Regional Forces at Play: The 1910 Drummond-Arthabaska By-Election

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Before and after Monday's by-election, Canadian pundits spent pages upon pages debating whether it would simply maintain the status quo or if it was an important sign of things to come for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's majority government. The results were boringly predictable, with the Conservatives winning the two seats they were predicted to win and the Liberals winning the other two. The large number of votes that the Liberals gained in Western provinces was matched by a competitive NDP in Toronto and Montreal, which, before Jack Layton, was the party that received a lot of votes only when Canadians were frustrated with the Liberals – not a contender for 24 Sussex Drive. The answer to the question “Do these results matter?” seems to sway between partisan beliefs. If you're Conservative, they do not. If you're Liberal or NDP, they do. In honour of all this partisan jockeying, let's take a look at one of Canada's most famous by-elections: the Drummond-Arthabaska byelection of 1910.

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Ukraine, EU Integration, and the Road to Prosperity

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Earlier this year, the European Union (EU) welcomed Croatia as the 28th member state, a decision which caused some degree of controversy. While some commentators claimed that the EU had already overstretched its boundaries, many politicians in the European community remain convinced that expanding the EU and signing European economic agreements is the optimal choice for the continent’s prosperity.

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A Rob Ford Democracy

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Despite the fact on Monday we tried to get away from the barrage of news surrounding the shameful antics of Rob Ford, his actions do deserve some comment on our blog. Much has been said about the meaning of Rob Ford's time in office as a symbol of race inequality, of democratic decline, of left-wing alienation, and so on and on. It's easy to be a bit overwhelmed by the deluge of pundits scrambling to offer their opinion on Ford's downfall. Let's look at some of what has been said to date and what it means for Canadian democracy.

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Digital Research and Canada's "Natural Governing Party"

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Have you ever heard of Canada's “natural governing party”?  It's a common phrase used by journalists and politicians, most often describing the Liberal Party. Sometimes it's an affirmation of the Liberal Party's time in power or as a prophecy for their coming return.  Other times it's used with scorn by Conservatives or the NDP to mock the Liberal arrogance in presuming their place as the governing party of Canadians. Recently the Conservatives under Stephen Harper have tried to claim their own place as Canada's natural governing party.  The expression is so common that few ever question its origins.  Politics and history lovers alike can follow our journey in answering this question through today's post!

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The Future of Remembrance Day: Hold the Torch High

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As today is 11 November, we want to explore the current and perhaps future of Canadian commemoration. Today, Remembrance Day has taken on a far different meaning than it's original intention. As we discussed last week, Remembrance Day originally sought to remember the end of the Great War – but after the outbreak of the Second World War it transformed into a broader act of remembrance about the tragedy of all wars. It was less about the First World War and became entrenched in the concerns of the present, and continues to be to this day. Yet, the language used to describe a different type of commemoration before the Second World War—Judeo-Christian rhetoric—is still applied to speak about events in later generations. The way we talk about war has changed very little over the last 100 years.

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The Past of Remembrance Day: Breaking the Faith

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The white poppy movement begun at the University of Ottawa has sparked a great deal of controversy about Remembrance Day and the use of the poppy as a symbol. Today, Clio's Current wants to add to this discussion by talking about the past and future of Remembrance Day in Canada.

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A Costly Liberation: Canada and the Schelde, November 1944

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There are two major misconceptions about the Netherlands. The first is that every Dutch person speaks English and, second, that all Dutch people love Canadians for our role in liberating large parts of the country in 1945. As we approach Remembrance Day on 11 November, we've decided to explore the history of Remembrance Day and reflect on its future. Before we do that, however, today's post looks at Canada's involvement in the Second World War, particularly in the Netherlands, and how both the Dutch and Canadians have come to remember this period of history.

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A Whole New World: The Digital Generation and the Road Ahead

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If you are under the age of 30 and reading this blog, you've probably read, heard, or experienced the stereotype of the young North American adult. We are apathetic, we are lazy, we need constant attention. We might be more “civic minded” but we do not act on our principles, only on our desires. Welcome to the Millenial Generation, or Generation Y, or whatever label that groups us together. If you believe everything you hear, we are failures-in-progress. We can't find jobs, we live with our parents far longer than we should, and we are entitled. We are the generation that just barely remembers a world without computers and the internet and we don't remember the Cold War at all. Even our major shared experience, the attacks of 9/11, does not strictly define who we are. We did not decide the path of consequent American or Canadian interventions, instead most of our generation passively watched it unfold or, as members of the armed forces, followed orders to act. We are a product of our times and we are on an uncertain road. Like Bob Dylan once said, the times they are a-changin'.

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The Trouble with Canada's Great War Centenary

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Our last two posts have touched on two very distinct ideas: the ways in which Harper's Conservatives have politicized Canadian history and the recent developments involving Quebec sovereignty and Bill 99. In this post, we've decided to try and blend these two ideas together to look at the problems Harper's Government faces in commemorating the centenary of the Great War.

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Gambling with Canadian Unity

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The Attorney General has intervened in the judicial review of Bill 99 in Quebec and revived the debate over Quebec sovereignty. For nearly fifteen years the law has not been challenged by the Federal government and languished in the courts through stalling tactics. In the lead up to an election in 2015 and the rising popularity of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, the federal intervention on the law is playing a dangerous political game.

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The Aboriginal Voice

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This year has seen a revival of Aboriginal community activism focused around the Idle No More movement. Though many commentators have dismissed it since its disappearance from headlines in early 2013, the movement remains a potent force in bringing together Aboriginal peoples. Such activism has not always been a present among Canada's Aboriginal peoples, so today we offer an extremely abbreviated review of its emergence in Canada.

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Reflections on Clio's Current

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It has been almost three months since we launched Clio's Current.  We are about to introduce a four-part series where we explain our idea of history and its practice in the 21st century.  Before we do that, it is worthwhile to take a day and reflect on our time as authors of this blog.  We will examine our goals, the challenges and failures we've faced, and discuss our experience of blogging history.

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Water as a Weapon: the Environment and the Second World War

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In this post, we offer some reflections about the use of water as a weapon during the Second World War, and specifically its use in the southern Netherlands. The battle for the Scheldt, which took place between October and November 1944, began by flooding large swathes of Dutch territory in an attempt to dislodge Nazi occupying forces. In the end, and because of the mobilization of water as a weapon, this particular region in the Netherlands doesn't necessarily subscribe to the "sweetest spring" narrative typically associated with Dutch-Canadian relations in 1945.

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