Explore every episode of the podcast Curious Canadian History
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S12E3 Lone-Actor Terrorism in Canada | 06 Oct 2026 | 00:45:22 | |
What happens when terrorism is no longer driven by an organized group, a formal hierarchy, or a clearly defined ideology—but by a single individual acting alone? In Canada, so-called “lone wolf” terrorism has become one of the most difficult and misunderstood forms of political violence to define and confront. Today we are going to explore the history of lone actor terrorism in Canada, tracing its roots through the twentieth century and examining how its motivations and characteristics have evolved in the twenty-first. What drives an individual to commit an act of terrorism? How important are religion, ideology, and gender? And what can some of Canada’s most significant lone-actor attacks tell us about the changing nature of terrorism? But perhaps the most troubling question is what happens when there is no organization to infiltrate, no leader to identify, and no conspiracy to uncover. How do you stop someone who may have no accomplices, no obvious network, and no warning that they are about to act? And as we look at the history of lone actor terrorism in Canada, we may discover that the greatest challenge isn't understanding what happened—but recognizing what might happen next. Joining us today is Professor Steven Hewitt. Steve Hewitt is Associate Professor of North American history at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He has published extensively around topics related to security and intelligence, including terrorism and counter-terrorism in the past and present. His new book, A History of Terrorism in Canada, will be published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in October. Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast Hostile History! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| CCH Spotlight - Gassy Jack and the Woman that Outlived the Legend | 29 Sep 2026 | 00:16:00 | |
Step into the turbulent birth of Vancouver through the story of Gassy Jack and Quahail-ya. This episode explores ambition, colonial power, and a deeply controversial marriage, while tracing how Quahail-ya outlived Deighton to become a respected matriarch, reshaping the legacy of a woman long overshadowed by the city's founder's myth. Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast Hostile History! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S12E2 How to Get Drunk In Prohibition Vancouver | 22 Sep 2026 | 00:57:25 | |
In Prohibition-era Vancouver, getting drunk meant slipping through hidden doors into smoky backrooms, whispering passwords, and drinking bootleg whiskey poured from unmarked bottles. Police raids were always possible, yet jazz, laughter, and clinking glasses filled the night as speakeasies (blind pigs) thrived, proving that banning alcohol never stopped Vancouverites from raising a glass. To explore this incredible history we went on an incredible walking tour with Will Woods from Forbidden Vancouver. Will started this coming many years ago and has refined it into one of Vancouver’s favorite historic attractions. For any of those in Vancouver or visiting Vancouver soon make sure to check out all the tours offered by Forbidden Vancouver at forbiddenvancouver.ca Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast Hostile History! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| CCH Spotlight - The Welland Canal | 15 Sep 2026 | 00:15:20 | |
For this CCH spotlight episode we 'dive' into the history of the Welland Canal, or really, the Canals. A major infrastructure project that shaped the economic future of the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario and Canada. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S12E1 Lake Ontario (not Lake America) | 08 Sep 2026 | 00:34:38 | |
Today, Lake Ontario has surged into headlines after President Donald Trump ordered it renamed "Lake America" for U.S. federal use, igniting outrage across Canada. The centuries-old name—shared by a lake that's more than half Canadian—has become the latest flashpoint in an escalating cross-border political and cultural dispute. To kick off our 12th season we are diving deep into the history of Lake Ontario.
Daniel Macfarlane is a Professor in the School of Environment, Geography, and Sustainability at Western Michigan University. His most recent book is "The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History" (September 2024). Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast Hostile History! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Summer Reboot - The Fall of Hong Kong | 01 Sep 2026 | 00:17:09 | |
This summer reboot looks at the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941. **Announcement** - Season 12 kicks off next week! First episode of the new season drops September 8th! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Summer Reboot - Trumps First Tariff War | 25 Aug 2026 | 00:48:35 | |
This is a reboot from an episode we did back in season 10 when President Donal Trump was first elected and completely upended the economic relationship with Canada in a shocking application of across the board tariffs. Sadly, it seems that history is repeating! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Summer Reboot - The VWC and the 1970 Abortion Caravan | 11 Aug 2026 | 00:17:25 | |
Our summer reboot takes us to 1970 when the Vancouver Women's Caucus heads to Ottawa to protest Canada's changing but still restricted laws on abortion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Summer Reboot - The Upper Canadian Militia and the Defence of Canada | 04 Aug 2026 | 00:16:52 | |
A summer reboot series looking at the challenges of mustering the militia in Upper Canada when British North America was threatened by American invasions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Summer Reboot - La Famille Verendrye and the Exploration of the North American Continent | 28 Jul 2026 | 00:15:43 | |
The Verendrye family played a crucial role in expanding French knowledge of western North America during the eighteenth century. Led by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de La Vérendrye, and later assisted by his sons, they established a network of trading posts stretching from Lake Superior to present-day Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Their expeditions strengthened the French fur trade, forged alliances with many Indigenous nations, and greatly improved European maps of the interior. Although they never found the long-sought route to the Pacific Ocean, their journeys opened the Canadian Prairies to further exploration and laid the groundwork for later western expansion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Summer Reboot - The Pig War of 1859 | 21 Jul 2026 | 00:14:57 | |
Even though Season 11 has officially ended we still have a few summer gems for you listeners. For this episode of our Summer Reboot series we go back to the 1850s and look at the Pig War of 1859 in an episode we did back in Season 4. The Pig War was a bloodless border dispute between Britain and the United States on the San Juan Islands. Triggered when an American settler shot a British-owned pig, both nations deployed troops. Diplomacy prevailed, and international arbitration in 1872 awarded the islands to the United States. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E22 Canada's Pacific Station - A History of Esquimalt Naval Harbour Part 2 | 14 Jul 2026 | 00:30:28 | |
Picture a quiet harbour on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Calm waters. Towering forests. It seems peaceful enough—but beneath that surface lies a story that helped shape Canada's Pacific coast. Long before warships lined the docks, Indigenous peoples lived and thrived here. Then came explorers, empires, sailors, and soldiers, each leaving their mark on what would become Esquimalt Harbour. How was this natural harbour connected to broader British imperial interests in Latin America? And how did it allow the British to project imperial power over the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest? Was this the final key in completing the Canadian project?
"Scott Stephen is a historian and educator based in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He is currently working in education policy and as a consultant for Trailmark Systems. Scott’s research areas include British imperial history, British Columbia’s history and naval history. His work on the Esquimalt naval base began during his graduate studies at UBC, and he won the Jacques Cartier MA prize for 2024 from the Canadian Nautical Research Society for his thesis. His recent article “Esquimalt and its Latin American Connection: Linking British Concerns in Pacific Latin America to the Establishment of a Naval Base on Vancouver Island”, published in the Canadian Historical Review, repositions Pacific Latin America as an essential component to the navy’s interest in Esquimalt Harbour circa 1858 and details the larger imperial context within which that interest arose. Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast Hostile History! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E21 Canada's Pacific Station - A History of Esquimalt Naval Harbour Part 1 | 07 Jul 2026 | 00:37:29 | |
Picture a quiet harbour on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Calm waters. Towering forests. It seems peaceful enough—but beneath that surface lies a story that helped shape Canada's Pacific coast. Long before warships lined the docks, Indigenous peoples lived and thrived here. Then came explorers, empires, sailors, and soldiers, each leaving their mark on what would become Esquimalt Harbour. How did this sheltered stretch of water become the birthplace of Canada's Pacific Navy? And why has it remained strategically important for more than 150 years?
Scott Stephen is a historian and educator based in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He is currently working in education policy and as a consultant for Trailmark Systems. Scott’s research areas include British imperial history, British Columbia’s history and naval history. His work on the Esquimalt naval base began during his graduate studies at UBC, and he won the Jacques Cartier MA prize for 2024 from the Canadian Nautical Research Society for his thesis. His recent article “Esquimalt and its Latin American Connection: Linking British Concerns in Pacific Latin America to the Establishment of a Naval Base on Vancouver Island”, published in the Canadian Historical Review, repositions Pacific Latin America as an essential component to the navy’s interest in Esquimalt Harbour circa 1858 and details the larger imperial context within which that interest arose. Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast Hostile History! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E20 The Fight for Valour: Jess LaRochelle and the Campaign for Canada's Victoria Cross | 23 Jun 2026 | 00:37:11 | |
In October of 2006 Jess Larochelle from Ontario was guarding an observation post near the Afghanistan village of Pashmul when dozens of Taliban insurgents attacked Jess’ position. The ensuing battle is almost unbelievable in what Jess did and how he did it. Bruce Moncour is a veteran of Afghanistan and for years has been leading the charge, through his organization Valour in the Presence of the Enemy, to get Larochelle awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest medal for bravery in the Canadian military. Recently Bruce’s organization has celebrated a couple major victories that are getting him and his organization ever closer to that ultimate goal. Bruce Moncur is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, advocate, and grade 5 teacher. In 2006, he deployed to Afghanistan with the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment and fought in Operation Medusa, the largest Canadian-led battle since the Korean War, where he was seriously injured in a friendly-fire incident. After a long recovery, he became a leading voice for veterans’ rights. He is the founder of Valour in the Presence of the Enemy David O’Keefe is one of the most engaging voices on Canada’s Second World War story, in the classroom, on the page, and on screen. A professor of history at Marianopolis College in Montreal, he’s the bestselling author of One Day in August and Seven Days in Hell, with a new book, Missing Presumed Dead, coming in late 2027. You can also see him right now in the new Tom Hanks World War II documentary, bringing fresh insight and energy to some of the war’s most hotly debated battles. Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast Hostile History! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E19 Moe Norman: A Canadian Golf Legend | 09 Jun 2026 | 00:45:43 | |
Moe Norman was a Canadian golf legend widely regarded as one of the greatest ball strikers in golf history. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, in 1929, Norman became famous for his remarkable accuracy, consistency, and unique single-plane swing technique. During his career he won more than 50 Canadian tournaments, including several Canadian PGA Championships. Although he struggled to adapt socially to the pressure and culture of the PGA Tour, many professional golfers, including Tiger Woods and Lee Trevino, praised his extraordinary talent. Moe Norman died in 2004 but remains an iconic figure in Canadian golf history. Lorne Rubenstein is a Canadian writer, broadcaster, and journalist best known for his work covering golf. He has written extensively for major newspapers and magazines, authored several books on golf (including two on Moe Norman), and earned respect for his thoughtful commentary on the sport, its players, history, and culture in Canada and internationally. He is a member of the Canadian golf hall of fame for his work and in 2018 received the PGA Lifetime Achievement Award. Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast Hostile History! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E18 The 'LGBT Purge' and the Limits of Forgiveness | 02 Jun 2026 | 00:46:19 | |
The Canadian government has a long history of regulation, exploitation, and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and two-spirit (LGBTQ2) people. One of the most painful chapters in this history is the “LGBT Purge,” a term that refers to the expulsion of LGBTQ2 service members and employees from the Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and federal public service between 1955 and 1992. The LGBT Purge was the subject of a class action lawsuit filed in 2017 that resulted in a settlement agreement in 2018. On a parallel track to the settlement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a formal apology for the government’s history of state-sponsored discrimination against LGBTQ2 people in 2017. Daniel Del Gobbo is an Assistant Professor and Chair in Law, Gender & Sexual Justice at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. His research explores how legal processes and institutions can be redesigned to promote access to justice and social justice for historically marginalized groups, with a focus on the rights of women and queer and trans people in Canada. He earned his J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2011, LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 2015, and S.J.D. from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 2021. Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast Hostile History! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E17 John A. Macdonald Part 2 | 19 May 2026 | 00:44:00 | |
John A. Macdonald stands as one of the most influential and controversial figures in Canadian history, a political architect whose vision helped bring a nation into being. The first Prime Minister of Canada. His rise through colonial politics, his central role in Confederation and his leadership in the first decades of this country’s existence shaped the nation we understand today in so many ways. He was a man of ambition, a man of compromises, and a man of contradictions and the complexities that defined him also defined his leadership in a fragile, emerging country dealing with a rapidly evolving world and continent. Through both achievement and controversy, Macdonald’s legacy continues to shape Canada. In this second installment of a two part series we look at John A Macdonald’s early vision for Canada, resistance to that vision, his controversial policies towards First Nations and finally his legacy. This is John A. Macdonald Part 2. Patrice Dutil is a professor of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University. He has written, co-written and edited fourteen books and has covered many aspects of leadership, both at the political and the administrative level. Dutil is known for having founded the Literary Review of Canada thirty-five years ago. He was also the President of the Champlain Society for nearly a decade.
Dutil has written extensively about Macdonald. He co-edited Macdonald at 200: New Perspectives and Legacies with Roger Hall. That book came out in 2015. More recently, he has published Sir John A. Macdonald and the Apocalyptic Year of 1885 and Ballots and Brawls: the 1867 Canadian General Election. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E16 - John A. Macdonald Part 1 | 05 May 2026 | 00:39:33 | |
John A. Macdonald stands as one of the most influential and controversial figures in Canadian history, a political architect whose vision helped bring a nation into being. The first Prime Minister of Canada. His rise through colonial politics, his central role in Confederation and his leadership in the first decades of this country’s existence shaped the nation we understand today in so many ways. He was a man of ambition, a man of compromises, and a man of contradictions and the complexities that defined him also defined his leadership in a fragile, emerging country dealing with a rapidly evolving world and continent. Through both achievement and controversy, Macdonald’s legacy continues to shape Canada. In this first installment of a two part series we look at John A Macdonald’s immigration to Canada from Scotland, his life as a lawyer, his early entry into politics and his role in shaping the confederation debates. Patrice Dutil is a professor of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University. He has written, co-written and edited fourteen books and has covered many aspects of leadership, both at the political and the administrative level. Dutil is known for having founded the Literary Review of Canada thirty-five years ago. He was also the President of the Champlain Society for nearly a decade.
Dutil has written extensively about Macdonald. He co-edited Macdonald at 200: New Perspectives and Legacies with Roger Hall. That book came out in 2015. More recently, he has published Sir John A. Macdonald and the Apocalyptic Year of 1885 and Ballots and Brawls: the 1867 Canadian General Election. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E15 - Prince Edward Island Joins Canada | 21 Apr 2026 | 00:46:53 | |
Prince Edward Island is often imagined as a quiet, pastoral place—rolling fields, red sand beaches, and small communities shaped by the rhythms of the sea. But beneath that picturesque surface lies a history that is far more complex, contested, and revealing than its postcard image suggests. Today we trace parts of that story. From its earliest days as Mi’kmaq territory, through European contact and colonization, to its reluctant entry into Canadian Confederation. We’ll explore how land ownership disputes—particularly the controversial absentee landlord system—shaped generations of Islanders, fueling resistance and political change. We’ll also look at how the island’s strategic position in the Gulf of St. Lawrence made it a site of imperial rivalry, and how its identity evolved over time through migration, agriculture, and cultural mythmaking. This is not just a regional story—it’s a lens into broader themes of colonialism, resistance, and nation-building in Canada. Prince Edward Island is so much more than little a pastoral escape, it’s a place where identity is foundational and history has left a deep and lasting mark. Edward MacDonald is Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at the University of Prince Edward Island, where for a quarter of a century he taught Prince Edward Island, Atlantic, and Canadian history. In recognition of his work as an author, teacher, historian, and public intellectual, he was named to the Order of Canada in 2023 and the Order of Prince Edward Island in 2024. While he has published extensively on the social, religious, and environmental history of his native province, his most recent book, The Geography of Home: Poems for a Lost Time, published by Island Studies Press in 2025, combines poetry with history and memoir. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E14 Battle Series: D-Day Phase One vs. the Battle of the Scheldt | 07 Apr 2026 | 00:58:56 | |
In this CCH special episode, we bring together two expert historians for a gripping confrontation of perspectives, examining—and challenging—the significance of two defining Canadian battles of the Second World War: D-Day Phase One and the Battle of the Scheldt. These were not just moments on a battlefield, but crucibles of chaos, courage, and consequence, where the fate of thousands—and the trajectory of the war itself—hung in the balance. Each historian steps forward to argue why their battle stands as a pivotal moment in Canada’s military history, setting the stage for a compelling and thought-provoking exchange. ALEXANDER FITZGERALD-BLACK is the Executive Director at the Juno Beach Centre Association, the charity that owns 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 From Dieppe to Juno: The 80th Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid and Rising to the Challenge: The RCAF in the Second World War. Most recently, his book chapter “The Air Support Rollercoaster: Canadian Soldiers’ Morale in Normandy” was published by the Naval Institute Press in Airpower and the Normandy Campaign, edited by Mike Bechthold. Megan Hamilton is a Canadian historian currently studying in the UK. She's in the final year of her PhD at King’s College London, which is being completed in partnership with the Imperial War Museum. Her research studies Second World War army training across the British Empire, examining how the Imperial armies trained and learned together. She was part of the team that put together the IWM’s current temporary exhibit, 'Emergency Exits: The Fight for Independence in Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus,’ which is open in London until the end of March 2026. She is a regional director for the Second World War Research Group and a graduate teaching assistant at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. You can donate to the Juno Beach Centre's fundraising drive for a Juno Beach Memorial at the below link! https://campaign.junobeach.org/donate/monument Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E13 Red River Reflection: The Myth of François Guilmette | 24 Mar 2026 | 00:42:13 | |
In the heart of the Red River Settlement, a vibrant Métis community forged a distinct identity shaped by kinship, trade, and resistance. The latter half of the 19th century was a time of profound upheaval, when the Red River Resistance challenged Canadian expansion into the region. Yet history is not always what it seems. Alongside real leaders and lived struggles, one figure—long woven into the story—was never real at all. How did a ghost of the past become accepted as truth? And what does that reveal about the way history is remembered, recorded, and retold? In this episode we separate myth from memory on the Red River. Derrick M. Nault is an assistant professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies at the University of Winnipeg and a citizen of the Red River Métis Nation. His research examines Métis history, with particular attention to how kinship networks, political resistance, and collective memory have shaped Métis identity over time. This focus is grounded in his family’s long-standing involvement in Métis political and cultural life. His direct ancestors include André Nault, Louis Riel’s cousin and a captain during the Red River Resistance; Jean-Baptiste Parenteau and Damase Carrière, councillors in Riel’s 1885 provisional government; Marie Pélagie (Dumont) Parenteau, sister of Gabriel Dumont; and Antoine Vermette, a noted Métis buffalo hunter and founding member of l’Union Nationale Métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba.
Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast hosted by David Borys, The Conflict and Culture Podcast, here! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E12 Rise and Rise Again - The Life and Times of Mary Ann Shadd Cary | 10 Mar 2026 | 00:44:44 | |
Born free in a slaveholding nation and unafraid to confront it, Mary Ann Shadd Cary carved out a life defined by intellect, defiance, and relentless public action. A teacher, lawyer, and the first Black woman in North America to publish a newspaper, she challenged both American slavery and Canadian complacency. Through the pages of The Provincial Freeman, she argued for self-reliance, integration, and equal rights at a time when such demands invited hostility. Her story moves across borders—from the United States to Canada and back again—tracing a 19th-century struggle for freedom that still echoes today.
Dr. Nneka D. Dennie is a Black feminist scholar with specializations in nineteenth- and twentieth-century African American history. Her research examines Black intellectual thought with an emphasis on nineteenth-century African American history. Dr. Dennie is an Assistant Professor of History, core faculty in the Africana Studies Program, and affiliate faculty in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Washington and Lee University.
Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast hosted by David Borys, The Conflict and Culture Podcast, here! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E11 The Frontier Regime of New France under Louis XIV | 24 Feb 2026 | 00:44:08 | |
In the 17th century, across an ocean and a continent, the will of Louis XIV stretched deep into New France. This episode examines how an absolutist monarchy governed a fragile colonial frontier. How did royal officials impose order on distant settlements along the St. Lawrence? What roles did intendants, governors, and bishops play in enforcing law, regulating trade, and structuring society? From seigneurial land grants to military defense and missionary ambition, we explore the administrative machinery that bound colony to crown—and the tensions that emerged when metropolitan authority met colonial reality in a vast, unforgiving world.
Colin Coates is professor of Canadian Studies and chair of the Department of Global and Social Studies at Glendon College, York University. He is currently president of the Canadian Historical Association. His book, Political Culture in Louis XIV’s Canada: Majesty, Ritual, and Rhetoric was published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2024. It won the Prix de l’Assemblée nationale for the best political history book from the Institut d’histoire de l’Amérique française.
Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast hosted by David Borys, The Conflict and Culture Podcast, here! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E10 Canair Relief and the Nigerian Civil War | 10 Feb 2026 | 00:47:33 | |
The Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) produced widespread famine, particularly in Biafra, prompting an unprecedented humanitarian response from abroad. Canadian churches helped found CANAIRELIEF, an ecumenical coalition that raised funds, mobilized volunteers, and supported clandestine airlifts of food and medical supplies. Motivated by moral urgency and graphic media coverage, these churches sought to bypass political paralysis. Yet the effort was deeply complicated: relief flights risked prolonging the conflict, aid was entangled with Biafran propaganda, and questions arose over neutrality, sovereignty, and whether humanitarian action inadvertently sustained the war’s machinery. Dr. Taiwo Bello is an Assistant Professor of African History and an affiliate faculty member of the Africana Studies Centre at Oklahoma State University. He serves on the Editorial Review Boards of the African Studies Association journal, History in Africa, published by Cambridge University Press; and the Canadian Association of African Studies journal, the Canadian Journal of African Studies, published by Taylor & Francis. He is the current President of the African Military Studies Association (AMSA), a coordinate organization of the African Studies Association. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E9 The Liberation of Bergen Belsen | 27 Jan 2026 | 00:51:54 | |
Names like Auschwitz, Dachau, and Bergen Belsen immediately bring to mind the horrors of the Nazi concentration camp system. At the liberation of Bergen Belsen in particular, Canadian forces contributed medical staff, engineers, and relief supplies to Allied efforts after that camp was liberated and in the dramatic weeks that followed. They helped treat survivors, bury the dead, and restore sanitation. Governing the camp meant managing disease, displaced persons, trauma, and justice while transforming a site of atrocity into emergency refuge amid shortages, chaos and reckoning.
Dr. Mark Celinscak is the Louis and Frances Blumkin Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies in the Department of History and the Executive Directo of the Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is the author of Distance from the Belsen Heap: Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi Concentration Camp, winner of a Vine Award for Non-Fiction, and Kingdom of Night: Witnesses to the Holocaust, winner of a Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Holocaust literature. He is the co-editor of the forthcoming Two Roses: A Story of Deception and Determination in Nazi Germany (University of Toronto Press). He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of History. Please note that this episode will be dealing with some very graphic realities, so trigger warning!
Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast hosted by David Borys, The Conflict and Culture Podcast, here! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E8 Curious Canadian History presents: Canadian Time Machine | The Furry Gold of Canada: The Beaver’s 50-Year Legacy | 13 Jan 2026 | 00:32:47 | |
In this episode, we step back in time with the Canadian Time Machine podcast to explore the 50th anniversary of the beaver becoming an official national symbol. For more than 50 years, this small but mighty animal has shaped rivers, driven trade, and quietly transformed the land. Wildlife ecologist Dr. Glynnis Hood and Jan Kingshott, director of animal welfare at Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, take us inside the beaver’s world—from its role in the fur trade to its work as an ecosystem engineer today—and reveal why it remains one of Canada’s most remarkable and resilient symbols. More episodes are available at https://lnkfi.re/canadian-time-machine. To read the episode transcripts in French and English, and to learn more about historic Canadian milestones, please visit thewalrus.ca/canadianheritage. There is also a French counterpart of this show called Voyages Dans L’Histoire Canadienne so if you’re bilingual and want to listen to more, visit https://lnkfi.re/Voyages-dans-lhistoire-canadienne.
Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast hosted by David Borys, The Conflict and Culture Podcast, here! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E7 Cigarette Nation: The History of Cigarettes in Canada | 16 Dec 2025 | 00:45:30 | |
Cigarette smoking in Canada is a fascinating look at how consumer products, social rituals, and corporate misinformation interact. While widespread cigarette use began in the 1930s it was in the 1950s where a causal link between smoking and lung cancer surfaced in medical journals and mainstream media. Yet the best years for the Canadian cigarette industry were still to come, as per capita cigarette consumption rose steadily in the 1960s and 1970s. The persistence of smoking owes to such factors as product development, marketing and retailing innovation, public relations, sponsored science, and government inaction. Domestic and international tobacco firms worked to furnish Canadian smokers with hope and doubt: hope in the form of reassuring marketing, as seen with light and mild cigarette brands, and doubt by means of disinformation campaigns attacking medical research and press accounts that aligned cigarettes with serious disease. Helping us dive into this historical smoke pit is Daniel J. Robinson. Daniel is a Professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at the University of Western Ontario, where he teaches courses on media history, advertising and marketing. He is the author of Cigarette Nation: Business, Health, and Canadian Smokers, 1930-1975, (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2021), and has served as an expert witness for two provinces suing tobacco companies involving health-care costs recovery lawsuits.
Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast hosted by David Borys, The Conflict and Culture Podcast, here! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E6 Letters from the Frontier – The Jesuit Relations and Old World Understandings of New France | 02 Dec 2025 | 00:48:15 | |
The Jesuit Relations, a series of annual reports produced between 1632 and 1673 detailing the experiences of Society of Jesus missionaries in what is now Eastern Canada, have long been an influential source on the history of New France and encounters between European settlers and Indigenous Peoples. The question of what exactly the Relations are, and who had a hand in composing the versions that circulated, has been given far less attention. Recent research has shown that they were in fact shaped by a diverse array of contributors, including Indigenous people, lay settlers, nuns, editors in Paris, and readers in France. To shine a new light on the Jesuit Relations we have invited on historian Micah True. Micah reveals a richer and more complex picture of a primary source that has played a major role in public understanding of the colonial history of North America. Micah True is Professor of French and Folklore at the University of Alberta, where he also serves as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. He is the author of Masters and Students: Jesuit Mission Ethnography in Seventeenth-Century New France, published by McGill-Queen's University press in 2015, and the translator of the Jesuit Pierre-François-Xavier de Charlevoix's 1744 account of his voyage through North America, published in Brill's Jesuit Studies series in 2019. His new book, published this year by McGill-Queen's University Press, is The Jesuit Relations: A Biography.
Check out Canyon Entertainment’s newest podcast hosted by David Borys, The Conflict and Culture Podcast, here! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E5 Canada at War with Angus Wallace | 18 Nov 2025 | 01:06:52 | |
Recently our very own David Borys had the pleasure of having a long chat with Angus Wallace of The WW2 Podcast to explore Canada's military legacy from confederation to the Second World War. Angus and David start at the very beginning with Canada’s military (or lack there-of) in 1867 and trace its development through the next near-century all the way to the start of the Second World War. They then cover the incredible expansion of the Canadian military from 1939-1943 and detail the unbelievable contribution the Canadian military made to that global conflict into 1945.
Check out Angus’ podcast here!
Check out David’s newest podcast, The Conflict and Culture Podcast, here! Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| "Remembrance in their Own Words" a CDA Institute Remembrance Day Series | 11 Nov 2025 | 00:21:19 | |
Our very own David Borys was flattered when recently he was made a fellow at the CDA (Conference of Defence Associations) Institute, Canada's leading think tank on defence and security issues. The Institute immediately put David to work interviewing Canadian veterans as part of a Remembrance Day special series titled "Remembrance in their Own Words." CCH felt like sharing one of those episodes. In this one, David interviews Vice Admiral Duncan "Dusty" Miller, CMM, MSC, CD (Ret’d). VAdm Miller served 38 years in the Royal Canadian Navy, with a distinguished career that included commanding two ships, leading the Canadian Naval Task Group during the Persian Gulf War, and serving as NATO's Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. He was also the NATO HQ commander overseeing AWACS surveillance of North America after 9/11. Follow the CDA Institute here and their podcast on Apple and Spotify Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S11E4 Internment to Exile: The Japanese-Canadian War Experience | 04 Nov 2025 | 01:00:43 | |
During the course of the Second World War nearly 22,000 Japanese-Canadians were uprooted and forcible interned by the government of Canada. More than half of those had been born in Canada, thousands more were naturalized British subjects. Despite no shred of evidence that the population posed any threat to the Canadian nation at war the internment continued until after the war in the Pacific had ended. In September 1945, Canada proposed exiling Japanese Canadians to Japan, a country devastated by war. Thousands who had experienced internment and dispossession were now at risk of banishment and the government sought to do all in its power to ensure as many Japanese-Canadians as possible accepted their potential new fate. To dive into this subject today we’ve brought on two historians Eric M. Adams and Jordan Stanger-Ross. Eric is a Professor of Law at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Law. He publishes widely on Canadian constitutional law, theory, and history. Jordan is Professor of History at the University of Victoria and Director of Past Wrongs, Future Choices, a research partnership that is working to understand, from a global perspective, the uprooting of people in Japanese descent in the 1940s. The two have recently co-authored the book Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution which was published in 2025 by UBC Press. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Special Episode - The Good Allies - Rest in Peace Tim Cook | 28 Oct 2025 | 00:42:52 | |
On October 26th news broke of the passing of Canadian historian Tim Cook. Tim was a leading voice in the field of Canadian military history and the chief historian and director of research at the Canadian War museum. He is someone I personally have known for most of my academic career and he has been a mentor at times for me during a variety of ups and downs throughout my career. In August I had the pleasure of interviewing Tim about his most recent book The Good Allies, and with the news of his passing I thought it fitting to release this episode right away. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, it set in motion a deadly struggle between the Axis powers and the Allies, but also fraught negotiations between and among the Allies. On questions of diplomacy, economic policy, industrial might, military capabilities, and even national sovereignty, thousands of lives and the fate of the free world depended on back-room deals and desperate trade-offs between soldiers, diplomats, and leaders. In North America, Canada and the US strained to forge a new military alliance to guard their coasts and fend off German U-boats and the menace of a Japanese invasion. Wartime economies were entwined to produce a staggering contribution of weapons to keep Britain and other allies in the war. The defence of North America against enemy threats was essential before the US and Canada could send armies, navies, and air forces overseas
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| S11E3 Unceded Territory and Land Rights in British Columbia | 21 Oct 2025 | 00:56:34 | |
In British Columbia, land acknowledgements often refer to “unceded territory.” Yet many people remain uncertain about the history behind these words or their implications for the future of the province. B.C. has a long history of injustice toward First Nations where government officials refused to negotiate treaties and instead coerced First Nations onto small and scattered reserves while granting settlers access to vast tracts of land. Despite sustained Indigenous resistance, the situation only worsened as non-Indigenous demands for land and natural resources increased in the decades that followed confederation. Understanding this process provides much of the context behind the province’s current reconciliation efforts, including modern treaty negotiations.
George Abbott, PhD, enjoyed thirty-five years in elected public office, including seventeen years as MLA for Shuswap and twelve years as a cabinet minister. Among his portfolios were Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation. George has published several scholarly articles on BC’s political history including the award winning article “Persistence of Colonial Prejudice and Policy in British Columbia’s Indigenous Relations: Did the Spirit of Joseph Trutch Haunt Twentieth-Century Resource Development?” George’s most recent book was published in September 2025 through Purich Books/UBC Press titled Unceded: Understanding British Columbia’s Colonial Past and Why It Matters Today. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:
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| The Conflict and Culture Podcast S1E3 - The Sacred Band of Thebes | 14 Oct 2025 | 00:34:04 | |
The Sacred Band of Thebes was an elite military unit of 300 highly trained heavy infantry soldiers (hoplites), famously composed of 150 pairs of male lovers. Formed in the 4th century BCE the Thebans, who came from a uniquely gay-tolerant society, believed that soldiers would fight more ferociously to protect their partners and to avoid showing cowardice in front of them. They were not wrong. The Sacred Band quickly became the shock troops of the Theban army and one of the most dominant phalanx formations of the Ancient Greek world. While most people think of the Spartans when they think of Greek military excellence in the classical world most would also be surprised to know that the Sacred Band went on to not only defeat the Spartans but establish Thebes as a dominant, albeit short-term, power in Greece. James Romm is Professor of Classics at Bard College and author of numerous books on Greek history and culture, including, Plato and the Tyrant: The Fall of Greece's Greatest Dynasty and the Making of a Philosophic Masterpiece (Norton). Most recently he has published his biography of Demosthenes as part of Yale's Ancient Lives series.
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| S11E2 Buying Bombs: Defence Procurement in Canada | 07 Oct 2025 | 01:04:23 | |
What is it called when the Canadian Armed Forces go about purchasing something? It’s called procurement. While most Canadians probably understand that the CAF goes through some process to buy new equipment very few truly understand how deeply complex the process actually is. Defence procurement involves several federal agencies and several different stages. Recently, the Canadian government has announced a new initiative called the Defence Investment Agency which is an agency designed to streamline the procurement process. Effectively, making it easier, and quicker, to buy the things we need. This is a major step forward in Prime Minister Carney’s vision of a modern and responsive CAF supported by significant government funding and part of the long-term plan to make the CAF a 21st century leading middle power military.
In order to break down this complex process we’ve brought on Philippe Lagassé. Philippe is an Associate Professor and the Barton Chair at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Lagassé’s research focuses on defence policy and procurement, executive power, and the Westminster system, notably in the areas of foreign and military affairs. In addition to his academic work, Lagassé has served as an advisor and consultant to the Canadian government. Between 2012-2014 he was a member of the Independent Review Panel overseeing the evaluation of options to replace Canada’s CF-18 fighter aircraft, and was a member of the Independent Review Panel for Defence Acquisition within the Department of National Defence from 2015 to 2022. In 2025, Lagassé was awarded the Canadian Forces Medallion for Distinguished Service for his “exceptional contribution to Canadian defence policy” by the Chief of the Defence Staff.
Lagassé is the co-author of a new book, Overseen or Overlooked: Legislators, Armed Forces, and Democratic Accountability, published with Stanford University Press. The book compares parliamentary oversight of military and defence affairs in fifteen counties. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| The Conflict and Culture Podcast - S1E2 Comic Books and the Second World War | 30 Sep 2025 | 00:48:46 | |
Illustration has been an integral part of human history. Particularly before the advent of media such as photography, film, television, and now the Internet, illustrations in all their variety had been the primary visual way to convey history. The comic book, which emerged in its modern form in the 1930s, was another form of visual entertainment that gave readers, especially children, a form of escape. As World War II began, however, comic books became a part of propaganda as well, providing information and education for both children and adults. Comic books were widely disseminated amongst soldiers and became an integral form of media consumption for much of the conflict and for decades after. To dive into this subject we have brought on historian Cord A. Scott. Cord has a Doctorate in American History from Loyola University Chicago and currently serves as a professor of history for the University of Maryland Global Campus for Asia. He is the author of Comics and Conflict, Four Colour Combat, and The Mud and the Mirth: Marine Corps comics of WWI. He has written for several encyclopedias, academic journals such as the International Journal of Comic Art, the Journal of Popular Culture, the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, and in several books on aspects of cultural history. He resides in Okinawa, Japan.
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| S11E1 Canadian Punk Rock Takes Over the World | 23 Sep 2025 | 00:45:33 | |
After punk found commercial success in the ’90s, with bands like Green Day, the Offspring, and Blink-182, a new wave of punk bands emerged, each embodying the DIY spirit of the movement in their own way. While Southern California remained the spiritual home of punk rock in the early 2000s, an unexpected influx of eager punks from Canada took the world by storm, changing the genre forever.
This incredible period of music is explored by authors Matt Bobkin and Adam Feibel in their book In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World . Both authors are Toronto-based music journalists whose work has appeared in Exclaim!, Bandcamp, VICE, the National Post, and the Toronto Star. In Too Deep is their first book. I began our conversation by asking Adam and Matt what exactly is punk rock music? In Too Deep playlist: Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| *Brand New Podcast* The Conflict and Culture Podcast Ep1 - The Myth of the Clean Wehrmacht | 16 Sep 2025 | 01:00:41 | |
David Borys has started a brand new podcast and we here at CCH are bringing you its very first episode. The Conflict and Culture Podcast explores everything and anything to do with military history beyond the battlefield. Please head on over to the show page on Apple and Spotify and click follow! For the first episode we look at the myth of the "clean Wehrmacht," the false belief that the regular German armed forces were not involved in Nazi war crimes or the Holocaust, but were instead a professional, apolitical body separate from the Nazi regime. This myth, propagated by former Wehrmacht officers and generals after World War II, was used to protect the institution's reputation and facilitate West Germany's rearmament during the Cold War. For decades since the war it has also contributed to wide spread misunderstandings about the war and about the Wehrmacht and Nazi war crimes. To unpack this complicated topic we have brought on historian Waitman Beorn. Waitman Wade Beorn, is a 2000 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and an Associate Professor in History at Northumbria University in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. Dr. Beorn was previously the Director of the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond, VA and the inaugural Blumkin Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. His first book, Marching Into Darkness: The Wehrmacht and the Holocaust in Belarus (Harvard University Press) Dr. Beorn is also the author of The Holocaust in Eastern Europe: At the Epicenter of the Final Solution (Bloomsbury Press, 2018) and has most recently published a book on the Janowska concentration camp outside of Lviv, Ukraine, tentatively entitled Between the Wires: The Janowska Camp and the Holocaust in Lviv (University of Nebraska Press, 2024). He is currently working on an AHRC-funded project that seeks to create a digital reconstruction of the Janowska concentration camp. Dr. Beorn teaches courses in Holocaust History, Comparative Genocide, German history, Eastern European history, Antisemitism, Modern European history, Jewish history, Historical Methodology, Public history, and Digital history. He is also the Scholar-in-Residence for the Auschwitz Jewish Center’s American Service Academy Program where he instructs service academy cadets in military ethical decision-making using the Holocaust. Dr. Beorn’s work also forms the basis for the Ordinary Soldiers lesson program used by ROTC and the US Army. Dr. Beorn is also the host of The Holocaust History Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| Season 11 Episode 1 coming September 23rd!! | 03 Sep 2025 | 00:00:49 | |
While the summer may be coming to an end it's not all bad news because Curious Canadian History is coming back for Season 11! The first episode airs September 23rd and we are pumped for what is going to be a fascinating season! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E22 The Birth of the Canadian Flag | 01 Jul 2025 | 00:46:59 | |
Surprise! We here at CCH decided to drop a special final episode for Season 10. The Canadian flag is iconic. In almost all parts of the globe people recognize the red maple leaf as distinctly ours, or at the very least a symbol of us…Canadians. Yet, the modern flag’s birth is a story of complexity and is utterly fascinating. It comes out of a distinctly unique period where Canada was changing dramatically and today represents a very modern sense of what it means to be Canadian. Happy Canada Day everyone!
Forrest Pass is a Curator in the Programs Division at Library and Archives Canada and a vexillologist, or flag historian. His writing on the flags, coats of arms, and other national symbols has appeared in the Canadian Historical Review, the Journal of American Studies, the Canadian Parliamentary Review, the Literary Review of Canada, and British Columbia History and he is a regular commentator on the history and use of flags for national and international media. He is also editorial director of the Flag Research Center. He holds a PhD in Canadian History from the University of Western Ontario, and prior to joining LAC in 2019, he worked as an historian at the Canadian Museum of History, where he curated the museum’s 2015 exhibit marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Canadian flag, and as Saguenay Herald at the Canadian Heraldic Authority, where he designed coats of arms, flags, and badges for Canadian citizens and institutions as part of the national honours system.
Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E21 Unpacking the Baggage: The 2025 Federal Election | 24 Jun 2025 | 00:56:48 | |
The 2025 Federal Election was one of the most dynamic and issue-filled elections to have occurred since the 1980s. Threats to Canadian sovereignty, an unpredictable US president, issues over Canadian defence, a glaringly vulnerable economy, a global order that seems to be more and more unstable coupled with a brand new Prime Minister attempting to prove to the voting public that he is the right man for the job. The outcome of the election identified serious fault lines within Canada. A massive boost of popular support to the Conservatives with an even larger boost of public support for the Liberals at the expense of the near decimation of the NDP which witnessed an incredible political comeback to victory. In this episode we tackle the 2025 Federal Election, what happened, why did it happen, and how did we get to this point.
To “unpack” this important event we have brought on Richard Johnston. Richard is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Canada Research Chair Emeritus in Public Opinion, Elections, and Representation at UBC. He has also taught at the University of Toronto, the California Institute of Technology, Harvard University (Mackenzie King chair, 1994-5), and the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author or co-author of six books, four on Canadian politics and two on US Politics. He has co-edited five other books and has written over one hundred articles and book chapters. Much of his work focuses on party systems, elections and public opinion in Canada, the US, and Germany. In 2017, he was given the Mildred Schwartz prize for lifetime achievement in the study of Canadian politics and is a Fellow of the American Academy for Arts and Sciences. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E20 The Trans-Canada Highway: A Nation Connected | 10 Jun 2025 | 00:33:36 | |
The Trans-Canada highway is such a part of the everyday Canadian experience that we often take this lengthy route for granted. Across this country many Canadians drive on it every single day, most without realizing that they are on one the most important infrastructure projects in Canadian history. But this highway is so much more than just a simple strip of asphalt. It represents a period in Canada where the nation was flourishing in the post-war world and where leaders sought to connect Canadians like never before. This form of connection would come to represent some iconic historical moments but more importantly would further unite a country seeking to define itself in the 20th century.
For today’s topic we are chatting with historian and fellow podcaster Craig Baird. Craig is the creator and host of Canadian History Ehx, a podcast that delves into Canada's history to tell the story of the good, the bad and the weird. He can also be heard across Canada each weekend talking about Canada's history on the Corus Radio Network. In May, he released his first history book, Canada's Main Street: The Epic Story of the Trans-Canada Highway. If he isn't writing about Canada's history, and sharing our nation's stories online, he is visiting historical locations and traveling to second-hand bookstores to build his research library. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:
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| S10E19 War Criminals in Canada: A Canadian Cover Up? | 27 May 2025 | 01:06:19 | |
In 2024 Jared McBride, Professor at UCLA, conducted a research methodology class with his students. As Jared is an expert on war crimes they investigated war criminals in North America and through their research shifted focus to Nazi war criminals who were able to settle in Canada in the aftermath of the Second World War. In the process of this project, they uncovered an incredible list. Known as the Deschênes List, it was a two-page list written from 1986 that identified hundreds of suspected Nazi war criminals who were allowed to settle in Canada after the Second World War. This was a massive discovery. For decades this list was considered classified by the Canadian government and thought to be inaccessible to the general public. Yet, it very much was available, and Jared and his team found it after simply digging online. In the aftermath of this finding the continued work by Jared and his colleagues have uncovered a problematic and questionable process where the Canadian government, and in turn Library Archives Canada, has obfuscated efforts to gain access to the rest of the records regarding this issue, thousands of still classified pages. This is particularly stark when compared to the U.S. who, in the late 1990s, ordered all documents, millions of pages, to be opened up to the public.
Jared McBride is an Assistant Professor in the History Department at UCLA who specializes in Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe in the 20th century with a focus on nationalist movements, mass violence, interethnic conflict, and war crimes prosecution. His research has been supported by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the Fulbright-Hays Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council, among others, and he has published in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Journal of Genocide Research, Kritika, and Slavic Review . Presently, he is completing a book manuscript concerning interethnic violence and local perpetrators in Nazi-occupied western Ukraine. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E18 - Canada's Titanic: The Sinking of the Empress of Ireland | 13 May 2025 | 00:40:26 | |
The St. Lawrence River can turn treacherous in a second. What was just a moment ago clear sailing can suddenly into dangerous fog and almost no visibility. In 1914 the Empress of Ireland learnt this firsthand and what ensued is the deadliest maritime tragedy in peace time Canadian history. To help us dive into this subject today we’ve brought on Eve Lazarus. Eve is a reporter, author and the host and producer of the Cold Case Canada true crime podcast. She has written eleven non-fiction books, and her books have been shortlisted for several awards including the Arthur Ellis Award; the City of Vancouver Book Award, and BC Book Prizes. Eve’s latest book is Beneath Dark Waters: The legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck. You can get more information on Eve at her website evelazarus.com . Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E17 The Frank Slide - A Town Buried Under Rock | 29 Apr 2025 | 00:36:06 | |
The town of Frank, Alberta is tucked into the bosom of Turtle Mountain which sits in the beautiful Crows Pass of the majestic Rocky Mountains. In the early 20th century, the town revolved around the local coal mine. 100 men (out of roughly 600 people who lived in Frank) worked at the mine. A couple dozen were working the night shift when in late April 1903 over 100 million tonnes of limestone came crashing down from the mountain. What ensued was the deadliest rockslide in Canadian history. To help us dive into this subject today we’ve brought on Andee Groat. Born and raised in the stunning mountains of the Crowsnest Pass, Andee Groat got her start at the Frank Slide Interpretive Centre as summer student. With over 6 years of experience, she worked her way up to her current position as the Coordinator of Visitor Services. The centre operates all year round and is open to the public and for hosting tour groups. People can check out the website (frankslide.ca) and social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram) for up-to-date information about what’s going on around the Interpretive Centre. When not at work, Andee enjoys time outdoors hiking and tackling her next embroidery project. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E16 Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 | 15 Apr 2025 | 00:41:34 | |
Today we are changing things up! Several months ago David published his newest book titled Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 which is a single-volume history of the Canadian Armed Forces at war since confederation. This book has proved timely. In recent months the Canadian military has been in the news frequently, more so than at any point since the end of Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan in 2011. Part of the rhetoric surrounding the CAF addresses current issues of sovereignty and our ability (or lack thereof) to protect said sovereignty. Much of this is focused on the Arctic, however, there are also rampant discussions of Russia’s threat to Europe and Canada’s brigade group that is currently expanding in size in Latvia. Even the upcoming election has leaders putting defence issues at the forefront, something not seen in an election for decades. With the zeitgeist being as it is CCH has decided to change up the format for today and post an episode from the podcast Witness to Yesterday – brought to us by the Champlain Society and University of Toronto Press. Recently David was on discussing his new book and the state of the military today, so for today’s CCH episode David will be the interviewee and Larry Ostola will be the interviewer. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E15 - The Beatles in Canada with Terry O'Reilly | 01 Apr 2025 | 00:40:39 | |
The Beatles are one of the most influential bands in the history of popular music. When they arrived in North America in the early 1960s, they forever changed the musical landscape. Countless musicians in both Canada and the United States speak of the arrival of the Beatles as if it was their own personal musical awakening and there are untold numbers of modern day rock stars who publicly state that their entrance into music was because of the ‘Fab 4’. The ‘arrival’ of the Beatles in North America is often attributed to their famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964. What many don’t know is that the Beatles had already established a presence on the continent before this, but in Canada. To help us dive into this incredible subject we have brought on legendary broadcaster and radio personality Terry O’Reilly. Terry has had a long career in radio and broadcasting including CBC shows such as The Age of Persuasion and O’Reilly on Advertising. He has published several books on marketing and Canadian society and his most recent book titled My Best Mistake: Epic Fails and Silver Linings won the National Business Book Award in 2022. Terry is also the creator and host of the podcast Under the Influence which has just launched a new series called The Beatlology Interviews exploring the deep influence the Beatles have had on the North American musical landscape. Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E14 A Border of Blood and Dirt: Part 2 | 18 Mar 2025 | 00:44:46 | |
While Canada is in the midst of immense economic uncertainty as a result of Donald Trump’s wildly unpredictable tariff threats, the border is continuously brought up by the American president as a key issue in why he seeks to create such economic chaos. In today’s episode we wrap-up a two-part conversation with Benjamin Hoy on the history of the Canadian-US border. We chat about cross-border cooperation, the reaction to the border by First Nations in both countries, efforts to modernize the border post-WW1 and the historic issue of crime and the border. Finally, Ben shares some thoughts on Trump’s current obsession over the border. Benjamin Hoy is an associate professor of history at the University of Saskatchewan. His research focuses on the creation of the Canada-US border as well as on how communities, both past and present, have learned about history through the games they play. His first book, A Line of Blood and Dirt: Creating the Canada-United States Border across Indigenous Lands received the Governor General's Prize, the Albert Corey Prize, and the Best Book in Political History Prize. Please fill out a survey here to provide feedback on what you love (or don’t love) about Curious Canadian History http://bit.ly/curiouscanadianhistory-survey Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E13 - A Border of Blood and Dirt: Part 1 | 04 Mar 2025 | 00:37:32 | |
Since the election of Donald Trump, one of the most frequently discussed issues has been that of the Canadian-American border. President Trump has labelled accusations that Canada has not done enough to stem the tide of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the US. While the veracity of Trump’s claims is hotly debated, his emphasis on the border as a concern in Washington brings up some interesting historical questions. How did this massive national delineation get created? Have drugs and immigration always been a border issue? Are there historical precedents for what Trump is arguing? To take us through a two-parter exploring the Canadian-American border from an historical lens is historian Benjamin Hoy. Benjamin is an associate professor of history at the University of Saskatchewan. His research focuses on the creation of the Canada-US border as well as on how communities, both past and present, have learned about history through the games they play. His first book, A Line of Blood and Dirt: Creating the Canada-United States Border across Indigenous Lands received the Governor General's Prize, the Albert Corey Prize, and the Best Book in Political History Prize. Please fill out a survey here to provide feedback on what you love (or don’t love) about Curious Canadian History http://bit.ly/curiouscanadianhistory-survey Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||
| S10E12 Trump's Tariff War | 18 Feb 2025 | 00:49:00 | |
You cannot turn on the news right now without hearing about President Donald Trump’s threat to apply a 25% tariff to Canadian goods. While his claim that our border is contributing to America’s fentanyl and illegal immigrant problem may be dubious, the ramifications of a tariff war are very real. Has a tariff war like this ever happened before? How has Canada historically responded to American economic aggression? What would the consequences of a trade war be today? To help us walk through these complex issues we have brought on economist Trevor Tombe. Trevor is a Professor at the University of Calgary’s Department of Economics and the Director of Fiscal and Economic Policy at The School of Public Policy. His research explores a broad set of topics, from international trade to public finances to fiscal federalism. He has published in top economics journals, is co-author of the textbooks Public Finance in Canada and Macroeconomics, co-editor of the recent volume Fiscal Federalism in Canada, and is Co-Director of Finances of the Nation. In addition to his academic work, he actively advises various governments on a wide range of issues (currently a member of the Government of Canada Working Group on Productivity in the Public Sector; and previously a member of the Bank of Canada panel reviewing its pandemic response) and contributes to policy development and discussions through regular op-eds, articles, and media engagement. Website: www.trevortombe.com Please fill out a survey here to provide feedback on what you love (or don’t love) about Curious Canadian History http://bit.ly/curiouscanadianhistory-survey Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. | |||