On this day, 205 years ago, Upper Canada (now Ontario) was as close as it ever would be to becoming part of the United States. But the night-time battle fought in the early hours of June 6, 1813, was a turning point in the War of 1812.
Read MoreBut on this, my second visit to Kilmainham, my imagination was more occupied with another story from the annals of the prison -- the significance of which I was not aware when I first arrived seven years ago: the fate of Robert Emmet.
Read MoreTo wrap up this Canada150 project, Bob Plamondon bridged to our world: one Prime Minister lost in the mists of time, and four others whom some of us remember vividly. What future generations remember will eventually be the gold left behind in the sluice of time. Plamondon himself has participated in that story. He was the Progressive Conservative candidate for Ottawa Centre in the 1988 (free trade) election.
Read MoreWhile in Ireland, I sometimes feel I'm on a mission to explain to the Irish the enormous impact of an Irishman his home country has forgotten. No one here has heard of Thomas D'arcy McGee, Canada's most eloquent Father of Confederation, and Ireland's gift to Canada.
Read MoreIn 1982, when Eddie Goldenberg was a McGill law student, he landed a job as an intern for the Indian Affair minister in Ottawa. Most interns spend summers filing or doing other paperwork. Goldenberg’s minister wanted him to attend meetings – often private meetings behind closed doors.
“Listen. Learn,” Jean Chrétien told the young Goldenburg. “Eventually I’ll ask you what you think.”
Eddie Goldenberg soon started sharing his thoughts, and continued to do so for another 30 years. Jean Chrétien sought his advice every step in his career: Indian Affairs; Treasury Board; Industry, Trade and Commerce; Finance; Justice; Energy, Mines and Resources; two campaigns for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada; and, eventually, three terms as Prime Minister (1993-2003) where Goldenberg was Chief of Staff.
Read MoreOne of the most important tests of any democracy is how smoothly power can be transferred when governments change. The Dominion of Canada had existed for barely six years when it faced that challenge. The first general election since Confederation turfed out the scandal-ridden regime of Sir John A. Macdonald and brought in a Liberal government no longer led by George Brown, who had guided them in the crucial years leading to Confederation. The challenge of pulling various Liberal factions into a cohesive first Liberal government fell to Brown’s close friend and chief Lieutenant, Alexander Mackenzie – a man who much preferred to follow than lead.
Read MoreThe confederation of Canada 150 years ago was his towering achievement and Macdonald is rightly regarded as the nation's principal architect. But the stone with which this architecture was built were carved and fixed by previous generations. A separate and distinct entity in the northern half of North America was possible because of a special and unique relationship between those who came from Europe and the indigenous peoples.
Read More“Part of what makes a nation is shared experiences,” Dr. Litt reminded us. The shared experiences of the Trudeau years ranged from the Laporte murder and the War Measures Act, to the highly visible dramas that played out in Trudeau’s personal and family life.
Read MoreHe came to office after defeating Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s proposal to implement free trade with the United States, and believed that Canada should take a prominent place in what he foresaw as a great federation of the dominions of the British Empire. By the time he left office, the political landscape and the definition of “progressive” had changed dramatically, with the rise of Labour and Farmers’ organizations that clashed with the government – violently in the case of the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919.
Read MoreWhat was Macdonald like? “When we think about Macdonald,” says Professor Azzie, “we tend to forget or not know how highly intelligent he was.” He deliberately cultivated an image of himself as a practical man, not much interested in visionary ideas. Yet, he was the most adept constitutional scholar among the Fathers of Confederation.
Read MoreWhen Joe Willcocks left Ireland for Upper Canada in 1799, he said goodbye to the "Second City of the British Empire" to seek his fortune in "Muddy York."Both Dublin and Toronto are thriving in the 21st century. In Dublin, far more than Toronto, it's still possible to get a feel for the city as it once was. Last week, we had the privilege and pleasure of a barge ride through the transportation system that helped make Dublin such a wealthy city in Willcocks's day.
Read MoreIn Canada, the battle is notable for many reasons. It was the first time that all four Canadian divisions fought together. Soldiers from every region of the country were forged into a brotherhood on that day. Back home, a new sense of national pride emerged as Canadians learned that our soldiers had succeeded where previous attacks had failed.
Read MoreWe divided our army into three: one force to assault the "guns" head on; two more to swing around the flanks in either direction. The assault force in the centre were to march forward bravely; the other two were told to use whatever stealth and cover they could find -- not easy to do when one side of the battlefield is cordoned off by a fence.
Read MoreFrom his mother's side, he wrote very well and his diaries and memoirs stand out as important records of the world of North America in his day. From his father's side, he had the capacity for memory that comes from a culture that does not write things down -- and therefore you must remember. Every conversation. Every river bend. Every transaction. Norton never forgot a thing. Here was a man whose brain was adept with the skills of both pre-Gutenberg and post-Gutenberg communications. Marshall McLuhan would have loved it!
Read MoreOn a sunny autumn weekend, September 24-25, two armies clashed on the grass that stretched between fields of ripening corn and a scattering of pre-Confederations buildings. The armies of soldiers, sailors, soldiers' wives, camp followers and Mohawk warriors were actually outnumbered by the army of visitors who had come to witness the event.
Read MoreDrive an hour east of Ottawa and get off Highway 417 and you'll find yourself on the old stagecoach road to Montreal and the village of Dunvegan. In the mid-1800s it was a prosperous little village. A store was built in 1840 by a man named McIntosh, and 20 years later it had changed owners and welcomed travellers as the White Star Inn,.
Read MoreA very special thank you to Linda Brown, who operates the printer's shop in the village. She gave me much information that went into the part in Brothers at War where Jacob apprentices to Joe Willcocks. I imagined Linda's shop when I pictured the scene where Jacob and Eli are clowning about and tip over the letter cases.
Read MoreThe show that makes Fort Erie a favourite with re-enactors and visitors alike, however, is the staging of General Drummond's night-time assault on the fort. The American artillery takes its stations on the bastions.
Read MoreIn the Ottawa Valley, the 100th Regiment of Foot is best known for the founding of the town of Richmond, Ontario. After the war, rather than return to Ireland, many officers and men chose instead to take land grants offered by a grateful British government -- grateful for their service in the war, and grateful that hundreds of unemployed soldiers would not be returning to the Old Country.
Read MoreIn understanding the War of 1812 and the role of Joe Willcocks and the Canadian Volunteers, it is useful to keep 9 Thermidor and the Terror in mind. The date may be remote and obscure for us, but for people in Upper Canada, the French Revolution continued to resonate.
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