Canada's Founding Debates is about Confederation—about the process that brought together six out of the seven territories of British North America in the years 1864-73 to form a country called Canada. It presents excerpts from the debates on Confederation in all of the colonial parliaments from Newfoundland to British Columbia and in the constituent assembly of the Red River Colony. The voices of the powerful and those of lesser note mingle in impassioned debate on the pros and cons of creating or joining the new country, and in defining its nature. In short explanatory essays and provocative annotations, the editors sketch the historical context of the debates and draw out the significance of what was said. By organizing the debates thematically, they bring out the depth of the founders' concern for issues that are as vital today as they were then: the meaning of liberty, the merits of democracy, the best form of self-government, the tension between collective and individual rights, the rule of law, the requirements of political leadership, and, of course, the nature of Canadian nationality. Canada's Founding Debates offers a fresh and often surprising perspective on Canada's origins, history, and political character. Previously published by Stoddart Publishing, 1999.

A new interpretation of confederation contends that the founding fathers were John Locke's disciples - champions of universal human rights and popular sovereignty. Winner - John T. Saywell Prize for Canadian Constitutional Legal History (2009)

This book offers innovative thoughts on present and future approaches to the study of the Canadian past. Moving beyond the political vs. social history debates that have dominated the field since the 1970s, these essays suggest novel questions and approaches while delving into recently overlooked subjects. The authors place a particular emphasis on international, transnational, and comparative approaches to the past. Essays cover such topics as the Atlantic World, oral history, postcolonialism, public history, historical periodization, Canada's place in the British Empire, and French-English relations. The art of history as a discipline and practice is also discussed. A must read for Canadian historians, Contesting Clio's Craft will also appeal to international scholars interested in these issues and curious about the contribution that Canadian history has made to the broader history of the Americas. Contributors include Michael Dawson (St.Thomas University), Michel Ducharme (University of British Columbia), Christopher Dummitt (Trent University), Magda Fahrni (Université du Québec à Montréal) Catherine Gidney (St.Thomas University), Steven High (Concordia University), Adele Perry (University of Manitoba), Katie Pickles (University of Canterbury), and Andrew Smith (Laurentian University).

"Compact, Contract, Covenant" is renowned historian of Native-newcomer relations J.R. Miller's exploration and explanation of more than four centuries of treating-making.

The original edition of this bestselling and country-changing book. Beginning in the 1970s, Canada abandoned its historical foundations and fell under the spell of socialism. This best-selling classic, which galvanized the generation now leading the counter-attack, explains in plain language how Canadians got into their present predicament, and how to get out. He deals with such topics as the great welfare ripoff; the waste in foreign aid giveaways; radical feminism's attack against the family; the mediocrity of the health-care system; and the politicization of the church.

Like all major events in Canadian history, the Quebec Conference of 1864, an important step on Canada's road to Confederation, deserves to be discussed and better understood. Efforts to revitalize historical memory must take a multidisciplinary and multicultural approach. The Quebec Conference of 1864 expresses a renewed historical interest over the last two decades in both the Quebec-Canada constitutional trajectory and the study of federalism. Contributors from a variety of disciplines argue that a more grounded understanding of the 72 Quebec Resolutions of 1864 is key to interpreting the internal architecture of the contemporary constitutional apparatus in Canada, and a new interpretation is crucial to appraise the progress made over the 150 years since the institution of federalism. The second volume in a series that began with The Constitutions That Shaped Us: A Historical Anthology of Pre-1867 Canadian Constitutions, this book reveals a society in constant transition, as well as the presence of national projects that live in tension with the Canadian federation.

This edited collection offers a broad reinterpretation of the origins of Canada. Drawing on cutting-edge research in a number of fields, Violence, Order, and Unrest explores the development of British North America from the mid-eighteenth century through the aftermath of Confederation. The chapters cover an ambitious range of topics, from Indigenous culture to municipal politics, public executions to runaway slave advertisements. Cumulatively, this book examines the diversity of Indigenous and colonial experiences across northern North America and provides fresh perspectives on the crucial roles of violence and unrest in attempts to establish British authority in Indigenous territories. In the aftermath of Canada 150, Violence, Order, and Unrest offers a timely contribution to current debates over the nature of Canadian culture and history, demonstrating that we cannot understand Canada today without considering its origins as a colonial project.