201900:17:52
Thérèse Casgrain was one of Canada's most prolific and powerful activists. A woman born into means, she spent her life advocating for the rights of women and challenging the patriarchal status quo.

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S4E10 Eugenics in Alberta04 Feb 201900:22:29
In the mid 20th century concerns over immigration and the changing ethnic make-up of Canadian society sparked a decades-long program of eugenics in Alberta, supported by many of Alberta's academic, intellectual and progressive elites.

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S4E9 ‘Kill the Indian, Save the Child’ – Residential Schools in Canada20 Jan 201900:16:28
The residential school system was designed to eradicate Indigenous culture and replace it with an Anglo-European Christian one. In this attempt at cultural destruction the residential schools became a system for shocking abuse. The reverberations of which are felt strongly to the present day.

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S9E12 - The Canadian Masters of the Air20 Feb 202400:54:53

One of the most talked about shows currently available is Masters of the Air. A program detailing the lives of American bomber crews serving in the US Army Air Force during WW2. In today’s episode, I bring on a past guest of CCH, historian Alex Fitzgerald-Black, to talk about the Canadian version of Masters of the Air. While the Americans bombed during the day, at night Canadian crews also took the bomber war to Germany and Axis powers. In today’s discussion we trace the beginning of the Canadian bomber fleet, the formation of No. 6 Bomber Group (one of Canada’s largest national formations of the entire war), the various operations that Canadian bomber crews participated in and finally we talk about the legacy of the Canadian bomber contribution and spend a bit of time sharing our own thoughts on Masters of the Air.

 

Alex Fitzgerald-Black is the Executive Director at the Juno Beach Centre Association, the Canadian charity that owns and operates Canada’s Second World War Museum on the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy, France. He holds a Master of Arts in military history (University of New Brunswick) and a Master of Arts in public history (Western University). His first book, Eagles over Husky: The Allied Air Forces in the Sicilian Campaign, 14 May to 17 August 1943, was published in 2018. He has co-written multiple exhibitions at the Juno Beach Centre, including most recently Rising to the Challenge: The Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.


The Juno Beach Centre is preparing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy in summer 2024. Veterans Affairs Canada will be organizing the Canadian overseas ceremony on Juno Beach outside the Centre. For more information about the anniversary and to access further resources, please visit www.juno80.ca and junobeach.org

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S4E8 Montreal’s Poet Laureate: The Life and Music of Leonard Cohen06 Jan 201900:32:20
Montreal-born Leonard Cohen's prolific career included iconic music, poetry and literature creating an enduring global legacy. This episode is dedicated to Gail from Montreal, RIP.

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S4E7 The Assassination of D’Arcy McGee09 Dec 201800:19:48
An Irish Nationalist turned Canadian patriot turned Father of Confederation. Thomas D'Arcy McGee was all of that when he was assassinated in 1868.

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S4E6 Canadians on the Bridge Part Two: James Doohan26 Nov 201800:17:21
James Doohan played one of the most iconic engineers in the history of science fiction and helped shape Star Trek into the cultural mega-force it is today.

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S4E5 The First World War Remembered11 Nov 201800:23:53
The First World War was a complex and dramatic period in Canadian history which saw the Canadian military perform in such a way that earned it an almost unpredictable reputation while the war on the domestic front saw Canada mobilize the nation in a way that created incredible growth and incredible challenges.

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S4E4 Canadians on the Bridge Part 1 – William Shatner28 Oct 201800:21:19
Montreal native William Shatner became one of the most iconic science fiction actors in history, this two part series opens with an examination of Shatner's early life and his time in Star Trek while part two will look at fellow Canadian James Doohan who played the iconic engineer Scotty. Both episodes were written by Star Trek aficionado and host of the popular Star Trek podcast Subspace Transmissions, Cameron Smith.

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S4E3 The Mohawk Nurse15 Oct 201800:15:10
Charlotte Edith Anderson was a combat nurse and pioneer for women and First Nations during a time when both groups struggled for equality.

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S4E2 The Pig War of 185930 Sep 201800:15:22
The death of a pig on an obscure island in the Pacific Northwest caused an international crisis in 1859 that nearly led to war between the most powerful empire on earth and the rising industrial North American power.

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S4E1 The 100 Days Campaign16 Sep 201800:24:38
The 100 Days Campaign brought about the collapse of the German army on the Western Front and was a key contributor the end of the First World War. This campaign saw the Canadian Corps spearhead a number of brutal battles as the trench deadlock of the western front was finally broken and open warfare began to return to the fields of France and Belgium. However, the Canadian Corps would pay a staggering price for their success.

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*Special Episode* A Black Day for the German Army – The Battle of Amiens 8 August 191808 Aug 201800:13:52
On August 8, 1918 the Entente forces, spearheaded by the Canadian and Australian Corps, inflicted a crushing defeat on the German army: a defeat that broke the back of the German army along the western front and signalled the beginning of the end to First World War.

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S3E20 Hockey, Canadian Identity and the Summit Series of 197211 Jun 201800:27:19
In 1972 the first ever “Team Canada” met the Soviet Union's “Red Army” hockey team in an 8 game series that was played out against the backdrop of Cold War tensions as well as challenges to Canada's position as the hockey superpower. These challenges to Canada's domination of a single sport in turn threatened many aspects of Canadian identity during this tumultuous period in both the nation's and the world's history and proved to be one of the most important sporting moments in the history of Canada.

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S9E11 - Canada, Maritime Power, and Africa 06 Feb 202400:58:58


The Houthis are a non-state Shia Islamist politically and military movement, and they have controlled key parts of western Yemen since the Yemenis Civil War broke out in 2014. In response to the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza the Houthis began launching missile and drone strikes at cargo ships entering the Red Sea (shipping destined for the Suez Canal). The Houthis claim to be aiming their strikes at Israeli shipping as a show of support for the Palestinians, but as it’s turned out they seem to be targeting a variety of shipping actors. This threat to global shipping prompted a significant response form the international community, including Canada. Yet, Canada’s contribution (or lack thereof) has highlighted some serious flaws in our current naval capabilities, and frankly in our general military capabilities. Today on the show, we have brought on Christopher Roberts from the University of Calgary to talk about the history of Canada’s involvement in Africa, with a particular focus on our naval contributions in the post 9-11 era. This is a fantastic discussion where we spend quite a bit of time talking about the current state of Canada’ s military in an increasingly volatile world and exploring some of the lesser known Canadian military operations in and around the African continent. 


Christopher Roberts is a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and an instructor in Political Science at the University of Calgary. For over thirty years he's worked on African-related security, business, and development issues. He's currently the administrator of the global African Navies Research Network and has an article coming out, with Rob Huebert, on Canada and African maritime security in the next issue of Canadian Naval Review


You can follow him on Twitter/X at @cwjroberts.


The CGAI is Canada’s most credible source of expertise on global affairs. Established in August 2001 and based in Calgary and Ottawa the CGAI is a registered charity which comments repeatedly in the media and publishes extensively on defence, diplomacy, trade, resources, and development. You can check out CGAI at their website CGAI.caYou can also listen to their podcasts by subscribing to the show The CGAI Podcast Network. 

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S3E19 Who Won the War of 1812?27 May 201800:25:42
In the summer of 1812 Britain and the United States of America went to war…British North America became the battleground. This week we try to sort out who might of won…if anyone did…

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S3E18 The Graveyard of the Pacific13 May 201800:16:06
Whale hunters, shipwrecks, ghost stories: this is the history of a stretch of ocean on the west coast of Vancouver Island known infamously as the ‘graveyard of the pacific'

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S3E17 Camp X – Canada’s Secret WW2 Spy Camp29 Apr 201800:14:53
During the Second World War Camp X in southern Ontario played a crucial role in the global shadow war that was being fought, saw some of the world's most famous spies walk through its doors, and would be the inspiration for the training and establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency.

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S3E16 Chloe Cooley and Slavery in Canada15 Apr 201800:16:52
Chloe Cooley was a slave in Upper Canada who sought to resist her owner's attempts to sell her. This resistance triggered serious efforts to curb and eliminate slavery in Canada.

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S3E15 James Howlett aka Logan aka Wolverine01 Apr 201800:13:19
James Howlett is a Canadian born mutant who has evolved into one of the most famous superhero's in the world, while participating in some of Canada's most important events of the 20th century. This is his story.

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S3E14 The 1701 Great Peace of Montreal18 Mar 201800:13:21
In 1701 a collection of some of the most powerful Iroquois nations met in Montreal to agree to peace with the French after decades of continual warfare. One of the most important peace treaties in North American history.

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S3E13 Nils Gustav Von Schoultz and the Upper Canadian Rebellion05 Mar 201800:15:39
In 1838 Finnish born Nils Gustav Von Schoultz found himself leading an invasion of Upper Canada that culminated in the final battle at Windmill Point. The battle would mark the end of the rebellion and the end of Schoultz's life.

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S3E12 The Bride Ships of British Columbia18 Feb 201800:19:47
In the mid 19th century several efforts were made to bring middle class, working class, and poor white British women to the two British colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia in order to increase the numbers of marriageable women within the colonies. These became known as the bride ships of B.C.

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S3E11 Francis ‘Peggy’ Pegahmagabow: WW1 Sniper and Indigenous Activist03 Feb 201800:18:52
Francis ‘Peggy' Pegahmagabow was a Nishnaabe soldier serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was a deadly sniper, excellent scout, and brave soldier, recipient of the Military Medal plus two bars. After the war he became a leading Nishnaabe activist challenging the Canadian governments continued marginalization of Canada's First Nations.

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S3E10 First Nations Soldiers in the Canadian Expeditionary Force22 Jan 201800:20:57
When Canada went to war against the Central Powers in 1914 many First Nations men sought to enlist. While unofficially excluded at first, the high casualty rates suffered by the CEF forced the government to change its position. Thousands would serve with distinction for a country that had spent decades pushing them to the margins of Canadian society.

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S9E10 The Beginning of the End: The 1758 Siege of Louisbourg 23 Jan 202400:29:06

The fortress of Louisbourg was once thought to be one of the finest fortresses of its day. It was considered a marvel of engineering, a dominating position that helped secure French control over the eastern seaboard of modern day Canada. Today, the fortress is one of the most important historical places in the country, it was at the centre of French control over what would become Canada and was the site of several key battles. The story of Louisbourg sheds light on the decades long colonial struggle for empire in North America. In fact, the siege of Louisbourg in 1758 would play a key role in determining the outcome of that conflict in North America, and ultimately the entire fate of the British-French rivalry for continental control. 


Book recommendation: The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman. HarperCollins, 2006. 


Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/curiouscanadianhistory

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S3E9 Behind Barbed Wire: Ukrainian Internment during the First World War07 Jan 201800:16:07
When Canada went to war with the Central Powers in 1914 all of a sudden tens of thousands of Ukrainians who had come to Canada from the Austro-Hungarian Empire were deemed enemy aliens. Of these, several thousand were interned under the War Measures Act and forced to live in detention camps while performing manual labour.

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S3E8 Frostbitten and Forgotten – The Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force19 Dec 201700:17:30
In 1919 a contingent of Canadian soldiers was sent to the frozen lands of Siberia as part of a coalition of nations seeking to topple the Bolsheviks from power.

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S3E7 Canadian Comics and the Second World War Effort03 Dec 201700:16:19
During the Second World War every aspect of Canadian society became geared towards the war effort. This even included one of the newest cultural mediums, comic books.

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