History Matters by Canadian Institute for Historical Education

Jerry Amernic on his book Sleepwoking

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Allan talks with journalist Jerry Amernic about his book Sleepwoking, published in November 2025.

The conversation opens with an anecdote about the founding of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York in 1939, ostensibly because the first ever baseball game had been played there in 1839, an origin story subsequently debunked by the Hall of Fame itself. Sleepwoking, in a similar vein, considers the accusations that Sir John A. Macdonald “starved the Indigenous Peoples,” Egerton Ryerson was the “architect” of residential schools, Henry Dundas “delayed” the abolition of the slave trade, Edward Cornwallis put a bounty on the scalps of Mi’kmaq “men, women and children,” and Matthew Begbie sentenced six innocent “Chilcotin Chiefs” to death by hanging. “None of this is true,” says Amernic. It is history shaped by ideology rather than evidence. But the vilification of these six follows a common pattern: an initial charge amplified by activists, then quoted by deferential media and politicians until it becomes orthodoxy. Historians who present evidence to the contrary do so at the risk of their careers. All of this is possible, says Amernic, because “people do not know the history of their country.

https://www.jerryamernic.com/sleep-wokinghttps://

cihe.ca/

Richard Stursberg on the ‘Collapse’ of Canadian Book Publishing

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Allan talks with writer and media executive Richard Stursberg to explore the rise and decline of Canadian book publishing. The conversation breaks down how Canada once built a thriving literary culture, why English-Canadian publishing has lost ground, and what that means for national identity, history, and cultural sovereignty today, along with what can be done to rebuild it. Stursberg examines the dramatic decline of English Canadian publishing, tracing the rise of a vibrant national literary culture in the 1960s through the 1990s and the policy failures that allowed foreign multinationals to dominate the market. The discussion considers the relationship between publishing, national identity, cultural sovereignty, and historical literacy in Canada. Richard Stursberg’s leadership roles have included CBC English, language services, Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Television Fund, and PEN Canada.

Richard Stursberg

Christina Blizzard Fifty Years in Journalism

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode of History Matters, Allan speaks with veteran journalist Christina Blizzard about her fifty plus years in journalism, a career that began at the old Toronto Telegram in an era of linotype and “hot lead” printing, included being a “Day One” employee at the Toronto Sun in 1971, and continued into today’s era of social media, digital printing and the AI-driven newsroom. Blizzard discusses her years covering Ontario politics at Queen’s Park, including such key moments as Mike Harris’ “Common Sense Revolution” in 1995, offering insight into how political reporting has changed as the press gallery has shrunk and the pace of news has accelerated dramatically. The challenge journalists face when reporting on unfolding events that later take on new meaning with the benefit of hindsight, including the Walkerton water tragedy. Blizzard shares stories from covering royal events, including the funeral of the Queen Mother, and reflects on the enduring importance of historical literacy, museums, and public access to history, and how journalism both records and shapes the historical record.

Madelaine Drohan on 250 Years of Canadians Fending Off Americans

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode of History Matters, journalist and author Madelaine Drohan joins the program to explore a question that feels contemporary, but is anything but new: how long have American Leaders imagined Canada as part of the United States? The conversation begins with today’s “51st state” rhetoric and Prime Minister Carney’s Davos warning that Canada is facing a rupture, not a transition. From there, it steps back to 1775–1776, when the Continental Army invaded Canada and Benjamin Franklin, already seventy years of age, traveled through the wilderness to Montréal for an attempt to persuade French Canadians to join the American Revolution. Drawing from her 2025 book He Did Not Conquer: Benjamin Franklin’s Failure to Annex Canada, Drohan explains why the invasion unraveled, why Franklin later downplayed the episode, and what this largely forgotten story reveals about how nations construct and revise their founding myths.

The episode concludes with a thoughtful discussion about whether Canada needs a more cohesive national story, and what it might be built around.

https://madelainedrohan.org/

Gordon Henderson on The Trial of Egerton Ryerson

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0400

In this special episode of History Matters Allan welcomes Gordon Henderson, a veteran television producer, documentary film maker, and historical novelist to introduce a live stage performance of the “The Trial of Egerton Ryerson,” a play commissioned by the CIHE, researched and written by Gilbert Reid and Gordon Henderson. Reid did the bulk of the original research which Henderson turned into a play set in a courtroom. Framed as an appeal hearing after Ryerson’s “conviction” in the court of public opinion, the play explores questions of presentism, historical context, responsibility, and legacy and how public institutions decide who is honored, criticized, or removed from commemoration. The play was performed before a live audience at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto on Sunday, February 8th 2026, with Gordon Henderson in the lead role of Dr. Ryerson, Paul Duder in the role of the Judge, and Matthew Chapman in the role of the Journalism Student; the play was directed by Elizabeth Trott.

A longer video of the event, including an audience Q&A session after the performance with Henderson and Reid and facilitated by Professor Patrice Dutil, is available on the CIHE website, www.CIHE.ca.

Ruth Abernethy on telling history in bronze

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0400

DESCRIPTION EP15

Public monuments shape how Canadians encounter their past. Yet the process of representing historical figures in bronze raises important questions: how does one preserve humanity, complexity, and context in a permanent public form?

In this episode of History Matters, Allan Williams speaks with Ruth Abernethy, one of Canada’s most accomplished sculptors. Her public works include figures such as Glenn Gould, Oscar Peterson, Sir John A. Macdonald, and William Lyon Mackenzie King, among many others. The conversation traces her artistic development, from her early work building characters at the Stratford Festival to her first major public commission, Raising the Tent (1996), which marked the beginning of a distinguished career in public sculpture.

Abernethy explains how her theatrical background informs her approach to historical representation. Rather than presenting idealized figures, her sculptures seek to portray individuals in moments of action and narrative attentive to personality, context, and human complexity.

The discussion also examines lesser-known chapters of Canadian history reflected in her work, including Len Cullen’s influence on the gardens of Whitby, the legacy of Camp X and William Stephenson (“Intrepid”), and Nova Scotia figures such as Vernon Smith and Abraham Gesner, whose innovations connect whale oil, kerosene, and the early development of the modern energy industry. Throughout, Abernethy reflects on sculpture as a form of public storytelling shaped by placement, inscription, design, and historical interpretation.

Listeners interested in public memory, Canadian identity, and the ways societies choose to commemorate their past will find this episode a thoughtful exploration of history in the public square.

https://www.ruthabernethy.com/

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Contact CIHE: info@cihe.ca

Christopher Dummitt on Canadian history in the Age of AI

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 04:30:00 -0400

In this episode of History Matters, Allan Williams speaks with Professor Christopher Dummitt of Trent University about the events leading to Ontario’s 1954 Fair Accommodations Practices Act. The discussion examines the leadership of Hugh Burnett, the organized campaign against racial discrimination in Dresden, and the broader pre-Charter human rights movement in Canada. This period is frequently overshadowed by the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The conversation also explores Professor Dummitt’s documentary series, Well, That Didn’t Suck!, including Episode 5, “The Right to Be Served,” which presents Burnett’s story for contemporary audiences. The episode reflects on the development of civil rights legislation in Canada, the influence of public advocacy on policy change, and the evolving tools historians use to communicate the past.

Listeners interested in Canadian history, civil rights, and the historical foundations of present-day legal protections will find this discussion particularly relevant.

Subscribe to History Matters for further conversations on the people, events, and ideas that have shaped Canada.

Christopher Dummitt

https://cihe.ca/

Charlotte Gray on Canada’s national archives and ‘popular’ history.

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode of History Matters, Allan is joined by Charlotte Gray, one of Canada’s best known and most prolific popular historians, for a wide-ranging conversation about how Canadian history is preserved, told, and understood today. We begin with the urgent and pressing issue of the future of Library and Archives Canada, which has experienced deep funding cuts, and now labours under privacy and access to information legislation so much more restrictive than in almost all other countries, that it has led to “the most unbelievable bureaucracy” such that access to government records and other documents can take months.

The situation is so dire, says Charlotte, that it is actively preventing new Canadian history from being written: “The core purpose of Library and Archives Canada, which is to preserve our history, is really faltering.” From there, we explore Charlotte’s career as a biographer and storyteller. We explore her quest to tell stories from diverse perspectives and why she chose to foreground women’s lives, how popular history differs from academic history, and what we can learn about important figures like Mackenzie King, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, for example, by looking at the lives of their mothers. In answer to the question, what book would you recommend to our listeners? Charlotte cited The Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, A White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation, by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderon (Amo Binashii).

https://www.charlottegray.ca/

https://cihe.ca/

Nick Rogers on Henry Dundas

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 12:30:00 -0400

In this episode of the Canadian Institute for Historical Education podcast, host Allan Williams speaks with distinguished historian Nicholas Rogers, Research Professor Emeritus at York University and author of numerous works on eighteenth-century Britain and the Atlantic world. The conversation centers on Rogers’s recent article in the Canadian Historical Review, “Toronto’s Dundas Imbroglio,” which examines the historical debates surrounding Henry Dundas, slavery, and public memory in Canada. (A free copy of the article is available upon request) The episode opens with a powerful moment from July 26, 1833, when news reached William Wilberforce that Britain had passed legislation to abolish slavery across much of the British Empire—just days before his death. Using this event as historical context, Rogers examines the complexities of abolition, Dundas's role, and how historical figures are remembered and contested today. This thoughtful discussion invites listeners to consider how history, commemoration, and contemporary values intersect.

Nicholas Rogers

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-rogers-21aab165/?originalSubdomain=ca

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Christopher Dummitt on Responsible Government

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 04:00:00 -0400

What if one of the most defining moments in Canadian democracy wasn’t Confederation, but a riot that burned Parliament to the ground in Montreal? In this episode of History Matters, I’m joined by Christopher Dummitt, professor of Canadian history at Trent University and host of the acclaimed podcast 1867 and All That.

Together, we dive into the dramatic political turning points of the 1830s and 1840s, including the Rebellion Losses Bill, the rise of responsible government, and the tensions that erupted into the 1849 burning of Canada’s Parliament. Chris explains why the path to Canadian self-government wasn’t forged through rebellion alone, but through a hard-won shift toward Westminster-style democracy, political coalition-building, and the real test of whether elected leaders could govern without imperial interference.

You’ll also hear unforgettable stories and key figures behind the era, Joseph Howe in Nova Scotia, Baldwin and Lafontaine in the Province of Canada, and Governor General Lord Elgin, whose decision to sign a deeply controversial bill helped define what democracy would mean in Canada.

If you want to understand how Canada learned to govern itself, and why this period may matter more than Confederation, this episode is for you.

Subscribe for more episodes of History Matters on YouTube, and check out Chris Dummitt’s work on 1867 and All That for a deeper dive into the story.

Christopher Dummitt

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https://cihe.ca/

Nigel Biggar and Margaret MacMillan in Conversation on Colonialism

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 04:00:00 -0400

This episode is the second of two taken from a CIHE event held in March 2025 with Oxford Professor Nigel Biggar, recently appointed to the UK House of Lords, and Margaret MacMillan, Companion of the Order of Canada.

This second part features the conversation between Lord Biggar and Professor MacMillan that followed his opening statement. They examined the moral complexity of empires, especially the British Empire, and the modern push to revise or erase elements of Canadian history. Margaret MacMillan calls for rigorous historical thinking, warning against using history as a political weapon or reducing it to moral judgment.

https://cihe.ca/

Nigel Biggar on Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 15:30:00 -0400

This episode is the first of two taken from a CIHE event held in March 2025 with renowned historians Professor Nigel Biggar, recently appointed to the British House of Lords and author of the 2023 book, Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, and Professor Margaret MacMillan, Companion of the Order of Canada, and author of The Uses and Abuses of History, among many other books.

In the first of two parts, Lord Biggar presents key arguments from his book Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning, challenging one-sided narratives that portray the British Empire as purely destructive. He outlines both the harms and the contributions of empires — including the abolition of slavery, legal institutions, and protection for minority groups — and urges a more balanced, evidence-based view of history.

https://cihe.ca/

Allan Levine on Canada’s ‘Dollar a Year Men’ in World War Two

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Did you know that in World War II, Canada’s “best business brains” traded Bay Street boardrooms in support of the country's war effort?

In this episode of History Matters, I sit down with Winnipeg-based historian and author Allan Levine to talk about his new book, The Dollar a Year Men: How the Best Business Brains in Canada Helped to Win the Second World War (Barlow Books, 2025).

We open with a gripping story from December 1940: C.D. Howe, E.P. Taylor, and other Canadian industrialists crossing a U-boat–infested Atlantic, only to see their ship torpedoed and still pressing on to London to negotiate urgently needed munitions for Britain.

From there, Allan and I trace how a small, mostly agrarian country of just over 11 million people became the fourth-largest industrial power in the Allied war effort. We explore the rise of C.D. Howe as Minister of Munitions and Supply, the “dollar-a-year men” who left lucrative private-sector careers to serve, the creation of Crown corporations, and the “bits and pieces” subcontracting system that turned refrigerator and bicycle factories into producers of tanks, guns, and Lancaster bombers. Along the way, we talk about labour tensions, accusations of war profiteering, and how Mackenzie King’s cautious political genius coexisted with Howe’s bulldozing efficiency.

We also zoom out to ask bigger questions: What does this wartime experiment in state–business partnership tell us about Canadian political culture, emergency powers, and the limits of parliamentary accountability? Why has this story been so neglected in mainstream Second World War histories? And what lessons—good and bad—might it hold for governments facing crises today?

If you enjoy historically grounded conversations about Canadian politics, World War II, economic history, and the people behind the policy, this episode is for you.

Allan Levine

https://www.linkedin.com/in/allan-levine-90284869/?originalSubdomain=ca

Sean Conway on Separate School Education in Ontario

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 04:00:00 -0400

In this episode, host Allan Williams welcomes historian and former Ontario cabinet minister Sean Conway for a wide-ranging discussion that connects contemporary political decisions to their deeper historical roots.

Conway reflects on the Ontario provincial election of 1985, which brought an end to the 42 year PC dynasty, and the unusual circumstances that led to his receiving official briefings on the “Separate School Funding” issue as much as six weeks before the Frank Miller government fell and Conway was sworn in as Minister of Education in the David Peterson government. The conversation also explores the longer constitutional backdrop, from the Union period in the 1840s to Confederation, and how denominational school rights shaped provincial and national politics well into the twentieth Century.

Conway closes by sharing the family influences that led to his interest in Canadian history and recommending two books by Christopher Moore for listeners eager to learn more about Canada’s founding moment.

Sean Conway is part of our Advisory Council.

https://share.google/G9az9o9u3gliqKmoC

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David Wilson on The Dictionary of Canadian Biography

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 04:00:00 -0400

What happens when a national biography doesn’t just celebrate—or condemn, but strives to understand? In this episode, I sit down with historian David A. Wilson to explore how the DCB is rethinking who gets included, how language is updated without “rewriting” the past, and why a birdseed magnate—James Nicholson—helped launch Canada’s most important biographical project.

In this episode, I sit down with historian David Wilson, General Editor of the Dictionary of Canadian

Biography, to discuss the origins and history of this great institution that has been ongoing now for more

than seventy years. We cover how the DCB decides who gets included, how the language of older

biographies can be updated without “rewriting” the past, and why a birdseed magnate—James

Nicholson—helped launch Canada’s most important biographical project. I was particularly struck by

David’s line: “the goal of the dictionary is not to celebrate Canadian history, but nor is it to join the

bandwagon of those who condemn Canadian history; the goal of the dictionary is to understand

Canadian history in all its complexity.” We also touch on David’s award-winning two-volume biography

of Thomas D’Arcy McGee and his most recent book, Canadian Spy Story: Irish Revolutionaries and the

Secret Police, (McGill-Queen’s, 2022)—including the 3,000 letters in Macdonald’s papers that reveal a

real Fenian underground in Canada and why Macdonald downplayed the threat publicly while, in

contrast, he later amplied the threat from the Plains Cree in 1885. Along the way, David shares how he

accidentally became a Canadian historian, the DCB’s precarious funding reality, and three must-read

books for anyone who loves Canadian history.

If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe and share. Find History Matters on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Write to us at info@cihe.ca and learn more about the Canadian Institute for Historical Education.If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe and share. Find History Matters on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Write to us at info@cihe.ca

and learn more about the Canadian Institute for Historical Education.

J.D.M. Stewart on The Prime Ministers

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 04:00:00 -0400

Host Allan Williams welcomes J D M James Stewart, author, broadcaster, podcaster, and veteran teacher, to discuss The Prime Ministers, Canada’s Leaders and the Nation They Shaped Sutherland House, 2025. They revisit R B Bennett’s reputation in the shadow of the Depression, examine Mackenzie King’s wartime stewardship, and consider how crisis, longevity, and electoral success drive rankings that often place King, Macdonald, and Laurier at the top. Stewart outlines his research approach using Hansard, press archives, and landmark biographies, and argues that the Indigenous file crosses every PM’s desk far more than most surveys acknowledge.

The episode widens to the challenge of historical literacy in Canada, highlighting the roles of schools, public broadcasters, film, heritage organizations, and publishers, without maple washing the past. Human details, from King’s diaries to Chretien and Clinton’s rapport, keep the story grounded in people as well as policy.

J.D.M. Stewart

https://cihe.ca/

Tribute to Historian Tim Cook

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 04:00:00 -0400

Host Allan Williams welcomes J.D.M. Stewart, Eric McGeer, and Christopher Dummitt for a special tribute to Tim Cook, the award-winning Canadian military historian and chief historian/director of research at the Canadian War Museum. The panel reflects on Cook’s life, generosity, and extraordinary output—19 books that made the World Wars accessible without sacrificing scholarly rigour. They spotlight must-reads including The Secret History of Soldiers, Warlords, Lifesavers and Body Snatchers, and his sweeping two-volume histories of WWI and WWII.

The conversation blends personal memories with critical insight into Cook’s popular and academic impact—how he balanced “worm’s-eye” human stories with meticulous research, and why his work will keep teaching new readers for years to come. Recorded in the spirit of gratitude and remembrance, the episode invites listeners to honour Cook by reading and sharing his books.

David Frum on ‘Settlers & Colonialists

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

What does settler colonialism really mean, and how does it shape the way we see Canada’s past? In this special live episode of History Matters, we feature journalist and author David Frum delivering his talk “Settlers and Colonialists,” recorded at a CIHE event in Toronto.

Frum challenges audiences to think critically about how the language of settler colonialism has reframed the histories of Canada, the U.S., and Israel, and what that means for national identity, guilt, and democracy today. Whether you agree or disagree, this is a provocative exploration of how history and politics collide in modern discourse.

https://davidfrum.com/page/about

Vickery Bowles on public libraries and parliamentary democracy

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

How does a library protect democracy? In this episode, I speak with Vickery Bowles, former City Librarian of Toronto, about how the Toronto Public Library became the largest library system in North America, 100 branches strong.

We talk about the Toronto Reference Library, its remarkable special collections, and why intellectual freedom remains a core democratic value. Plus, Vickery shares news of a big milestone: all 100 branches are now open on Sundays for the first time ever.

Vickery Bowles

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickery-bowles-68712665/?originalSubdomain=ca

Patrice Dutil on Sir John A Macdonald

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

What if one year and one election defined Canada’s destiny? In this first episode of History Matters, I speak with historian Patrice A. Dutil about his new book Ballots and Brawls: The 1867 Canadian Election, and why context matters in understanding our past.

We unpack the first election after Confederation, the chaos of open ballots and political brawls, and how a fragile democracy took root under Sir John A. Macdonald. Patrice also shares insights from his award-winning Sir John A. Macdonald and the Apocalyptic Year 1885, when rebellion, smallpox, and railways collided to test Canada’s young nation.

Subscribe for more thoughtful takes on the moments that shaped Canadian history.

Patrice Dutil

https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrice-dutil-8962a12b7/

Introducing History Matters a Podcast By Canadian Institute for Historical Education

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Canada’s history is full of triumphs, tensions, and turning points. Yet too often, it’s reduced to headlines or overshadowed by present-day debates. History Matters was created to give space for deeper conversations — ones that connect the past to the present, and help us see why context matters more than ever.

Through engaging storytelling, candid interviews, and spirited discussion, History Matters will explore:

The pivotal choices and challenges that have shaped Canada
Stories of the people — both well-known and overlooked — who influenced our path
How history continues to inform today’s debates about politics, culture, and identity

Make sure you're subscribed wherever you get your podcasts.