Title search results
Showing 3141 - 3160 of 3651 items
Hardscrabble: The High Cost of Free Land
By J Patrick Boyer, Donna E Williams. 2013
How emigrants were lured to Ontario’s Muskoka in the 1870s in a vain attempt to farm the Canadian Shield. When…
the Free Grants and Homestead Act was first introduced in 1868, fierce debates erupted in Ontario’s Legislature over whether land in the Muskoka region should be opened to settlement or reserved for the Aboriginal population. From the beginning, many people vented serious doubts about the free grant scheme, citing the district’s poor agricultural prospects. In the end, such caution was ignored by overeager boosters. The story in Hardscrabble also takes readers to Britain, where emigration philanthropists urged their government to send the country’s poor to Canada, then follows these emigrants as they left the familiar behind to make a new life in the Canadian wilderness. The initial romance of living off the land was soon dispelled as these hapless souls faced clearing the land, building shelters, and sowing crops in desolate, remote locations. Donna Williams’s extensive research leads her to conclude that Muskoka’s experience epitomizes the wrongheadedness of placing already poor people on remote land unsuited for farming.McCully's New Brunswick: Photographs From the Air, 1931-1939
By Dan Soucoup. 2005
During the Great Depression, promoter, salesman, and pilot Richard Thorne McCully became an aviation pioneer, capturing much of the Maritime…
region from the air. Along with photographer Harold Reid and pilot Marty Fraser, McCully spent the early 1930s flying over Atlantic Canada. The photographs they took offer a rare glimpse into prominent homes, vibrant businesses, churches, farms and waterfronts that are no longer standing or have been significantly altered. Each photo has been annotated with the natural features, architecture, streetscapes, industries, sporting events and other pastimes, and colourful characters depicted.These unique bird’s-eye views from 1931 to 1939 capture the feeling of that first day in May 1931 when McCully’s small twin-engine took off from the tiny Moncton airport.Early Voices: Portraits of Canada by Women Writers, 1639-1914
By Mary Alice Downie, Barbara Robertson, Elizabeth Jane Errington. 2008
This selection of writings by 29 women, known and unknown, professional and amateur, presents a unique portrait of Canada through…
time and space, from the 17th to the early 20th century, from the Maritimes to British Columbia and the Far North. There is a range of voices from high-born wives of governors general, to an Icelandic immigrant and a fisherman’s wife in Labrador. A Loyalist wife and mother describes the first hard weather in New Brunswick, a seasick nun tells of a dangerous voyage out from France, a famous children’s writer writes home about the fun of canoeing, and a German general’s wife describes habitant customs. All demonstrate how women’s experiences not only shared, but helped shape this new country.Almaguin Chronicles: Memories of the Past
By Astrid Taim. 2007
The Almaguin Highlands is a region that was once coveted for its game, silver birch and majestic white pine. For…
centuries this area stretched up to the shores of Lake Nipissing and embraced an unbroken forest that remained largely intact save where lakes, streams and beaver meadows punctuated the forest floor. In 1900, the northernmost areas of the District of Parry Sound were still not accessible by even a conventional roadway. Homesteaders, their claims precariously strung along the Pickerel River, relied on the waterway as their transportation route. What must it have been like at the outset for the lumbermen who cut down the white pine? And how did the settlers-those intrepid folk who trekked across the district with only the lumberjack’s blazed trails for a guide-cope in the wilderness?Almaguin Chronicles explores the relationship between lumbering and settlement throughout the Parry Sound District-the last frontier of this part of Ontario. Throughout, rare archival photographs and excerpts from unpublished memoirs augment the text.On Her Majesty's Service: Royal Honours and Recognition in Canada
By Christopher Mccreery. 2008
Royal recognition in Canada is accorded through a variety of honours and awards, including the Royal Victorian Order, Medal, and…
Chain; Vice-Regal and Commissioners’ Commendations; and Vice-Regal and Commissioners’ Recognition Badges. On Her Majesty’s Service examines the history and development of these marks of honour from the Crown in detail and also provides complete lists of Canadian recipients and a section on heraldry. The Royal Victorian Order and Medal have been used since 1896 to honour Canadians who have rendered extraordinary or personal services to the Sovereign, while the Royal Victorian Chain was instituted in 1902. The Vice-Regal and Commissioners’ Commendations are valuable awards presented by lieutenant-governors and territorial commissioners for important services to a viceregal or territorial commissioner; lieutenant-governors, territorial commissioners, and their spouses are accorded royal recognition through the Vice-Regal and Commissioners’ Recognition Badges.Much to Be Done: Private Life in Ontario From Victorian Diaries
By Ryan Taylor, Frances Hoffman. 2007
Victorian Ontario included people from all walks of life from homeless beggars to wealthy gentry. In Much To Be Done…
we glimpse how life was lived in 19th-century Ontario, not only in the grand mansions, but also in the farm houses and streets where our ancestors lived.This publication could be your great-grandmother’s story, following the cycle of life from courtship to childbirth to celebration and death. Diaries, with some contributions from letters, newspapers and reminiscences, provide a fresh and contemporary viewpoint. Much To Be Done promotes a historical understanding which links people of today with the Ontario of the past.An Unstoppable Force: The Scottish Exodus to Canada
By Lucille H Campey. 2008
This book provides the first exhaustive study of the great Scottish exodus to Canada written in modern times. Using wide-ranging…
sources, some previously untapped, Lucille Campey examines the driving forces behind the Scottish exodus and traces the remarkable progress of Scottish colonizers across Canada. Mythology and truth are considered side by side as their story unfolds. Scots had a profound impact on Canada and shaped the course of its history. This book is essential reading for those who wish to understand why they came and the enormity of their achievements in Canada.Martensville: The Story of the Martensville Daycare Trials
By Frann Harris. 1998
When a child-abuse scandal is uncovered at an unlicenced daycare in small-town Saskatchewan, it polarizes the community. Frann Harris, a…
rookie court reporter assigned to the trial the longest in Saskatchewan history starts to wonder if the scope of the alleged crimes is dwarfed by something even more startling: a botched police investigation and inappropriate courtroom procedures.Harris’ narrative alternates between the stories of child sexual abuse and whimsical recollections of her own childhood, using the odd touch of humour. Because the unfamiliar courtroom jargon sounds like a foreign language to her and to most readers, she translates it into plain English, and simplifies and demystifies elaborate and stylized courtroom procedures.Harris takes the reader into the courtroom, recreating the trial in all its complexities: the painful allegations of the children and their parents; the daily parry-and-thrust of lawyers trying to discredit both the police investigation and the testimony of the victims; and the contradictory testimony of psychologists and medical experts. Harris also goes outside the courtroom, interviewing witnesses and eavesdropping on the conversations of the accused, the police, neighbours and journalists.The verdicts in the Martensville case were and still are hotly contested. We may never know what really happened at the daycare, but in Martensville: Truth or Justice? The Story of the Martensville Daycare Trials, we can learn the intricacies of the investigation and the trial, and decide for ourselves whether justice was served.Seeking a Better Future: The English Pioneers of Ontario and Quebec
By Lucille H Campey. 2012
Most emigration from England was voluntary, self-financed, and pursued by people who, while expecting to improve their economic prospects, were…
also critical of the areas in which they first settled. The exodus from England that gathered pace during the 19th century accounted for the greatest part of the total emigration from Britain to Canada. And yet, while copious emigration studies have been undertaken on the Scots and the Irish, very little has been written about the English in Canada. Drawing on wide-ranging data collected from English record offices and Canadian archives, Lucille Campey considers why people left England and traces their destinations in Ontario and Quebec. A mass of detailed information relating to pioneer settlements and ship crossings has been distilled to provide new insights on how, why, and when Ontario and Quebec acquired their English settlers. Challenging the widely held assumption that emigration was primarily a flight from poverty, Campey reveals how the ambitious and resourceful English were strongly attracted by the greater freedoms and better livelihoods that could be achieved by relocating to Canada’s central provinces.The Crown and Canadian Federalism
By D. Michael Jackson. 2013
More than ever Canada’s constitutional monarchy should be treasured as a distinct asset for the nation. Following Queen Elizabeth II’s…
historic Diamond Jubilee in 2012, there is renewed interest in the institution of the Crown in Canada and the roles of the queen, governor general, and lieutenant governor. Author D. Michael Jackson traces the story of the monarchy and the Crown and shows how they are integral to Canada’s parliamentary democracy. His book underscores the Crown’s key contribution to the origins, evolution, and successful functioning of Canadian federalism, while the place of the monarchy in francophone Canada and the First Nations receives special attention.Complex issues such as the royal prerogative, constitutional conventions, the office of lieutenant governor, and Canada’s honours system are made readily accessible to the general reader. Jackson examines the option of republican governance for Canada and concludes that responsible government under a constitutional monarchy is far preferable. He further argues that the Crown should be treasured as a distinct asset for Canada.Scotland Farewell: The People of the Hector
By Donald Mackay. 2001
This is the story of the Highland Scots who sailed to Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1773 aboard the brig Hector.…
These intrepid emigrants came for many reasons: the famine of the previous spring, pressures of population growth, intolerable rent increases, trouble with the law, the hunger of landless men to own land of their own. Upon arrival at Pictou, after an appalling storm-tossed crossing, they found they had been deceived. The promised prime farming land turned out to be virgin forest. Only the kindness of the Mi’kmaq and the few New Englanders already settled there enabled them to survive until they learned how to exploit the forests and clear land. But survive they did, and their prosperity encouraged shiploads of emigrants, many fellow clansmen, to join them, making northeastern Nova Scotia a true New Scotland.Les Écossais: The Pioneer Scots of Lower Canada, 1763-1855
By Lucille H Campey. 2006
This is the first fully documented account, produced in modern times, of the migration of Scots to Lower Canada. Scots…
were in the forefront of the early influx of British settlers, which began in the late eighteenth century. John Nairne and Malcolm Fraser were two of the first Highlanders to make their mark on the province, arriving at La Malbaie soon after the Treaty of Paris in 1763. By the early 1800s many Scottish settlements had been formed along the north side of the Ottawa River, in the Chateauguay Valley to the southwest of Montreal, and in the Gaspe region. Then, as economic conditions in the Highlands and Islands deteriorated by the late 1820s, large numbers of Hebridean crofters settled in the Eastern Townships. The first group came from Arran and the later arrivals from Lewis. Les Ecossais were proud of their Scottish traditions and customs, those living reminders of the old country which had been left behind. In the end they became assimilated into Quebec’s French-speaking society, but along the way they had a huge impact on the province’s early development. How were les Ecossais regarded by their French neighbours? Were they successful pioneers? In her book, Lucille H. Campey assesses their impact as she unravels their story. Drawing from a wide range of fascinating sources, she considers the process of settlement and the harsh realities of life in the New World. She explains how Quebec province came to acquire its distinctive Scottish communities and offers new insights on their experiences and achievements.Orangeville: The Heart of Dufferin County
By Wayne Townsend. 2006
The Town of Orangeville has a colourful, exciting past – a history being documented in book form for the first…
time. From the early days of the Irish pioneers escaping the political problems of Ireland to the present influx of new residents fleeing the pressures of cities, Orangeville has been a town that has adapted well to change, always ready for new ideas. The strength of the community has been the people who have chosen to live there and who have left us interesting traces of their lives and the times. Much of the material used to research this book comes from newspapers, diaries, letters and other first-person documents, and archival photographs. Wherever possible, original quotes and stories in the language of the residents of the town appear throughout this history. The story of Orangeville and its surrounding area starts with the story of the Credit River, which rises within the town limits and maintains its presence as the town enters the 21st century. Brimming with stories never before heard, the pages are filled with humour, sadness and the range of emotions characteristic of a small Ontario town. For some the book will awaken memories; for others, it will introduce them to the community where they have chosen to live.Metal on Ice: Tales from Canada's Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Heroes
By Sean Kelly. 2013
A musical genre as tough and hard as the Canadian Shield. Canada has produced many successful proponents of the genre…
known as heavy metal, which grew out of the hard rock of the 1970s, exploded commercially in the 1980s, and then petered out in the 1990s as grunge took over, only to rise to prominence once again in the new millennium. The road to Canadian musical glory is not lined with the palm trees and top-down convertibles of the Sunset Strip. It is a road slick with black ice, obscured by blizzards, and littered with moose and deer that could cause peril for a cube van thundering down a Canadian highway. Drawing on interviews with original artists such as Helix, Anvil, Coney Hatch, Killer Dwarfs, Harem Scarem, and Honeymoon Suite, as well as prominent journalists, VJs, and industry insiders, we relive their experiences, motivations, and lifestyles as they strove for that most alluring of brass rings – the coveted record deal. It’s a new perspective on the dreams of musicians shooting for an American ideal of success and discovering a uniquely Canadian voice in the process.Treasures Of Canada
By Alan Samuel, John De Visser. 1994
James Fitzjames: The Mystery Man of the Franklin Expedition
By William Battersby. 2010
James Fitzjames was a hero of the early nineteenth-century Royal Navy. A charismatic man with a wicked sense of humour,…
he pursued his naval career with wily determination. When he joined the Franklin Expedition at the age of 32 he thought he would make his name. But instead the expedition completely disappeared and he never returned. Its fate is one of history’s last great unsolved mysteries, as were the origins and background of James Fitzjames – until now. Fitzjames packed a great deal into his thirty-two years. He had sailed an iron paddle steamer down the River Euphrates and fought with spectacular bravery in wars in Syria and China. But Fitzjames was not what he seemed. He concealed several secrets, including the scandal of his birth, the source of his influence and his plans for after the Franklin Expedition. In this first complete biography of the captain of the HMS Erebus, William Battersby draws extensively on Fitzjames’ personal letters and journals – most never published before – as well as official naval records, to strip away 200 years of misinformation and half-truths and enables us to understand for the first time this intriguing man and his significance for the Franklin Expedition.Mobilize!: Why Canada Was Unprepared for the Second World War
By J L Granatstein, Larry D Rose. 2013
Why was Canada not preparing for the Second World War when the rest of the world was ready to meet…
Hitler’s threats? Despite Canada’s active participation in the First World War, which many claimed made Canada a nation, the country was almost defenceless in September 1939 when war was declared again. Larry D. Rose, a long-time journalist and a military specialist, examines the military’s own failures, the hidden agenda of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, and the divisions within Canada leading up to Canada’s entry into the war. He suggests that the lack of preparedness was directly responsible for two of Canada’s costliest military defeats: the battle of Hong Kong and Dieppe.Unbuilt Victoria
By Dorothy Mindenhall. 2012
Unbuilt Victoria celebrates the city that is, and laments the city that could have been. For most people, resident and…
visitor alike, Victoria, British Columbia, is a time capsule of Victorian and Edwardian buildings. From a modest fur-trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company it grew to be the province’s major trading centre. Then the selection of Vancouver as the terminus of the transcontinental railway in the 1880s, followed by a smallpox epidemic that closed the port in the 1890s, resulted in decline.Victoria succeeded in reinventing itself as a tourist destination, based on the concept of nostalgia for all things English, stunning scenery, and investment opportunities. In the modernizing boom after the Second World War attempts were made to move the city’s built environment into the mainstream, but the prospect of Victoria’s becoming like any other North American city did not win public approval.Unbuilt Victoria examines some of the architectural plans that were proposed but rejected. That some of them were ever dreamed of will probably amaze, that others never made it might well be a matter of regret.The Big Blue Machine: How Tory Campaign Backrooms Changed Canadian Politics Forever
By J Patrick Boyer. 2015
An inside account of the Progressive Conservative’s campaign organization. The Progressive Conservative Party’s “big blue machine” pioneered electoral techniques of…
centralized control, communications, campaign advertising, polling, policy-presentation, and fund-raising. Inspired by Dalton Camp and Norman Atkins, its widespread yet close-knit network of organizers and specialists changed how Canadian campaigns were fought, even as their “political machine” transformed Canadian public life itself. J. Patrick Boyer’s behind-the-scenes account reveals how and why the blue machine’s campaign innovations (most imported from the U.S.) transformed Canadian politics forever. Boyer’s direct experience in these changes, and interviews with key players from Tory backrooms, enrich his authentic and timely account. This saga of the formidable campaign organization operating inside the Progressive Conservative Party for more than four decades shows why the big blue machine deservedly became a Canadian political legend.Eugene Forsey, Canada's Maverick Sage: Canada's Maverick Sage
By Roy Romanow, Helen Forsey. 2012
Eugene Forsey combined vision with protest and erudition with wit. A legacy for the common good: Eugene Forsey’s wit and…
wisdom.Feisty and erudite, Eugene Alfred Forsey (1904-1991) was an activist scholar, labour researcher, constitutional expert, and senator who fought all his life for the common good. His speeches, articles, and letters informed and provoked Canadians for more than 60 years, and now his daughter brings that legacy back to life in this fascinating and relevant book.One of Canada’s foremost constitutional experts, Forsey was also a provocative voice for social justice. Legendary for his sharp wit and high principle, he brought encyclopedic knowledge, irascible tenacity, and common sense to the causes of democracy, justice, and equality for all. Those themes resound through this book and resonate strongly in the Canada of today.Forsey never managed to toe a party line obediently. Raised a Conservative, he converted to social democracy as a young academic in the 1930s. He spent the following decades working for the labour movement and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF, now the New Democratic Party) and calling governments to account in speeches, articles, and pithy letters-to-the-editor. From 1970 to 1979, he sat in the Senate as a Trudeau Liberal, but soon afterward resumed his more natural role as non-partisan critic and gadfly.In labour halls, university classrooms, broadcasting studios, and the Senate chamber, Forsey entertained even as he educated. So, too, does this account of his works and life, which blends the personal and the political to provide a rich resource for Canadians facing the challenges of the 21st century.Helen Forsey, like her father, Eugene, is a social activist and writer, who worked overseas with CUSO and other international voluntary organizations. An ardent feminist and environmentalist, she winters in Ompah, Ontario, and summers at Pouch Cove, Newfoundland.