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

The Champlain Society
  • 4.8 (62)
  • History
  • Updated Biweekly

Immerse yourself in Canada’s history! Witness to Yesterday episodes take listeners on a journey to document a time in Canada’s past and explore the people behind it, its significance, and its relevance to today. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: https://bit.ly/support_WTY. To learn more about the Society and Canada’s history, subscribe to our newsletter at https://bit.ly/news_WTY.

  1. Demanding Equality

    10 hrs ago

    Demanding Equality

    Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Joan Sangster about her book Demanding Equality: One Hundred Years of Canadian Feminism. In Demanding Equality, Joan Sangster weaves together various moments of women’s activism over a 100 year period to explore what feminism is in Canada. Sangster delves into the riches of Canadian feminism, beginning with nineteenth-century tracts and continuing beyond the recent intersectional turn. Challenging the popular “wave” theory of feminist history, she argues for the movement’s surprising continuity amid decades of social transformation. This comprehensive study revitalizes a wider public conversation about the diverse movement of Canadian feminism past, present, and future. Joan Sangster is Vanier Professor Emeritus at Trent University, and past president of the Canadian Historical Association. She has written countless articles about working women in the labour movement, the history of the left, feminist theory and historiography, the criminalization of women and girls, and Indigenous women and the law. She's the author of several influential books, including One Hundred Years of Struggle: The History of Women and the Vote in Canada, Transforming Labour: Women and Work in Postwar Canada and The Iconic North: Cultural Constructions of Aboriginal Life in Postwar Canada. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, she's held a Killam Fellowship as well as visiting professorships at Duke, Princeton, and McGill Universities. Joan Sangster is Vanier Professor Emeritus at Trent University and a past president of the Canadian Historical Association/Société historique du Canada. She is the author of One Hundred Years of Struggle: The History of Women and the Vote in Canada; Transforming Labour: Women and Work in Postwar Canada; and The Iconic North: Cultural Constructions of Aboriginal Life in Postwar Canada. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

    1h 1m
  2. Canada's Odyssey

    Jul 3

    Canada's Odyssey

    Greg Marchildon speaks with Peter Russell about his book Canada’s Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests. 150 years after Confederation, Canada is known around the world for its social diversity and its commitment to principles of multiculturalism. But the road to contemporary Canada is a winding one, a story of division and conflict as well as union and accommodation. In Canada’s Odyssey, renowned scholar Peter H. Russell provides an expansive, accessible account of Canadian history from the pre-Confederation period to the present day. By focusing on what he calls the "three pillars" of English Canada, French Canada, and Aboriginal Canada, Russell advances an important view of our country as one founded on and informed by "incomplete conquests." It is the very incompleteness of these conquests that have made Canada what it is today, not just a multicultural society but a multinational one. Featuring the scope and vivid characterizations of an epic novel, Canada’s Odyssey is a magisterial work by an astute observer of Canadian politics and history, a perfect book to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Peter H. Russell is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

    33 min
  3. Concordia University at 50

    Jun 26

    Concordia University at 50

    Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Monika Gagnon and Brandon Webb about their book Concordia University at 50: A Collective History, which celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the merging of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University in Montreal in August 1974. Distinct from traditional institutional histories, this volume approaches Concordia University’s history from the ground up by sharing a plurality of voices from across the university over time. Fifty contributions from faculty, staff, students, and alumni, present stories of a vibrant community and its activities in a multilayered collection of professional and personal reflections, essays, and oral histories conducted with participants and observers of key events. Providing insights into the early political pressures that inspired Concordia’s formation and the growing pains of the merger among its four faculties, as well as the development of new programs such as dance, theological studies, and études françaises, this book is a testament to an urban university formed by its many constituents and by the multilingual city and the complex province that is its home. Enriched with copious and colourful archival documents, photographs, and public artworks that grace these urban campuses, Concordia University at 50 highlights the great range of activities, causes, innovations, and debates that emerge from educational institutions but extend well beyond the classroom. Monika Kin Gagnon is professor of communication studies at Concordia University. Brandon Webb is a PhD graduate of the Department of History at Concordia University.  If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

    34 min
  4. History Has Made Us Friends

    Jun 19

    History Has Made Us Friends

    Larry Ostola speaks with Don Abelson about his book History Has Made Us Friends. Separated by the world’s longest land border and engaging in over three billion dollars in trade daily, Canada and the United States share security concerns, cultural interests, and a history spanning more than 250 years. Alan Rock, former Canadian ambassador to the United States, has said that this special relationship represents “a bond that is beyond practical. It borders on mystical.” The rise of nativist sentiment, however, has raised concerns over preserving this relationship. History Has Made Us Friends illuminates the nature and dynamics of Canada-US relations, examining their history, attributed meaning, and conceptualization. Contributors consider many angles and perspectives, including the impact of geopolitical change, to determine whether the relationship warrants the moniker “special.” They explore whether shared values and demographic similarities continue to cement the relationship, and if it still matters whether presidents and prime ministers get along. While things look different today from when President Kennedy declared, “What unites us is far greater than what divides us,” History Has Made Us Friends argues that the Canada-US relationship – often narrowly understood or dismissed as a relic of the past – continues to be unique and resilient. Donald E. Abelson is academic director of the Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement and professor of political science at McMaster University. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past. Image Credit: McGill Queens University Press

    36 min
  5. Unparliamentary: Tales from Canada’s Colourful Parliamentary Past

    Jun 12

    Unparliamentary: Tales from Canada’s Colourful Parliamentary Past

    James Stewart (J.D.M.) speaks with Charlie Feldman about his book, Unparliamentary: Tales from Canada’s Colourful Parliamentary Past. From fistfights to scandals, Unparliamentary provides a sourced account of unexpected events that have marked the history of Canada’s Parliament. It offers an intriguing look into surprising moments that occurred on Parliament Hill, highlighting the unpredictable nature of human behaviour – especially among legislators. Charlie Feldman is the former president of the Canadian Study of Parliament Group with professional experience in Canada’s Senate, House of Commons, and Library of Parliament. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

    32 min
  6. The Black Box: Lady Bessie Borden’s Family, 1863–1956

    Jun 5

    The Black Box: Lady Bessie Borden’s Family, 1863–1956

    Donald Wright speaks with Carman Miller about his book The Black Box: Lady Bessie Borden’s Family, 1863–1956. In a remarkable tale of tragedy, war, family conflict, and imperial diplomacy, The Black Box presents a collective biography of four generations of women in an elite Nova Scotia family during the late-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. These intelligent, educated, artistic women were pragmatic and autonomous persons who contributed to the development, maintenance, defence, and management of the Borden family’s material resources. Illustrating the changing nature of the time, the book explores the adventurous and curious lives of women who moved at the highest levels of society. It examines how the synergies of their private and public lives redefined their place in society during an era when the state and religion became more active and private lives more public. It also demonstrates the role and importance of the material components of social power, such as dress, residence, clubs, and travel. Drawing on archival material retained by the family, the book reveals how the Borden family defined, secured, and sustained its status in society. The Black Box is a unique record of an elite family’s response to the changing political economy of imperial Canada. Carman Miller was born in Nova Scotia and educated at Acadia University (B.A., 1960; B.Ed., 1961), Dalhousie (M.A., 1964) and University of London (Ph.D., 1970). In 1967, he joined the History Department at McGill as a Lecturer; he became Assistant Professor in 1971 and Associate Professor in 1977. He also served as Chairman of the department from 1978 until 1981. Miller's research interests are primarily in Canadian military and political history of the late 19th and early 20th century. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

    37 min
  7. Louis J. Robichaud

    May 29

    Louis J. Robichaud

    Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Donald Savoie about his book Louis J. Robichaud. Louis J. Robichaud, the first elected Acadian premier of New Brunswick, transformed an inward-looking province with an ingrained aversion to change into a vibrant modern society now home to strong political, administrative, and educational institutions. Donald Savoie draws a portrait of adroit political leadership and of a man who, recognizing his province’s need for modernization, rose unwaveringly to the demands of office and ushered in profound and enduring change for Acadians and for all New Brunswickers. In a timely biography informed by a long friendship between fellow Acadians, Savoie contrasts the challenges of governing New Brunswick in the 1960s with those faced by governments and political leaders today to better understand the magnitude of Robichaud’s accomplishments over a ten-year span. Leading a province with a long history of intolerance towards minority groups, notably Acadians, Robichaud’s Liberal government confronted the dominant Anglo-Protestant political class and introduced reforms that included the Official Languages Act, broader access to education for francophones, the establishment of the Université de Moncton, and initiatives in regional and natural resource development, health care, and equitable public services across the province’s disparately funded urban and rural counties. Seismic changes at the time, these reforms are now woven into the social fabric of New Brunswick. Informative and lively, Louis J. Robichaud argues convincingly that while the premier’s achievements can be viewed as specific to his era, his political fortitude and vision are a model for politicians, legislators, and civil servants today. Donald J. Savoie holds the Clément-Cormier Research Chair in Economic Development at the Donald J. Savoie Institute. He is the author of numerous books including Speaking Truth to Canadians about Their Public Service. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

    30 min
  8. Canada's Main Street

    May 22

    Canada's Main Street

    Larry Ostola speaks with Craig Baird about his new book Canada’s Main Street. Much has been written about the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first major transportation network that bound Canada coast to coast, but almost nothing about The Trans-Canada Highway, even though more people use it regularly, it’s at least as vital to the nation’s business, and its story is every bit as fascinating as the CPR’s. Prior to the Second World War, only an adventurer would have driven cross-country on Canada’s haphazard network of highways, gravel roads, single lanes paths, open fields, and ferries. An act of Parliament in 1949 kicked off the ambitious building of a modern two-lane coast-to-coast highway. Stretching from Victoria to St. John’s and winding through the diverse cultures, landscapes, and history of all ten provinces, the Trans-Canada opened in 1960 and has been a centerpiece of the Canadian experience ever since—the route of countless road trips, holidays, migrations, and, of course, Terry Fox’s magnificent Marathon of Hope. Now, for the first time, Craig Baird, host of Canadian History Ehx, the number one history podcast in Canada, tells the epic story of the Trans-Canada from conception to completion. Canada’s Main Street is an absorbing tale of the political intrigue, budgetary disasters, and heroic innovation that created our 7000-kilometre national lifeline. Craig Baird 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 of our history. Currently the top Canadian history podcast in Canada, he can also be heard across Canada each weekend talking about Canada's history on the Corus Radio Network. 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 book stores to build his research library. He currently lives in Edmonton. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

    33 min
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4.8
out of 5
62 Ratings

About

Immerse yourself in Canada’s history! Witness to Yesterday episodes take listeners on a journey to document a time in Canada’s past and explore the people behind it, its significance, and its relevance to today. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: https://bit.ly/support_WTY. To learn more about the Society and Canada’s history, subscribe to our newsletter at https://bit.ly/news_WTY.

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