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

The Champlain Society

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. My Life in the Law

    1D AGO

    My Life in the Law

    Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Robert J. Sharpe about his book My Life in the Law. My Life in the Law is a rich, personal reflection on Robert J. Sharpe’s long, varied, and influential career as a lawyer, scholar, and judge. After giving an account of his early life and education, Sharpe examines his time as a law student in the late 1960s, an era when great emphasis was put upon formalistic legal doctrine, heavily influenced by English law. As a legal academic in the 1970s up until the 1990s, Sharpe participated in Canadian law’s emergence from the shadow of its narrow past. He then dealt with that evolution from the very different perspective of a judge and a legal history scholar during his twenty-five years on the bench. Throughout the book, Sharpe writes about the people who influenced his trajectory: the exceptional lawyers with whom he practiced, his Oxford University professors, and his University of Toronto colleagues. He describes how these people and his three-year experience working as executive legal officer to Justice Brian Dickson at the Supreme Court of Canada prepared him for his twenty-five-year career as a judge. Written in an engaging and accessible style, this memoir tells the story of a man whose fascination with the law has led to an illustrious, decades-long career of great significance. Robert J. Sharpe is judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. He taught at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto from 1976 to 1988 and served under Chief Justice Brian Dickson as Executive Legal Officer at the Supreme Court of Canada from 1988 to 1990. 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.

    38 min
  2. The Enduring Riddle of Mackenzie King

    FEB 20

    The Enduring Riddle of Mackenzie King

    James Stewart (J.D.M.) speaks with Patrice Dutil about his book, The Enduring Riddle of Mackenzie King. In his lifetime, Canadians often dismissed William Lyon Mackenzie King as a meritless interloper, yet numerous scholars have since ranked him as the best prime minister ever. Patrice Dutil leads a who’s who of historians to discuss why King deserves that estimation – or why not. This fresh, full assessment forms a new take on how King may – or may not – be the greatest of all Canadian prime ministers. The Enduring Riddle of Mackenzie King unwraps an enigma for scholars, students, and general readers interested in political history, Canadian history, and the history of the Second World War. Patrice Dutil is a professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University, a senior fellow of the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at the University of Toronto, and a senior fellow of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. 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: UBC Press

    37 min
  3. McGill in History

    FEB 13

    McGill in History

    Donald Wright speaks with Don Nerbas and Tess Elsworthy about their book McGill in History. This book brings together diverse historiographies and perspectives to critically examine how McGill has been implicated in power structures and is the product of conflicting ideologies. James McGill, the university’s namesake, owned and profited from the sale of enslaved Black and Indigenous people, a legacy highlighted by the removal of his statue and ongoing debates over the racially charged Redman name used by the men’s sports teams. Imperialism, settler colonialism, slavery, sexism, and homophobia are elements of McGill’s story that must be fully integrated into a broader understanding of the university’s institutional history. Challenging siloed narratives with new research, the contributors in this volume highlight the important task of scholars to scrutinize and confront history that is unflattering and to rethink their institution’s own story – a reckoning happening across many institutions of higher education around the world. Don Nerbas is associate professor of history and St Andrew’s Society/McEuen Scholarship Foundation Chair in Canadian-Scottish Studies at McGill University. Tess Elsworthy completed an MA in History and Classical Studies at McGill University under the supervision of Laura Madokoro. She is currently a student in McGill's School of Information Studies. 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.

    42 min
  4. Run Like A Girl: A Memoir of Ambition, Resilience, and Fighting for Change

    FEB 6

    Run Like A Girl: A Memoir of Ambition, Resilience, and Fighting for Change

    James Stewart (J.D.M.) speaks with Catherine McKenna about her book, Run Like A Girl. From Olympic dreams to the frontlines of politics and climate action, Run Like A Girl charts McKenna’s personal and political journey – from leading Canada’s climate plan to withstanding sexist attacks as “Climate Barbie.” Through a unique scrapbook-style format, McKenna blends candid personal stories, political insights, and reflections on motherhood, ambition, and activism. McKenna recounts her fight for climate policy, the ups and downs of public service, the tough decision to leave politics, and her mission to empower women in leadership. For readers of Becoming by Michelle Obama and No Logo by Naomi Klein, Run Like A Girl is a timely and deeply personal call to action – about finding your own path, breaking the rules, fighting for the future – on your own terms. Catherine McKenna is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Climate and Nature Solutions. She is Canada's former minister of environment and climate change (2015-19) as well as minister of infrastructure (2019-21). The chair of the UN Secretary General’s Expert Group Net Zero, she is a frequent speaker on climate action and women empowerment. 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: Sutherland House

    35 min
  5. The Higgs Years

    JAN 30

    The Higgs Years

    Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Gabriel Arsenault about his book The Higgs Years. Blaine Higgs was the premier of New Brunswick from 2018 to 2024. Leading his Progressive Conservative Party through six years of headline-making policy, in September 2024 he called an election, trying and failing to become the first premier since Liberal leader Frank McKenna to win three consecutive terms in that province. The Higgs Years analyzes Higgs's premiership, particularly in terms of his party's electoral pledge fulfillment record. Contributors portray Higgs as both a unifier and a divider: he successfully reduced New Brunswick's public debt, implemented ambitious governance reforms, and managed the province's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in a bipartisan manner. Yet he also intensified ethnic and linguistic divisions, embraced an executive style of governance, and emphasized wedge issues, such as abortion restrictions and gender identity in schools. While Higgs largely avoided divisiveness in critical areas such as housing, health care, and the environment, he was nonetheless known to alternate between being a unifying and a polarizing leader. Drawing on original data from the Polimeter, a nonpartisan tool that measures whether politicians keep the promises they make, The Higgs Years raises vital questions about the integrity of the relationship between voters and their government in New Brunswick. Gabriel Arsenault is associate professor of political science at the Université de Moncton and associate researcher at the Donald J. Savoie Institute. 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.

    23 min
  6. He Did Not Conquer

    JAN 23

    He Did Not Conquer

    Larry Ostola speaks with Madelaine Drohan about her book He Did Not Conquer. Throughout his long and illustrious career, Benjamin Franklin nursed a not-so-secret desire to annex Canada and make it American. When he was not busy conducting scientific experiments or representing American interests at home and abroad, Benjamin Franklin hatched one plan after another to join Canada to the American colonies and then later to the United States. These were not solely intellectual efforts. He went to Montreal in 1776 to try to turn around the faltering occupation by American forces. As lead American negotiator at the 1782 peace negotiations with Britain in Paris, he held the fate of Canada in his hands. Ill health and other American priorities then forced him to abandon his decades-long campaign to possess Canada. Franklin’s elevation to the status of an American icon has pushed this signal failure into the far reaches of collective memory in both Canada and the United States. Yet it shaped the future of North America and relations between the two neighbours over the next two and a half centuries. Madelaine Drohan spent most of her journalistic career as a foreign correspondent, reporting on Europe for the Toronto-based Globe and Mail and then on Canada for the London-based Economist. She is a senior fellow at the Graduate School for Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa. She lives in Ottawa. 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
  7. Chrétien and the World

    JAN 16

    Chrétien and the World

    Donald Wright speaks with Jack Cunningham about his book Chrétien and the World. Conventional wisdom holds that foreign policy was not a priority for Jean Chrétien over his ten years as Canadian prime minister. In reality, he and his government pursued an often ambitious, activist policy to forward not only national interests but liberal ideals on the world stage. Chrétien and the World combines the perspectives of key players of the time with analyses by leading scholars. They draw on personal recollections, interviews, and research to portray a foreign policy that was more coherent and engaged than previously believed. As arguably Canada’s first post–Cold War prime minister, Chrétien responded to events that reshaped the international landscape, notably the 9/11 attacks on the United States, the subsequent war on terror, the US-led invasion of Iraq, and Canadian involvement in Afghanistan. Working with trusted ministers, he emphasized trade liberalization, strong bilateral and multilateral relations, human security, and humanitarian intervention. Often characterized as purely pragmatic, Chrétien’s tenure in fact marked a high point of liberal internationalism through an agenda that emphasized Canadian values and leadership in global affairs. Jack Cunningham is the program coordinator at the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at the University of Toronto, where he is also a fellow and assistant professor at Trinity College. He is a former editor of International Journal and co-editor of Australia and Canada in Afghanistan: Perspectives on a Mission (with William Maley) and Australia, Canada, and Iraq: Perspectives on an Invasion (with Ramesh Thakur). 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: UBC Press

    39 min
  8. On the Wings of War and Peace: The RCAF during the Early Cold War

    JAN 9

    On the Wings of War and Peace: The RCAF during the Early Cold War

    Larry Ostola speaks with Randall Wakelam and William March about their book On the Wings of War and Peace: The RCAF during the Early Cold War. Bringing together leading researchers on Canadian air power, On the Wings of War and Peace captures the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the first decades of the Cold War – a period which marked the zenith of air force accomplishments in peacetime Canada. The volume covers topics that go beyond straightforward flying operations, examining policies that drove operational needs and capabilities and the personnel, technical, and logistical functions that made those operations possible. With contributions written by former RCAF members who have both expert and personal knowledge of their topics, On the Wings of War and Peace brings new perspectives to the RCAF’s role in shaping the modern Canadian nation. Randall Wakelam served in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as a tactical helicopter pilot and educator for more than four decades; he has taught and written about air power and leadership for the past twenty-five years and is now an associate professor emeritus of the Department of History at Royal Military College. William March is a freelance historian and writer focused on aerospace power history, Canadian military history, and leadership. He previously served as a maritime air navigator in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for over forty years. 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
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 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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