Lester Pearson's Liberal minority government is often lionized for making a sharp break with the British past, unveiling a new flag for a "new Canada." By contrast, John Diefenbaker and his Tory supporters are cast as reactionaries. The Strange Demise of British Canada revisits the debate, delves into the formative background of the protagonists, and overturns the received wisdom. Re-examining the flag debate as well as Liberal military reforms, Champion argues that Pearson and his admirers, whom the author calls "neo-nationalists," ironically perpetuated Canada's Britishness because they and their ideals were the product of a British World. Using a fascinating array of personal papers, memoirs, and contemporary sources that illustrate identity, memory, and the bias of Liberal historians, this ground-breaking study shows that modern Canada is a tribute to British imperialism. Book jacket.

Examining cases such as the introduction of the Maple Leaf to replace the Canadian Red Ensign and Union Jack as the national flag, Champion shows that, despite what he calls Canada's "crisis of Britishness," Pearson and his supporters unwittingly perpetuated a continuing Britishness because they - and their ideals - were the product of a British world. Using a fascinating array of personal papers, memoirs, and contemporary sources, this ground-breaking study demonstrates the ongoing influence of Britishness in Canada and showcases the personalities and views of some of the country's most important political and cultural figures. An important study that provides a better understanding of Canada, The Strange Demise of British Canada also shows the lasting influence Britain has had on its former colonies across the globe.

Did Canada come of age in the 1960s, or does it remain a British country?

From Confederation to the partial abolition of the death penalty a century later, defendants convicted of sexually motivated killings and sexually violent homicides in Canada were more likely than any other condemned criminals to be executed for their crimes. Despite the emergence of psychiatric expertise in criminal trials, moral disgust and anger proved more potent in courtrooms, the public mind, and the hearts of the bureaucrats and politicians responsible for determining the outcome of capital cases. Wherever death has been set as the ultimate criminal penalty, the poor, minority groups, and stigmatized peoples have been more likely to be accused, convicted, and executed. Although the vast majority of convicted sex killers were white, Canada’s racist notions of "the Indian mind" meant that Indigenous defendants faced the presumption of guilt. Black defendants were also subjected to discriminatory treatment, including near lynchings. In debates about capital punishment, abolitionists expressed concern that prejudices and poverty created the prospect of wrongful convictions. Unique in the ways it reveals the emotional drivers of capital punishment in delivering inequitable outcomes, The Death Penalty and Sex Murder in Canadian History provides a thorough overview of sex murder and the death penalty in Canada. It serves as an essential history and a richly documented cautionary tale for the present.

Klondike lore is full of accounts of the exploits of Dangerous Dan McGrew, Sergeant Preston of the Mounted, and the Mad Trapper of Rat River. The stories vary from outright fabrications to northern fantasies and, on occasion, real-life accounts. Strange Things Done investigates a series of murders in the pre-World War II Yukon, exploring the boundaries between myths and historical events. The book seeks to understand both the specific events, carefully reconstructed from court evidence and police records, and the broader social and cultural context within which these violent deaths occurred. The murder case studies provide a unique and penetrating perspective on key aspects of Yukon history, such as Native-newcomer relations, mental illness and the folklore about cabin fever, the role of immigrants in northern society, violence in the gold fields, and the role of the police and courts in regulating social behaviour. The investigation of these capital cases also illustrates the fear and paranoia which gripped the territory in the aftermath of a murder, and the societys insistence on quick and retributive justice when offenders were caught and convicted. The Yukon experienced fewer murders than popular literature would suggest, and fewer than most would expect given the region's intense and dramatic history, but those that did occur illustrate the passions, frustrations, angers and human frailties that are present in all societies. The manner in which the murders occurred and the way in which Yukoners reacted also reveals specific and important aspects of territorial society.

Don't walk under ladders! Place a star on the top of your Christmas tree. Superstitions and traditions often govern how we participate in life. But what of the uniquely Canadian superstitions and traditions practiced across the country? - Canadian folklore suggests eating fish from the head downward; for a filet of fish, eat the widest part first and then move downward - In Alberta, picking blackberries after October 11 is bad luck because by this time in the year, the devil has surely laid claim to the remaining berries - A First Nations ritual advises blessing a new home by taking smoldering sage from room to room and saying prayers; this will banish everything from evil spirits to ill feelings - A Manitoba urban legend says that if you run around St. Andrews-on-the-Red near Lockport three times at midnight, you'll disappear - In dustbowl Depression-era Saskatchewan it was believed that a red sky at night in the springtime meant the next day would be a windy one, too windy for farmers to seed - According to one old folktale, the captain of a schooner off the coast of Nova Scotia turned back to port when he discovered one of his crewmen had grey mittens; undertakers wore grey mittens, so it was like asking for a death on the journey. And so much more...