Greg Marchildon speaks with Patrice Dutil about his book, Sir John A. Macdonald - And The Apocalyptic Year 1885. In 1885, Sir John A. Macdonald faced a series of unprecedented challenges during his long political career. These included threats to Canada's sovereignty, armed resistance in the North-West, food insecurity among Indigenous peoples, a financial crisis jeopardizing the Canadian Pacific Railway, protests against Chinese immigration, nationalist dissent in Quebec, a devastating smallpox epidemic in Montreal, and opposition to expanding voting rights. Political historian Patrice Dutil examines how Macdonald, at the height of his powers, managed these crises, stabilized his government, and helped secure the future of Canada. Patrice Dutil is the author or editor of a dozen books, and a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. He founded and edited the Literary Review of Canada and led the Champlain Society for seven years and used to be a host on Witness to Yesterday. Dutil is a senior fellow at the Bill Graham Centre and the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. His works include Ballots and Brawls: The 1867 Canadian General Election and Prime Ministerial Power in Canada (co-edited with Roger Hall). Image Credit: Simon & Schuster If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Greg Marchildon speaks with Stephen Maher about The Prince. The Prince is a comprehensive biography of Justin Trudeau's time as prime minister, written by Stephen Maher. Based on over 200 interviews, it details how Trudeau transformed the Liberal Party from third place to a majority government in 2015. The book examines his political skills, achievements like poverty reduction, climate progress, and Indigenous reconciliation, as well as his struggles, including errors in judgment and internal conflicts. Maher explores how Trudeau’s leadership, once promising, faltered due to missteps and strained relationships, leading to a decline in popularity and the potential collapse of his government. Stephen Maher has been writing about Canadian politics since 1989. As a columnist and investigative reporter for Postmedia News, iPolitics, and Maclean’s, he has often set the agenda on Parliament Hill, covering political corruption, electoral wrongdoing, misinformation, and human rights abuses. He has also won many awards, including the Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, the Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism, the National Newspaper Award, two Canadian Association of Journalism Awards, a Canadian Hillman Prize, and has been nominated for several National Magazine Awards. Image Credit: Simon & Schuster If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Larry Ostola speaks with David Roberts about Boosters and Barkers: Financing Canada's Involvement in the First World War. Boosters and Barkers by David Roberts explores Canada's efforts to finance its participation in World War I through public contributions, particularly war bonds. The book examines how Ottawa appealed to citizens for financial support, incorporating imperial funding, taxation, and other revenue sources. Using print, images, and music, Canada’s bond campaigns generated significant public engagement, raising nearly a third of the country’s $6.6 billion war costs. The story highlights the necessity of funding, propaganda strategies, public resistance, and the lasting financial impact of the war. David Roberts is a retired editor of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada. In addition to writing many entries for the DCB, he is also the author of In the Shadow of Detroit: Gordon M. McGregor, Ford of Canada, and Motoropolis. He lives in Don Mills, Ontario. Image Credit: UBC Press If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Geoff Hudson, Megan Davies, John Belshaw, Darrel Manitowabi, and Sasha Mullally about An Accidental History of Canada published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2024. An Accidental History of Canada explores the often overlooked smaller-scale accidents in Canadian history, from the 1630s to the 1970s. Covering incidents in workplaces, homes, and leisure activities, the book examines how these events reveal vulnerabilities, inequalities, and power dynamics in colonial, Indigenous, rural, and urban contexts. It contrasts Indigenous and settler views on accidents, linking them to the rise of the modern state. The volume argues that accidents, whether seen as fate or miscalculations, reflect shared societal values and attitudes toward risk. Geoff Hudson is an Associate Professor in the history of medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University. Megan Davies is Professor Emerita at York University. She is a historian of health with a regional focus on British Columbia John Belshaw is a historian at Thompson Rivers University. Darrel Manitowabi is an Associate Professor in the Human Sciences Division at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University Sudbury Campus where he is the inaugural Hannah Chair in Indigenous Health and Indigenous Traditional Medicine. Sasha Mullally is a Professor in the History Department at the University of New Brunswick. Image Credit: McGill-Queen’s University Press If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Larry Ostola talks to Gregory Kennedy about his book, Lost in the Crowd: Acadian Soldiers of Canada's First World War. In December 1915, Acadian leaders in New Brunswick expressed concerns about their soldiers being "lost in the crowd" within the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I. They successfully lobbied for the creation of a French-speaking, Catholic, and Acadian-led national unit. Over a thousand Acadians from the Maritimes, Quebec, and the U.S. Northeast joined this effort. In Lost in the Crowd, Gregory Kennedy uses military archives, census records, newspapers, and soldiers' letters to explore the experiences of Acadian soldiers and their families before, during, and after the war. He highlights their enlistment rates, compares their experiences with English-speaking soldiers, and examines underreported issues like underage recruits, desertion, and army discipline. Kennedy also uses the 1921 Census to analyze the long-term impacts of the war on soldiers, families, and communities. The book offers a fresh approach to military history by focusing on the Acadians, a francophone minority in the Maritimes, reshaping our understanding of French Canadians in World War I. Gregory M.W. Kennedy is professor of history and dean of the Faculty of Arts at Brandon University and the author of Something of a Peasant Paradise? Comparing Rural Societies in Acadie and the Loudunais, 1604-1755. Image Credit: McGill-Queen’s University Press If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Larry Ostola talks to Barry Gough about his book, The Curious Passage of Richard Blanshard: First Governor of Vancouver Island. This biography by historian Barry Gough focuses on Richard Blanshard, the first governor of Vancouver Island, and explores the early days of Canada's westernmost province. Blanshard arrived on Vancouver Island in 1850, after a long sea voyage, to begin his short and troubled tenure as governor. His time in office, lasting only three years, was marked by conflict with the powerful Hudson’s Bay Company and its leader, James Douglas, who succeeded him as governor. Despite his pivotal role in alerting London to American threats, Blanshard's tenure was unsuccessful, overshadowed by political and cultural challenges. His story sheds light on the struggles of early colonial governance, the influence of commerce, and the clash of European and Pacific Northwest cultures. Barry Gough is one of Canada’s premier historians and biographers. His insightful research and lucid writing spanning five decades have earned him high distinction. Among his awards are the Canadian Historical Association’s Clio Prize, the Maritime Foundation’s Mountbatten Award, the Washington Historical Society’s Robert Gray Medal, the Alcala Galiano Medal and the Keith Matthews Award. In 2022, he was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing for Possessing Meares Island. He is a Fellow of the Society for the History of Discoveries. Image Credit: Harbour Publishing If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Nicole O’Byrne talks to Ryan Manucha about his book, Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups: Canada’s Quest for Interprovincial Free Trade. In 2012, Gerard Comeau, a retiree from rural New Brunswick, became an unlikely Canadian hero when he was fined for purchasing cheaper beer in Quebec and bringing it back across provincial borders. His case highlighted Canada's strict interprovincial trade laws, which are designed to protect domestic industries from foreign competition but can hinder commerce within the country itself. Ryan Manucha’s Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups explores the historical, political, and legal factors behind Canada’s interprovincial trade regulations. The book also reflects on how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of both global and domestic supply chains, emphasizing the relevance of Canada’s economic union in an increasingly isolationist world. Ryan Manucha is a widely published author on interprovincial trade. He lives in Toronto. Image Credit: MQUP If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Larry Ostola talks to Tim Cook about his book, The Good Allies: How Canada and the United States Fought Together to Defeat Fascism during the Second World War. The Good Allies is a compelling narrative by Canada’s leading war historian, exploring the evolving relationship between Canada and the United States during World War II. Initially marked by rivalry and mutual suspicion, the two nations eventually forged a strong alliance, working together to defeat the fascist threat. The book examines how Canada, though smaller and overshadowed by the US as a global power, flourished alongside its powerful neighbor. It highlights the cooperation, sacrifice, and shared struggles that defined their partnership during the war and shaped their enduring alliance. Tim Cook is Chief Historian and Director of Research at the Canadian War Museum. His bestselling books have won multiple awards, including four Ottawa Book Awards for Literary Non-Fiction and two C.P. Stacey Awards for the best book in Canadian military history. In 2008 he won the J.W. Dafoe Prize for At the Sharp End and again in 2018 for Vimy: The Battle and the Legend. Shock Troops won the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. Cook is a frequent commentator in the media, and a member of the Royal Society of Canada and the Order of Canada. Image Credit: Allen Lane If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Nicole O’Byrne talks to Adam Dodek about his book, Heenan Blaikie: The Making and Unmaking of a Great Canadian Law Firm. In 1973, three young lawyers founded Heenan Blaikie in Montreal, which grew to be a prominent Canadian law firm with notable members, including former political leaders. Despite its close-knit atmosphere, the firm faced significant internal issues, leading to its collapse in 2014. Adam Dodek, an impartial observer, examines the firm’s rise and fall, highlighting its unique culture alongside underlying problems like workplace bullying, challenges for women and minorities, and sexual harassment. The narrative is contextualized within broader societal changes, including economic shifts and crises. Dodek's thorough investigation serves as an essential read for legal professionals and those interested in the dynamics of corporate failure. Adam Dodek is a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa. Among his numerous publications are In Search of the Ethical Lawyer; The Canadian Constitution, Third Edition, named by the Hill Times as one of the top 100 books on Canadian public policy; and Solicitor-Client Privilege, which won the Walter Owen Book Prize. He is a recipient of the Canadian Association of Law Teachers Prize for Academic Excellence, the Mundell Medal for excellence in legal writing, and the Law Society of Ontario’s Law Society Medal. He is also a director of the Canadian Association for Legal Ethics and the Canadian Legal Information Institute, and a past governor of the Law Commission of Ontario. Image Credit: UBC Press If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Greg Marchildon talks to Ken McGoogan about his book, Shadows of Tyranny: Defending Democracy in an Age of Dictatorship. Shadows of Tyranny by Ken McGoogan explores how figures like Donald Trump reflect the authoritarianism of the mid-20th century. Drawing on thinkers like Orwell and Atwood, McGoogan examines how paranoia and demagoguery contributed to democracy's decline and argues these same forces are fueling a far-right movement in the U.S. that threatens democratic values. In this cautionary work, McGoogan warns of a dark future while urging action to prevent it. Ken McGoogan is a Canadian author of seventeen books, primarily nonfiction, including bestsellers like Searching for Franklin, Fatal Passage, and Canada’s Undeclared War. His latest book, Shadows of Tyranny, examines how figures like Donald Trump reflect mid-20th-century authoritarianism. McGoogan has received numerous awards, including the Pierre Berton Award for Popular History. He is a fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and works as a resource historian with Adventure Canada. Originally from Montreal, he now lives in Guelph, ON. Image Credit: Douglas & McIntyre If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Nicole O’Byrne talks to David Frank about his book, J.B. McLachlan: A Biography: The Story of a Legendary Labour Leader and the Cape Breton Coal Miners. J.B. McLachlan: A Biography presents a vivid portrait of a significant early twentieth-century Canadian rebel. Recognized as a remarkable biography, it chronicles the life of a Canadian labor hero and provides an unparalleled account of twentieth-century Canadian labor history, inspiring readers who seek social and economic justice. David Frank is a leading figure in Canadian history. He taught for over 30 years at the University of New Brunswick, and he has written six books on Atlantic Canadian labour history. His articles on labour and social history have appeared in numerous books and journals. Image Credit: James Lorimer & Company Ltd. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.