A Silk Robe and Ten Thousand Porcelain Dishes: Links Between Early Canada and Asia

Qajartalik 2022 – Collaborative Community-Based Archaeological Fieldwork in Nunavik

Much like everything else, my ability as a Museum curator to do archaeological fieldwork has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-essential travel into Inuit Nunangat — the Inuit homeland in Canada — was restricted for a period to help protect people living in the North, for whom access… Read More

What DNA Analysis Can Tell us About Bytown Settlers

Barrack Hill Cemetery plan (red oval) overlaid onto map of downtown Ottawa By looking at it today, you would never know that part of downtown Ottawa was built on the first settlers’ cemetery of Bytown, the Barrack Hill Cemetery (c. 1827–1845). After the discovery of human remains on… Read More

Archaeology Without Borders: Contact-Era Archaeology in Maine

My role as Curator of Eastern Archaeology at the Canadian Museum of History is to enhance the understanding of Canadian archaeology in the Atlantic provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) for the benefit of all people in the land that is now Canada. And… Read More

Unearthing Canada’s First World War Internment History

The War Measures Act, enacted on August 22, 1914, gave the Canadian government sweeping powers to conduct the war. In October 1914, an order-in-council provided the government with the authority to intern civilians as prisoners of war. Categorized as “enemy aliens,” 8,579 immigrants from the multinational Austro-Hungarian, German and Ottoman empires and… Read More

Allan MacEachen, the “Celtic Sphinx” (1921–2017)

Politician Allan MacEachen would have turned 100 years old in 2021. Although he had a number of nicknames over the course of his career, “Celtic Sphinx” perhaps best sums up two of the most striking features of his personality: his legendary discretion, and his visceral attachment to his Scottish roots. As… Read More

October 1970: Multiple Perspectives on a Drama

We commemorate many historical events in Canada. Some are tragic, evoking painful memories and complex emotions. One such event is the 1970 October Crisis. It all started in Montréal on October 5. A violent, socialist, pro-independence movement, the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ, Quebec Liberation Front), kidnapped James Cross, the… Read More

Daniel Johnson (1915–1968)

In the early morning of September 26, 1968 — 50 years ago this month — Canadians were stunned to learn that Daniel Johnson had passed away during the night. The Premier of Quebec, who had suffered from heart disease, was scheduled that very day to inaugurate the Manic-5 hydro-electric power… Read More

The children: The greatest loss of the Empress tragedy

When the Empress of Ireland ocean liner sank to the bottom of the St. Lawrence on May 29, 1914, it dragged men, women and children of every age and social class into the river’s watery depths. A newspaper reporter described seeing the victims in Rimouski’s quayside hangar that served as… Read More

The appeal of snow

Snow. We love it, we hate it; it’s fun, it’s a nuisance. Whether it sparks a sense of wonder or dread, there’s no denying that snow has helped shape the Canadian identity. Snow was a relentless challenge that the first European settlers had to adapt to as soon as they… Read More