In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson about their book, Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation published by HarperCollins Canada in 2022. Valley of the Birdtail was awarded the OLA Evergreen award in 2023. The book weaves together the multi-generational stories of Indigenous and non-Indigenous families to depict a larger picture of Canada’s history. Looking to the town of Rossburn and the Waywayseecappo Indian reserve, the authors showcase the different realities of the people living in ..read more

In this podcast episode, Simon Nantais speaks with Lois Harder about her book, Canadian Club: Birthright, Citizenship and National Belonging published by the University of Toronto Press in 2022. Harder explores how Canadians confronted situations in which the certainty of birthright citizenship turned out to be less secure and less unassailable than generally presumed. She particularly looks at the years from 1940s to the present and the development of the Citizenship Act of 1947. The book references court cases and media stories, and highlights “Lost Canadians,” people who discovered they had ..read more

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne speaks to Daniel Rück about his award-winning book, The Laws and the Land: The Settler Colonial Invasion of Kahnawà:ke in Nineteenth-Century Canada published by the University of British Columbia Press for the Osgoode Society Canadian Legal History in 2021. Based on his doctoral dissertation, Rück’s work is a history of the relationship between Kahnawà:ke and Canada and the interference of settler law on Indigenous law. By focusing on land use rights, Rück reveals the ways in which the settler nation conflicted with Indigenous laws and governance of Kahn ..read more

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne speaks to Keith S. Grant about his book, Enthusiasms and Loyalties: The Public History of Private Feelings in the Enlightenment Atlantic published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2022. Grant examines the emotions of the communities in Atlantic Canada during the Enlightenment as they grappled with the turnout of the War of 1812, the Loyalist settlement in Nova Scotia, the American Revolution, and other turbulent events of the time. He refers to the journals and other public writings of key historical figures to reveal the deep feelings expressed dur ..read more

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne speaks to Colin Campbell about his co-authored book with Robert Raizenne, A History of Canadian Income Tax, Volume One, 1917 to 1948 published by the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History and the Canadian Tax Foundation in 2022. It is the first installment in a three-volume series on the history of Canadian Income Tax and focuses on the periods of World War I and World War II and the relationship between income tax and the war efforts. The book describes the origins of income tax and its development during the interwar period and its place during Wo ..read more

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon speaks to P. Whitney Lackenbauer about his book, The Joint Arctic Weather Stations: Science and Sovereignty in the High Arctic, 1946-1972. The book is co-authored with Daniel Heidt. This history is a fascinating look at the Joint Arctic Weather Station (JAWS) initiative, and its five locations in Alert, Eureka, Resolute, Isachsen, and Mould Bay. Lackenbauer describes their creation, the Canada-US relations involved in the program, and the impact of the stations. He further looks at the roles of civilians and leaders in the functioning of the stations an ..read more

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon speaks to Ted Glenn about his book A Very Canadian Coup: The Rise and Demise of Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell, 1894-1896. Glenn provides a detailed and intriguing account of a little-known period of Canadian history, the life and times of Canada’s fifth Prime Minister, Mackenzie Bowell. Initially intended to be a “caretaker” Prime Minister, the Manitoba schools question changed Bowell’s role in history. Ultimately, this political crisis led to Bowell’s quiet removal as the leader of the Conservative Party. Though Bowell was initially well-liked, Glenn ..read more

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne speaks to Barry Wright about his book Canadian State Trials, Volume V: World War, Cold War, and Challenges to Sovereignty, 1939–1990, co-edited with Susan Binnie and Eric Tucker. The book was published for the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by the University of Toronto Press in 2022. It is the final installment in a five-volume series on the history of Canadian State Trials and focuses on the political trials and national security measures of 1939 to 1990. Topics covered in this collection of essays include the internment of Japanese Canadian ..read more

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne speaks to Jim Phillips about A History of Law in Canada, Volume Two: Law for a New Dominion, 1867–1914, a book he co-authored with Philip Gerrard and Blake Brown. This is the second volume in an ambitious three-volume series on the history of law in Canada. He explores the history of law in Canada through the period spanning from Confederation to the start of World War I, using guiding themes such as property rights, criminal law, labour and employment, women and minority rights, Indigenous-State relations, federalism, and the building of the nation and ..read more

In this podcast episode, Greg Marchildon to Scott Berthelette about his book Heirs of an Ambivalent Empire: French-Indigenous Relations and the Rise of the Métis in the Hudson Bay Watershed. The book is based on Bethelette’s PhD dissertation which he completed at the University of Saskatchewan in 2020. He explores how relationships and family ties were involved in the relations between sovereign Indigenous nations and the French colonial government of the 17th and 18th century. His focus is on the fur trade and the relationships between the French-Canadian (Canadien) men who traded with Indige ..read more