Curious Canadian History

November 30, 2024 marks 150 years since Lucy Maud Montgomery’s birth, and her legacy continues to endure. Best known for Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery created characters that embody resilience and imagination and  some have gone on to become Canadian fiction icons. In this episode her granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler, shares family stories, preserves her grandmother’s legacy, and reads from Emily of New Moon, which she views as Montgomery’s most personal work. The episode also explores her influence, her personal struggles, and Dr. Jessica Katz Edison’s insight into how Montgomery’s work resonates with neurodivergent audiences, long before such language existed. Today we’re going to get some help in exploring the life of Lucy Maud Montgomery. You see, our friends at The Walrus Lab have just launched a brand-new season of Canadian Time Machine. Each episode, hosted by Angela Misri, revisits a key anniversary in Canadian history, exploring how those moments continue to shape the world we live in today. With rich storytelling, expert insights, and fresh perspectives, this podcast invites you to see history in a whole new light. More episodes of Canadian Time Machine are available at: https://lnkfi.re/canadian-time-machine. To read episode transcripts in both French and English and explore more historic Canadian milestones, visit thewalrus.ca/canadianheritage. A French counterpart of the show, Voyages dans l'histoire canadienne, is also available—if you're bilingual and looking for more, head to https://lnkfi.re/Voyages-dans-lhistoire-canadienne.

The Group of 7 are some of the most iconic and well-known Canadian painters in the history of Canadian art. While forming on the heels of the First World War, during a dramatic period of social and political upheaval, the painters in the group came to define a uniquely Canadian style of art. One that reflected a country that was searching for new ways to express itself after the incredible and traumatic contributions of the Great War. From the artistic pioneers to the adventurous men of the woods, the Group of 7 reflected and embraced the optimism and pioneering spirit of the day and, while certainly not perfect, went on to become some of the most important painters in this country's history. To help us talk bout the Group of 7 we have brought on John Geoghegan. John is a curator and writer based in Toronto. He joined the McMichael as Associate Curator Collections and Research in 2022 and has contributed to several McMichael projects on topics including the Group of Seven, historical Canadian women artists, contemporary Indigenous art, and many more . He holds an MA in art history from York University.In addition to their regular programming, which includes permanent collection exhibitions that include many works by members of the Group of Seven, the McMichael is currently showing Jackson's Wars: A.Y. Jackson Before the Group of Seven, an exhibition curated by Douglas Hunter, closing February 2nd, 2025. Check it out today!Don’t forget! You can pre-purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:AmazonIndigoDundurnGoodreadsIndiebookstores.ca

Across Axis occupied Europe a shadow war raged as numerous resistance groups in all occupied countries sought to dismantle or disrupt the Axis forces implementing their brutal occupation regimes. In some cases, these groups were quite successful, in others only marginally so, in all, though, the Allies ensured that they supported these movements to continue to strike against their daunting enemy. In the former Yugoslavia, agents of the Special Operations Executive were sent in to assess the quality of the resistance forces within that country and then to support those groups deemed worth of such support. What they found was a complicated and fraught situation and the SOE needed people familiar with both the language, culture and region to help sort it all out. Many of these to-be agents were drawn from Yugoslavians and those of Yugoslavian descent living in Canada. These agents would go on to eagerly expose themselves to intense danger, from Axis soldiers but also Yugoslavian groups sympathetic to the Axis powers. They fought Axis soldiers, they provided intelligence on Axis locations, and by the end of the war the ‘Partisans’ became one of the most effective resistance movements of the entire Second World War.Book recommendation Roy MacLaren’s Canadians Behind Enemy Lines, 1939-1945originally published in 1981 by UBC Press. Don’t forget! You can pre-purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:AmazonIndigoDundurnGoodreadsIndiebookstores.ca

When one thinks of an iconic Canadian painter one does not have to go through many names before thinking of Emily Carr. And if one is looking for an influential west-coast painter than generally one’s first thoughts land on Emily. It is undeniable that Emily Carr has had a significant impact on the Canadian artistic landscape, as a woman, as a modernist, as an author, and as developing a particularly unique pacific northwest style. But Emily’s life, like so many painters, was full of immense challenges and even controversy. She spent most of her life in obscurity on Vancouver Island and it wasn’t until her final decades that the nation began to take notice. To discuss Emily’s life today we have invited on Pascale Halliday. Pascale is a historian and educator from Whitehorse, Yukon. Previously she worked as an interpreter at the MacBride Museum of Yukon History and as executive director for the Emily Carr House in Victoria, BC. The Emily Carr House is a beautifully restored provincial and national historic site in Victoria, BC, and was the birthplace of famed writer and artist, Emily Carr. Now the building and gardens are a vibrant cultural centre for education, exploration and mentoring. Drop in today as the House is launching a series of programs inspired by the themes of Emily Carr's life. Pascale is also the co-host of the Klondike Gold Rush History podcast, which can be found on most major streaming platformsIndian Reserve, North Vancouver, Emily Carr 11:05 Skeena, Beam Me Up!, Sonny Assu, 2015, 27:05 Crowsnest Mountain and the Seven Sisters, Joane Cardinal-Schubert, 1989, 27:10 Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky, Emily Carr, 34:05Don’t forget! You can pre-purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:AmazonIndigoDundurnGoodreadsIndiebookstores.ca

All around the world today there are people who listen to music made by Canadians. Most of us are familiar with Drake and Justin Bieber but long before those two superstars, all over the world Canadian musical acts had been transmitting into the ears of humans. But in some alternate reality, none of the Bieber’s or Drake’s exist. In fact, there is probably an alternate reality somewhere where Canada is nothing more than a musical dumping ground for American acts. And if you want to know what that might look like, simply look at Canadian music before 1971. Prior to that year Canadian radio stations played whatever was charting in the US and whatever was being dictated by US labels. While some domestic music was played on local stations, the musical conversation was a south to north one, never an east-west one. But that all changed with CANCON – the introduction of Canadian content regulations. While CANCON was certainly controversial when it came out, it became the catalyst for the creation of a domestic music industry, one that would germinate, then grow, then expand, then cultivate some of the biggest acts, biggest producers and biggest musical icons the world has ever seen.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:AmazonIndigoDundurnGoodreadsIndiebookstores.ca

Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 is officially out! Check out this photograph-rich single volume history of Canada's military at war. You can purchase a copy right now at the below links:AmazonIndigoDundurnGoodreadsIndiebookstores.ca