A history of the Canadian prairie provinces from the days of Native-European contact to the 1980s.

Although there is considerable historical literature describing the social and economic impact of drought on the prairies in the 1930s, little has been written about the challenges presented by drought in more contemporary times. The drought of 2001-02 was, for example, the most recent large-area, intense, and prolonged drought in Canada and one of Canada's most costly natural disasters in a century. Vulnerability and Adaptation to Drought on the Canadian Prairies describes the impacts of droughts and the adaptations made in prairie agriculture over recent decades. These adaptations have enhanced the capacity of rural communities to withstand drought. However, despite the high levels of technical adaptation that have occurred, and the existing human capital and vibrant social and information networks, agricultural producers in the prairie region remain vulnerable to severe droughts that last more than a couple of years. Research findings and projections suggest that droughts could become more frequent, more seveare, and of longer duration in the region over the course of the 21st century. This book provides insights into the conditions generating these challenges and the measures required to reduce vulnerability of prairie communities to them. This volume develops a greater understanding of the social forces and conditions that have contributed to enhanced resilience, as well as those which detract from successful adaptation and examines drought through an interdisciplinary lens encompassing climate science and the social sciences

The Canadian Prairie has long been represented as a timeless and unchanging location, defined by settlement and landscape. Now, a new generation of writers and historians challenge that perception and argue, instead, that it is a region with an evolving culture and history. This collection of ten essays explores a more contemporary prairie identity, and reconfigures "the prairie" as a construct that is non-linear and diverse, responding to the impact of geographical, historical, and political currents. These writers explore the connections between document and imagination, between history and culture, and between geography and time.The subjects of the essays range widely: the non-linear structure of Carol Shield's The Stone Diaries; the impact of Aberhart's Social Credit, Marshall McLuhan, and Mesopotamian myth on Robert Kroetsch's prairie postmodernism; the role of document in long prairie poems; the connection between cultural tourism and heritage; the theme of regeneration in Margaret Laurence's Manawaka writing; the influence of imagination on geography in Thomas Wharton's Icefields; and the effects on an alpine climber of pre-WWII ideological concepts of time and individualism.

The Canadian Prairies in a Changing Climate is a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of climate change in the prairie provinces, the impacts on natural resources, communities, human health and sectors of the economy, and the adaptation options that are available for alleviating adverse impacts and taking advantage of new opportunities provided by a warmer climate.

Politics on the Canadian Prairies are puzzling. The provinces share a common landscape and history, but they have nurtured three distinct political cultures – Alberta is Canada’s bastion of conservatism, Saskatchewan its cradle of social democracy, and Manitoba its progressive centre. The roots of these cultures run deep, yet their persistence over a century has yet to be explained. Drawing on over eight hundred pieces of campaign literature, Jared Wesley reveals that dominant political parties have used one key device – rhetoric – to foster and carry forward their province’s cultural values or political code. Social Credit and Progressive Conservative leaders in Alberta emphasized freedom, whereas New Democrats in Saskatchewan stressed security. Successful politicians in Manitoba, by contrast, underscored the importance of moderation. Although the content of their campaigns differed, leaders from William Aberhart to Tommy Douglas to Gary Doer have employed distinct codes to ensure their parties’ success and shape their provinces’ political landscapes.

Every child needs to have a pet. No one could argue with that. But what happens when your pet is an owl, and your owl is terrorizing the neighbourhood? In Farley Mowat’s exciting children’s story, a young boy’s pet menagerie – which includes crows, magpies, gophers and a dog – grows out of control with the addition of two cantankerous pet owls. The story of how Wol and Weeps turn the whole town upside down is warm, funny, and bursting with adventure and suspense.

Storied Landscapes is a beautifully written, sweeping examination of the evolving identity of major ethno-religious immigrant groups in the Canadian West including Ukrainians, Mennonites, Icelanders, Doukhobors, Germans, Poles, Romanians, Jews, Finns, Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes.