Between 1840 and 1860, more than 30,000 American slaves came secretly to Canada and freedom
WORLD WAR I was known as The Great War, a name that referred to its international scale, its massive mobilization of men, munitions and supplies, and its terrible toll on human life. Some say that the young country of Canada came of age in this war. Canadians won glory in the Royal Flying Corps, where Billy Bishop and Raymond Collishaw survived long enough to become aces of the air, and Roy Brown downed the Red Baron. However, it was also in the gruesome war of the trenches that Canadians demonstrated their endurance and courage.
Jacques Plante broke with tradition and changed the face of hockey forever. Jacques Plante was to become one of the National Hockey League's greatest goalies, but was never one to rest on his laurels. He would dare to be different and go against the game's "macho" traditions by wearing a protective face mask, and developed a very personal style of play in front of and behind the net.
The names of women are conspicuously absent from the lists of famous Canadian medical pioneers. During the 19th Century, while male physicians and surgeons were exploring new treatments and innovative medical procedures, Canadian women were struggling for the mere right to practice medicine. For them, acceptance into a medical school was a major achievement. The two women most responsible for breaking down the barriers and advancing medical training for women in Canada were Emily Stowe and Jennie Kidd Trout.
Superman leapt from comic books to radio serials in the 1940s, and on to the television screen by the 1950s. At the beginning of each episode a breathless announcer proclaimed that the caped superhero would once again defend "Truth, Justice and the American Way." Who would have thought that this great American hero was a Canadian creation?
Canadian peacekeepers are stationed in Cyprus to help diffuse tension between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Our governor general controlled by an elected assembly, instead of by us. It's a Canadian idea! Individual women and men can achieve great things when they break with tradition. But history shows that nations, too, must forge new paths to realize their ideals.
By the late Nineteenth Century, the railroad had connected eastern Canada with the West Coast. The train offered new access to the vast western prairies - thousands of hectares of fertile soil.
Nellie McClung was a political activist. She was also a charmer with a gift for oratory and a delightful sense of humour. Her spirited leadership rallied others to the cause of women's suffrage in Manitoba in the early 20th century.
In the 1850s, many Québec families adopted Irish orphans, their parents dead from ship's fever on the Atlantic crossing The Irish and the French Canadians share a part of history that goes back more than 150 years, at a time when waves of European immigrants were flooding into Canada, most of them arriving first in Québec. One tragic episode occurred in 1847.
After Columbus landed in the Western Hemisphere in 1492, European rulers sent explorers across the Atlantic to the Americas to claim territory and discover riches. The Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch and French all wanted a piece of the "New World" for themselves. Sometimes we forget that the "new world" was not new at all, but the ancient home of many people who were called "Indians" by the Europeans. Jacques Cartier came from the French court of King Francis I to explore North America. In 1534, on his first voyage, he explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Dr. Wilder Penfield had a passionate desire to unlock the mysteries of the human brain. He revolutionized the techniques of brain surgery and made major discoveries about human cognition, memory and sensation. Penfield's medical exploration began with the causes and treatment of epilepsy, which was considered incurable. In 1935 he set up the Montréal Neurological Institute, which brought together surgeons and scientists for co-operative projects in the research, diagnosis and surgical treatment of brain disorders.
New France, under the leadership of French governor Louis de Buade de Frontenac, repels the British invasion at the Battle of Quebec (1690).
A look at the importance of midwives in early Canada.
Agnes Macphail began her career as a country schoolteacher. Interested in agricultural problems, she became a member and active spokesperson for the United Farmers of Ontario. Her move into politics stemmed from her desire to represent the farmers of her region. In 1919 women gained the right to run for Parliament, and Macphail was elected in 1921, the first federal election in which women had the vote.
The British Columbia painter discovers the artistic muse that will drive her life's work.
Geologist and cartographer Joseph Tyrrell discovers a plethora of dinosaur bones in Alberta.
Sports coach James Naismith's invention of Basketball is tested by a group of young students in Springfield Illinois.
One family's quick thinking helps them to survive the 1870 fire in the Saguenay, Quebec.
Joseph Casavant, world renowned organ maker, builds his first organ.
French coureur des bois and explorer Jean Nicolet becomes the first European to reach Lake Michigan, but thinks it's the Pacific.
Teacher Kate Henderson sways school trustees to embrace new methods, and the event is represented in the famous painting by Robert Harris: A Meeting of the School Trustees.
"The world loves a peaceful man," declared Emily Murphy, "but it gives way to a strenuous kicker." Murphy herself was a strenuous kicker, one who opened the path of reform in the legal landscape of Canada. Emily Murphy began her career as a writer of sunny, patriotic travel sketches, which she published under the pseudonym Janey Canuck. Known for its liveliness and humour, her writing also expressed serious concern for the welfare of women and children. Increasingly she found herself speaking out frankly and publicly on behalf of the disadvantaged.
L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland is settled by Norsemen (Vikings) around the year 1000 CE.
Lawyer and politician Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine build inter-lingual cooperation.
Canadian heroine Laura Secord aids the British in the War of 1812 with an overland trek to warn of an American military advance.
Philosopher of communication theory Marshall McLuhan coins the phrases "the medium is the message" and "global village."
The band of this famous French Canadian regiment rehearses for the first performance of O Canada in 1880 at Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations.
What thoughts ran through Louis Riel's mind as he stood on the scaffold, waiting for the trap door to open to his death?
Journalist and government official Étienne Parent demands equality for French and English.
A young Chinese Canadian risks his life helping to build the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Engineer and inventor Sir Sandford Fleming develops the system of international standard time.
Considered one of the "cathedrals" of ice hockey, the construction and history of the Maple Leaf Gardens is featured.
Engineer Thomas Wardrope Eadie develops the Trans Canada Microwave telecommunications network.
Inventor Joseph-Armand Bombardier and the beginnings of his passion for engineering.
An Inukshuk, a stone landmark or cairn, is built on Baffin Island.
The story of how Mary Travers becomes a famed popular singer in Quebec.
Major General and police official Sam Steele (portrayed by Alan Scarfe) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police bars an unruly American (portrayed by Don S. Davis) from entering the Yukon with pistols, despite being threatened at gunpoint.
Through the tireless efforts of Benjamin Hart, the Legislative Assembly granted Jews the right to erect a new synagogue and to keep registers of births, marriages and deaths within their community.
The art of Paul-Émile Borduas and the Quiet Revolution are featured.
Professional diplomats Georges and Pauline Vanier fight Canadian immigration policy in an attempt to help refugees fleeing Europe in the Second World War.
Canadian Mennonites devise sustainable agriculture practices that aid the Third World.
Lawyer, judge, and politician John Matheson looks at candidates for Canada's new flag.
From 1850 until his death in 1890, Sitting Bull symbolized the conflict between settlers and native American culture over lifestyles, land, and resources. Sitting Bull led the Sioux resistance against U.S. incursion into Indian lands, resistance that often ended in battle. After the most famous battle at Little Big Horn, in which General George Custer's forces were completely annihilated, Sitting Bull left the United States for the Cypress Hills in Saskatchewan.
It is ironic that England's claim to North America, the claim that is responsible for the creation of Canada as we know it, rests on the discoveries of an Italian sea captain.
Myrnam, Alberta 1935 It was snowing outside and the three-bed "service station" that acted as a hospital for Myrnam was overflowing with seventeen patients. It wasn't the first time the little hospital located two hundred kilometers east of Edmonton - had been filled past capacity. Something had to be done.
The Bluenose, a ship out of Halifax and an important Canadian symbol in the 1930s, wins its last race.
On December 8, 1915, Punch magazine published a poem commemorating the dead of World War I. "In Flanders Fields" was written by John McCrae of Guelph, Ontario, after his experiences in the trench warfare around Ypres, Belgium.
In 1867, just weeks after Confederation, a lighthouse keeper and three fishermen from Saint John, NB took the sporting world by storm. The place was Paris, France and the event was the World Amateur Rowing Championship, part of the International Exposition.
Archibald Belaney perpetrated one of the 20th Century's most convincing hoaxes. Known to the world as "Grey Owl," he convinced everyone that he was a Canadian-born first nations author. In this persona, he became one of Canada's most popular and famous personalities. Grey Owl's British origins came to light shortly after his death and the ensuing public outcry ignored his significant contributions as a conservationist.
How Nat Taylor invents the multiplex theater.
Author, lecturer and social activist J. S. Woodsworth convinces Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to introduce old age pensions.
December 28, 1944 was moving day for 23 year old Maurice Richard. All day he hefted furniture - including a piano - into his new house. That night he scored 5 goals and 3 assists setting an NHL record.
The development of the Avro Arrow (this Heritage Minute was produced based on the 1996 mini-series "The Arrow").
Is there anything more Canadian than maple syrup? "Sugaring time," that brief space between winter and spring when the snow starts to melt and the sap begins to flow in the maple groves evokes romantic images of our pioneering past. Despite the technological advances in farming techniques, production of maple syrup remains largely a "family operation," essentially unchanged from its traditional past.
The story of female World War II pilot, Marion Orr.
The planning of the Montreal International and Universal Exposition called Expo 67 is featured.
Legal scholar, jurist, and human rights advocate John Humphrey drafts the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Baseball player, Jackie Robinson joins the Montreal Royals on October 23, 1946.
A look back at the beginning of the Stratford Festival of Canada.
"Whenever and wherever people shall have occasion to congregate, then and there shall be the time, place and means of their education." - Reverend Alfred Fitzpatrick, 1920
Surgeon Lucille Teasdale devotes her life to helping the poor in Africa.
In World War II, the troops in Hong Kong were the first Canadians to see combat. During an attack, Sergeant Major John Osborn of Winnipeg protected his company by throwing himself on a live grenade.
Mona Parsons was sentenced to a Nazi prison camp for helping dozens of downed Allied airmen escape.
Tommy Prince of the Brokenhead Objibway Nation is one of the most decorated soldiers in Canada's history.
Canadian General Arthur Currie leads Allied forces to Canada's most significant victory of World War I (1917).
A young Canadian gunner stays behind to save his friend in a flaming Lancaster Bomber and dies in the attempt. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery.
After WWII, veterans confronted a politician about the lack of shelter, launching the construction of 10,000 units of Veterans' Housing.
General Jacques Dextraze of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force rescued a group of hostages from the Katangan rebels in the Congo.
On the evening of D-Day, musician and broadcaster Johnny Lombardi boosts morale on the edge of a Normandy Beach.
Richard Pierpoint was a formerly enslaved Black Loyalist who, at age 68, enlisted black men to fight in the War of 1812.
October 13, 1812, Mohawk Chief John Norton and 80 Grand River warriors surprised hundreds of advancing American soldiers and skirmished with them for hours until reinforcements arrived and the battle was won.
Sir. John A. Macdonald, George-Étienne Cartier and George Brown discuss how to go about uniting the colonies in British North America. The Charlottetown Conference is featured, and highlights the final push toward Canadian confederation.
George-Étienne Cartier was a dominant figure in the politics of Canada East (now Quebec) overseeing its entry into Confederation.
A team of Icelandic-Canadians serve in the First World War before bringing home the very first gold medal in Olympic hockey.
Nursing Sisters serve at the No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital in France during the First World War.
Terry Fox inspires the nation with his Marathon of Hope, a cross-country run to raise money for cancer research.
The story of Viola Desmond, an entrepreneur who challenged segregation in Nova Scotia in the 1940s.
The story of Chanie "Charlie" Wenjack, whose death sparked the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in Canadian residential schools.
The making of Treaty 9 from the perspective of historical witness George Spence, an 18-year-old Cree hunter from Albany, James Bay.
As a founding member of Cape Dorset's famed print making cooperative, Kenojuak Ashevak introduced Inuit art to the world (1927-2013).
The Grads challenge the self-proclaimed 'world champions' the Cleveland Favorite Knits to a two game tournament in 1923. They would go on to become the most successful team in Canadian sports history.
A family escapes persecution in Vietnam, traveling by boat to a Malaysian refugee camp before finding a new home in Montreal (1980).
Neighbourhoods like Toronto's Kensington Market have helped shape our country by providing newcomers a first stop in Canada. In the first animated Heritage Minute, a single store is transformed as it passes between generations and cultures.
Lucy Maud Montgomery battled depression, rejection, and sexism to become known around the world for Anne of Green Gables and 19 other novels. This Heritage Minute tells her story in her own words, as drawn from her journals.
The Story of Jim Egan, who actively writes letters, articles on magazines and newspaper to advocate equal rights and criticizing the misunderstood and inaccurate perception of lesbian and gay people from 1949 to 1964. Also his case in 1995 became a milestone for LGBT rights in Canada.
From 1914-1941, the Vancouver Asahi were one of city's most dominant amateur baseball teams. In 1942, after Canada declared war on Japan, 22,000 Japanese Canadians were interned in the interior of BC, including the Asahi players.
On June 6, 1944, Canadian Forces landed on Juno Beach. D-Day, as this day would become known, was the largest amphibious invasion of all time, led to the liberation of France, and marked the beginning of the end of the Second World War.
The Acadians are descendants of early French settlers who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1604 and built a distinct culture and society over generations. Their peaceful existence was uprooted in 1755 when over 10,000 Acadians were ripped from their homeland to ensure British rule in North America. This Heritage Minute portrays the deportation through the eyes of an Acadian mother.
In the final days of the Second World War, Lieutenant Wilf Gildersleeve of the Seaforth Highlanders marched into Amsterdam to liberate it from the Nazis. There he met Dutch civilian Marguerite Blaisse, who, along with her family, had survived under Nazi occupation. On this fateful day, amid all the celebrations, Blaisse and Gildersleeve met, and fell in love. Today, the Dutch still remember the Canadians who liberated them in May, 1945.
Elsie MacGill was the world's first female aeronautical engineer and Canada's first practicing woman engineer. She oversaw Canada's production of Hawker Hurricane aircrafts at the Canadian Car and Foundry factory during the Second World War. Hawker Hurricanes were one of the main fighters flown by Canadian and Allied airmen in the Battle of Britain. This Heritage Minute follows Elsie MacGill in her role as chief engineer overseeing the production of these instrumental aircrafts.
Oscar Peterson is one of Canada's most honoured musicians and widely regarded as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. His interest in music began at the age of five growing up in the Black working-class community of Little Burgundy in Montreal. This Heritage Minute recounts the circumstances in which Peterson was raised and follows his rise to fame.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes was a death sentence. Starvation diets were employed to delay the life-threatening symptoms of diabetes, but patient death was inevitable. Beginning on May 17, 1921, Frederick Banting and Charles Best, under the direction of J. J. R. Macleod, isolated what would later be known as insulin in a lab at the University of Toronto. Their extract was further purified and made safe for human injection by James Collip. Thirteen-year-old Leonard Thompson was selected to receive their first human trial, the results of which would go on to save the lives of millions around the world.
This Heritage Minute follows the life of Onondaga long-distance runner Gagwe:gih, whose name means “Everything.” Known around the world as Tom Longboat, he was one of the most celebrated athletes of the early 20th century.
Chloe Cooley was an enslaved Black woman in Upper Canada in the late 18th century. Under the watchful eye of estate owner Adam Vrooman, Chloe engaged in acts of resistance however she could: by refusing to work or temporarily leaving the property without permission. With rumours of abolition circulating, Vrooman and his men kidnapped Chloe on March 14, 1793, and violently forced her on a boat across the Niagara River to the United States. There, he believed he could still profit from what he considered his investment. Witnesses, including the free man Peter Martin, later testified to Chloe’s resistance in the face of her violent removal, leading to Canada’s first legislation limiting slavery. Despite this, slavery in Canada was not abolished until 1834.
This Heritage Minute celebrates the iconic soul singer Jackie Shane. Jackie Shane was a Toronto-based soul-singer from Nashville performing on the Yonge Street strip in the 1960s. She left her mark with her hit “Any Other Way” as a local favourite throughout the decade and as an originator of the R&B music scene known as the Toronto Sound. As a Black transgender performer, she faced many adversities but found her calling on stage where she felt more free to share her true self. Her unapologetic and authentic presence made her an enduring queer icon in Toronto and beyond.
In 1927, Bishan Kaur left her home in Punjab, India to join her husband, the lumber entrepreneur Mayo Singh, in Canada. They helped shape the community of Paldi as a welcoming and inclusive home to people of all backgrounds. Women like Bishan immigrated to Canada during an era of uncertainty for Asian Canadians. In the face of anti-Asian sentiments and policies, the Mayo Lumber Company was established by Sikh lumbermen in 1917 and employed South Asian, Chinese, Japanese, and white Canadian workers. The workers and their families called Paldi home until the 1980s. Today, the historic site of the Paldi gurdwara remains a symbol of this inclusive, multicultural community.
This Heritage Minute celebrates Saskatchewan’s Mary “Bonnie” Baker, an all-star catcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and a pioneer for women in sports.