Cloudy Visions: Weapons and Defence in Canada

/

The infamous mushroom cloud synonymous with a nuclear explosion evokes a different response depending on audience. Most will immediately harken back to the Second World War when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Others may think of Cold War nuclear tests by Britain and the former Soviet Union (Russia). Depending on perspective, you might awe at the display of power or cringe at the thought of chaos and annihilation. Today we are far removed from the volatile circumstances that resulted in the first use of atomic weaponry, despite what former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev might think. Yet the evolution and proliferation of weapons technology continues at a rapid pace, and destruction of both property and peoples is ongoing. In attempting to somehow measure or quantify human life, many scholars point to death toll statistics in times of both war and peace. These studies aim not to reduce the fragility of human existence to numbers, but rather to help explore the conditions that led to an awful reality. One of those conditions is weapons creation, and on that topic Canada is certainly not as innocent as many think.

Read More

Cold War Economics: The Interesting Case of Canada and Cuba

/

This past year Clio’s Current examined Canada’s role in the Cold War which lasted roughly from 1945 to 1991. Throughout that time the United States combated the spread of communist ideology, and as a close North American partner Canada certainly did its part. Our examination of Canada in the Cold War thus focused on the evolution and development of bilateral relations between Canada and the US. Seldom in our five-part series did we stray far from that narrative, and so to not suggest that Canada’s Cold War was predicated solely by its relationship to the US, in today’s post we examine Canada’s economic policy towards Latin America with a particular focus on Cuba.

Read More

Conservative Diplomacy and Canada's 'Place' in the World

/

Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, and potential Iranian nuclear activity – on each of these three leading international issues today, Canada has been outspoken and steadfast. The views of Harper’s Conservative government are not shared unequivocally across the Canadian populace, but nonetheless as Canada’s representative voice internationally these are the views and opinions that shape Canadian interaction on the global stage. Both Harper and John Baird, Canada’s current Minister of Foreign Affairs, have come under sharp criticism lately for adopting a loud voice on international matters which has at times resonated with tones of arrogance. The Conservatives’ foreign diplomacy has certainly sparked heated debate in media and public circles. Some applaud their decidedly different form of Canadian politics, while others question their purpose and resolve. Whichever side of the debate you may fall, it’s important to situate current Conservative diplomacy in its proper context by reflecting on Canada’s international contributions of the past.

Read More

The Silent Epidemic of Environmental Sensitivities

/

In the first part of this series, we broadly touched on environmental and medical history as new (to us) areas of discussion. We examined the impact of poor policy on lead regulation and the “silent epidemic” of lead poisoning in the 1960s. We wonder what silent epidemics afflict us today as we look for lessons from these fields. So today we turn to what could be a modern day epidemic that has far reaching consequences, chemical contaminants and environmental sensitivities.

Read More

The "Silent Epidemic" of Lead Poisoning

/

Clio's Current has wandered widely in its foray into online history, but there are some topics which we have avoided. Some because we know nothing about them, and others because we know just enough that we know we have nothing worth saying. Environmental and medical history fall into the second category. In a two part series, we touch on these unfamiliar fields while exploring the history of lead use in North America.

Read More

Stuck in Time: A Call for the ‘Transtemporal’ Historian

/

Historians are considered experts, not of all history but certainly of a particular subfield. There are those of us who study Canadian history, or British or Japanese history, and within those subfields are additional ‘areas of expertise,’ such as political, environmental, or economic history. The Canadianist is certainly not bound to a Canadian context, nor is she/he restricted to study specific subfields or genres. Nonetheless, and despite recent interest in adopting inclusive modes of inquiry, historians are generally taught to embrace a sense of familiarity in their work that derives from research focused both topically and temporally. Clio’s Current has previously explored issues related to national and regional identities, political and social histories, and inquiry-based methodologies, but given that we recently passed the one-year mark, it’s perhaps appropriate for us to investigate the impact of time on historical writing.

Read More

What does it mean to be “Canadian”? A Historical Conception of Nationalism and Identity

/

In a May 1972 made-for-TV interview conducted by Vincent Tovell of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canadian historian Ramsay Cook explained his views on nationalism and identity within the context of the then contemporary state of the professional historical community in Canada. Cook’s interview with Tovell came on the heels of a publication that has since become a standard read in graduate-level courses in Canadian history. The Maple Leaf Forever: Essays on Nationalism and Politics in Canada, published by Cook in 1971, challenged the notion that there exists in Canada a singular national identity governed by a singular state. Rather than conform to homogeneity, Cook argued that Canadian’s should learn from the unique circumstances of variation. 

Read More

Who are Canada's Heroes?

/

Canadians were asked to list the most inspirational figures from the last 150 years of their history. The list, perhaps to the consternation of the Conservative government, primarily featured non-Conservatives. Much has been written in the media about the notable lack of conservative “heroes,” only our first Prime Minister, Conservative John A. MacDonald, made the top ten. There were other notable absences, such as a lack of women, Indigenous peoples, and many other groups that today are a part of the makeup of Canada. Most of the journalists responding to the news raised the idea of what was a Canadian hero?

Read More

The Big Picture and Canada's Fenian Raids

/

The 2nd of June marked the anniversary of the Battle of Ridgeway, the largest battle of the 1866 Fenian Raids. The Fenian Raids are remembered in Canada on the great list of “Events that led to Confederation.” You probably heard about it high school history. Most probably remember a simple story of the Fenian raids. Canada, threatened by the invasion of Irish-American Fenians, united to form one country at Confederation in 1867 so as to defend itself. Less remembered is the larger series of events which led to the forming of the Fenians and their raids on Canada.

Read More

Popularizing D-Day: 70 Years On

/

In his monumental work, The Great War and Modern Memory (1975), American literary historian Paul Fussell sought to situate how the men of the First World War gave meaning to their painful and life-changing experiences. But it wasn’t just a meaningful exercise for veterans of the First World War, for the book had been written at an opportune time about 60 years after the outbreak of war in 1914 and just 30 years after the end of Fussell’s war in 1945. Fussell had become interested in previous experiences not unlike his own—he sought to explore these experiences across time and space.

Read More

Canada's Cold War Part V

/

Canada’s Cold War is often incorrectly dichotomized in historical scholarship. Examinations into the era often produce work strictly focused on the "front lines" (Europe) or "home front" (North America). Over the past few months we have probed Canada’s Cold War experience using a variety of analyses and perspectives, and have attempted to reconstruct a nuanced narrative to introduce our readers to some of the key events and personalities that shaped socio-cultural, political, technological, and economic change in Canada and abroad between the 1940s and 1970s. Today, in our fifth and perhaps final installment of Cold War history, we seek to determine if Canada was able to act autonomously during the era.

Read More

Canada's Cold War Part IV

/

Over the course of the past few months we have examined Canada’s role in the Cold War. Our examination thus far has situated Canadian interests generally within a North American context, where the United States has featured predominantly as Canada’s primary Cold War ally. Today we shift our focus away from North America and the Canada-United States bilateral relationship to examine a unique episode of the Cold War when Canada acted autonomously from its closest postwar allies.

Read More

The Problems and Wonders of Family Histories

/

Academics and ordinary people often disagree on what history should include or exclude. Academics have trained for years to gain the authority to teach and write about history. Given the sacrifices we have make to achieve that position, it is perhaps understandable that we defend our status as gatekeepers to the past. Once, when history books were few and far between, so we could reasonably control what “history” was. That is no longer the case. Today anyone can explore the past, sometimes without even encountering a historian. It is less an academic exercise and more a personal journey into a past that is relevant to the individual. One of the most popular ways for non-academics to delve into history is genealogical research and family histories. Why is this aspect of history so compelling?  What does it mean for historians?

Read More

Judicial Supremacy and the Right of the Individual in Canada

/

 A series of recent Supreme Court cases have ruled against the Canadian government. The rejection of their chosen appointee to the Court, Marc Nadon, on constitutional grounds has angered the government in Ottawa. Rumours and allegations of interference by the Chief Justice, Beverely McLachlin, have swirled over the last week. Ultimately, the Conservatives do not like that an unelected judiciary can supersede the democratically elected Canadian government. The place of the Supreme Court in Canada gives it constitutional authority and stems directly from the 1982 Constitution Act. Its section 52 gave the Supreme Court power to strike down legislation that did not align with the new Canadian constitution. To better understand the position of today's government, today we briefly examine how judiciary authority became supreme in Canada.

Read More

At the Intersection of Security and Discrimination: Canadian Immigration and the Case of Irene Rebrin

/

Within academic circles, terms such as “nation” and “Canada” are highly contested. They are loaded with historical, cultural and linguistic meaning, and thus welcome deep investigation which often produces heated debate. The history of Canadian immigration policy is a particularly interesting and contested subject that challenges scholars to investigate the meaning of citizenship and national identity. This is perhaps most evident during a unique period in the immediate postwar years, when the proverbial gates to Canada became “vulnerable” to Cold War Communism.

Read More

Remembering and Reading Alistair MacLeod

/

Alistair MacLeod died yesterday at age 77. For many years he has been one of my favourite authors. I've read his books many times and have always found it sad that more Canadians have not read his works. I've often looked him up in bookstores, hoping to see another published collection or novel. There is a small (but growing) club of great Canadian authors, though I am sure its members changes depending on who's speaking. For me, Alistair MacLeod is at the top of that list and his passing moved me to write this post in the hopes that maybe some of our readers will pick up his work.

Read More

Canada's Cold War - Part III

/

This post is part three of our examination into Cold War Canada. In our first post we situated Canada’s post-1945 national interests within the context of a North American bilateral security relationship with the United States, and in our second post we broadened that framework to examine social and cultural implications that resulted from the so-called “Gouzenko Affair” of 1945-46 and the subsequent “Red Scare” that took hold in Canada as well as the United States. Today we return to the topic of national security to further examine the unique defence relationship which emerged in northern North America during the early Cold War period.

Read More

The Long History of Progressive Conservatives in Canada

/

These are tough days for Canadian Conservatives. Their chosen government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper is losing support from scandals over the Senate and now over the heavily disputed Fair Elections Act. Since its 2003 merger with the Canadian Reform Party (then called the Canadian Alliance), the party has succeeded in forming a minority and majority government much to the chagrin of nearly 2/3rds of the Canadian electorate that voted for other parties. Many disparage the Conservative Party as a destructive right-wing movement that impedes Canada in the 21st century. Criticism of the neo-liberal policies of the Conservatives are usually based in ideological disagreements, which sometimes results in broad generalizations about all Canadian conservatives. It's worthwhile to remember the roots and success of the old Progressive Conservatives – Canadians conservatives should not be defined by one leader or one party in 2014.

Read More

Quebec Election Night: The Dream of a Nation

/

As you read this, Quebecois are voting for their next provincial government. The polls suggest that the Parti libéral de Québec will win and Phillipe Couillard will be the next the Premier. Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois has seemingly done everything wrong this election. She dropped the writ believing her party could win a majority, but political missteps such as raising the possibility of another referendum or tacking to the right on the political spectrum has turned voters away from the PQ. For Canadians outside of Quebec, the expected results are called a firm condemnation of Quebec nationalism, be it a desire for sovereignty or as it was expressed through the much criticized charter of values. Such lines of thought are simplistic and today we delve into some of the concepts behind the continuing longevity of Quebec nationalism.

Read More

Fifteen Years of Nunavut: A Look at Canada's History with the Inuit

/

Tuesday marked the fifteenth anniversary of the creation of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory, and the largest land claim in Canadian history. At least, by territory – there are some 33,000 people spread over 2 million square kilometres in Nunavut. On April 1, 1999, the federal government finished a decades long process over the recognition of Inuit peoples as an indigenous group by the Canadian government. Nunavut was split off from the Northwest Territories as the Canadian government as a negotiation over land ownership. Part of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement that gave Inuit the ability to govern themselves was that they also had to “cede,release and surrender ... all their aboriginal claims, rights, title and interests.” This post looks at part of the process that gave them those rights.

Read More