Curious Canadian History

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:AmazonIndigoDundurnGoodreadsIndiebookstores.ca

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 For ad-free content sign up to Patreon today! The Conflict and Culture Podcast at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheConflictandCulturePodcast 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

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:AmazonIndigoDundurnGoodreadsIndiebookstores.ca       

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.  For ad-free content sign up to Patreon today! The Conflict and Culture Podcast at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheConflictandCulturePodcast 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

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.

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. Don't forget to follow The Conflict and Culture Podcast today!  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

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

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!