‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’ were the founding principles of the US. In Canada, the goals are ‘Peace, Order, and good Government.’
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau speaks during a dramatic meeting with the entire federal cabinet and a delegation of about 200 First Nations leaders on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in 1970.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/R. Mac
How did a national leader whose animating political spirit was protecting human rights come to adopt a passive acceptance of Canada’s worst face of colonialism?
This dispute over land in Caledonia is complex and builds on 500 years of colonization.
(1492 Land Back Lane Legal Fund)
Land Defenders from Six Nations occupied a disputed land to highlight the fact that Canadians have a long way to go when it comes to learning what land acknowledgements are supposed to teach us.
The statue of John A. Macdonald in Montréal after being vandalized.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
The vandalism of colonial statues is an expression of political protest against the celebration of settler colonialism in Canada.
Historians’ work looks like meaningful disagreements around how to grapple with an ambiguous, complicated past. Here, ‘Pi’ sculpture by Evan Grant Penny, Wellington St., Toronto.
(Brendan Lynch/Flickr)
Put down the science brochures. If your high schooler really wants to be a history major, smile, knowing that they’re taking the first step to a deeper understanding of the world around them.
The decision by the city of Victoria to take down a statue of John A. Macdonald has renewed debate about how historical figures should be remembered. This photo from 2015, taken at Wilfrid Laurier University, shows people protesting Macdonald’s treatment of Métis and First Nations during his time as Canada’s first prime minister.
Denia Anderson
Should statues of historical figures be removed or replaced? That debate has been rekindled in Canada after Victoria took down a statue of John A. Macdonald, the country’s first prime minister.