Creating a History of 9/11

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Today marks the thirteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Since the attacks themselves, many Americans have vacillated over how to commemorate the events that killed roughly 3,000 people and inflicted billions of dollars in damages. Just as important, the consequences of these events have had a global reach and affected innumerable people. In this sense, the war on terror, which includes the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and ongoing operations against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, was a direct consequence of 9/11. Any discussion of those events is bound to elicit emotional responses, particularly as the attacks are relatively recent.

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The Secret to Laurier's Success: Political Leadership During Tough Times

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Bruce Yaccato recently wrote for the National Post comparing the leadership of Justin Trudeau with that of old Liberal leader Sir Wilfrid Laurier.  “Layabout to legend,” he wrote of both, explaining that if Laurier could turn himself a country lawyer to one of our greatest Prime Ministers, so too could Justin Trudeau go from teacher to leader of the country.  Yaccato’s piece has some good points, but spends little time actually explaining why Laurier was a good political leader.  What allowed Laurier to lead his party 30 years and serve as Prime Minister for 15 of them?

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'Buying a Seat at the Table': Canadian Defence Policy in Reaction to ISIS

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As pressure mounts on the United States and its allies to take strategic action against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, commonly known as ISIS, Canada’s financial contribution (or lack thereof) to Western democratic defence is taking severe heat in political forums and the media. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged further action in support of growing international efforts to combat ISIS and the persistent threat of Islamic extremism in the Middle East. Harper’s promise came this week while speaking with other world leaders in London, England in response to the horrific execution of a second US freelance journalist, Steven Sotloff. Calls for an increase in Canada’s financial contribution to Western defence are reportedly growing stronger from within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), putting the nation in an awkward and touchy situation. In today’s post we briefly examine the economics of Canada’s post-1945 defence policy, to provide a historical perspective to this most recent predicament.

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What is a Royal Commission? Exploring Public Inquiries and Canada's Aboriginal Peoples

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Much ink has been spilled and bytes transmitted over recent calls for an inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Both those for and against have raised the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) because the Liberal government failed to enact the changes it suggested, the logic that an inquiry would either be without substantive impact, or the RCAP’s failure requires another attempt. Today on Clio’s we look at the history of Royal Commissions in Canada as we explore their value and purpose.

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Cold War Economics: The Interesting Case of Canada and Cuba

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This past year Clio’s Current examined Canada’s role in the Cold War which lasted roughly from 1945 to 1991. Throughout that time the United States combated the spread of communist ideology, and as a close North American partner Canada certainly did its part. Our examination of Canada in the Cold War thus focused on the evolution and development of bilateral relations between Canada and the US. Seldom in our five-part series did we stray far from that narrative, and so to not suggest that Canada’s Cold War was predicated solely by its relationship to the US, in today’s post we examine Canada’s economic policy towards Latin America with a particular focus on Cuba.

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Wilson at War and the American Entry into the First World War

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Much has been written in recent months about whether or not President Obama should take action in trouble parts of the world. Be it in the Ukraine against Russia, or in the Middle East against ISIS, or his position on Israel's recent war in Gaza, the President has had a lot of conflicting advice from the public sphere. We offer a short story of another President under public pressure to act, President Woodrow Wilson during the First World War.

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Festival Express and the Canadian Rock Music Scene

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Rock music festival-goers in Canada and the United States are today familiar with events such as Edgefest, Osheaga, and Lollapalooza. These events draw crowds of thousands who are willing to empty their wallets for a chance to experience a shared appreciation for artistry and music in an unconventional atmosphere. It is this same experience that was first fostered five decades ago, in what was hailed at the time as the definitive nexus for a large cultural and generational movement. But the music festival of the late 1960s and early 70s garnered a vastly different social response than most are accustomed to today. Counterculture was the order of the time, and music festivals became definitely representative of social lore. In today’s post we take a brief look at a unique Canadian foray into this world, famously known as the Festival Express.

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The Pioneering Journalism of Agnes C Laut during the Great War

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Canadians probably don't think much about women and journalism any more. Both Adrienne Clarkson and Michaëlle Jean were former journalists who became Governor General, capping off successful careers with one of the most prestigious appointments in the land. There are many more female journalists who came before them, and no doubt many more will follow, but one of the earliest and most successful female writers and journalists in Canada has received little recognition from our historians. Today, we briefly examine the career of Agnes C. Laut.

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Uncharted Territory: EU Negotiations and Canadian Economic Policy

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The CBC’s Chris Hall recently reported that Canada and the European Union (EU) are preparing to release the final details of a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The announcement will be made on September 25, effectively ending a negotiating period that has lasted a staggering 10 months. According to the report, Prime Minister Stephen Harper flew to Brussels to sign an agreement-in-principle with EU President José Manuel Barroso, and the text of the full agreement will be made public as part of a formal summit to be held between the two sides in Ottawa. In today’s post we briefly examine postwar Canadian economics in an attempt to postulate the positive and negative implications of the pending Canada-EU free trade agreement.

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Between the Lines: The World of Maps

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Today we use maps with an ease. Google Maps or other such programs allow us to find directions to any place and virtually anywhere at the tap of a finger. Using Google Earth we can fly above the world and explore our world's coastlines and mountains or even the still waves of the open ocean's vast kilometres. The accuracy of these maps would have astonished someone even twenty years ago – let alone a visitor from the pre-digital age. Maps are more than just a set of directions or a hunt for accuracy. They are forms of communication as much as writing. Today we look at maps and the worlds they create for us.

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Ukrainian Independence in Historical Perspective

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The ongoing situation in Eastern Europe and the Crimea has found a great deal of attention in media and public circles alike. Much of the focus has been on the volatility of military action and the potential for increased hostility in the immediate region, while media coverage of the situation internationally has explored in significant detail the impact of economic sanctions on Russian action. It is unfortunate that the civilian story often seems tertiary to events most told, so in today’s post we focus on the history of Ukrainian nationalism with an eye to understanding government response in Canada to episodes in the push for Ukrainian independence.

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Indigenous-Settler Relations in Canada: Historicizing Tsilhqot’in by Madeline Knickerbocker

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Clio’s Current regularly uses historical perspective to draw attention to the contentious side of contemporary issues in Canada and abroad. Although we have commented on Indigenous-settler relations, we have done so from a general standpoint and with the intention of introducing our readers to the contested history of colonialism. In today’s guest post, Madeline Knickerbocker provides a focused and detailed discussion behind the legal process that led to the Tsilhqot’in decision in British Columbia.

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Policing in Canada Part II: Gender and the RCMP

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In early 1978, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Constable Dennis Onofrey was shot and killed outside a motel in Virden, Manitoba. The shooter also fired on Onofrey’s partner, Constable Candace Smith, who survived a shotgun blast to the thigh and abdomen. Rendered momentarily unconscious from the blast, Smith was unable to fire upon or apprehend the shooter before he fled the scene. The shootout made national headlines for a few reasons, not the least of which was the terribly unfortunate death of Onofrey. Smith too garnered a considerable amount of attention, but for unfair reasons that deserve exploration. In our previous post we briefly explored the history of policing in Canada with a focus on the development of the RCMP. Today we build on that history by examining gender conceptualizations of policing in Canada, as well as the connection between the RCMP and representations of Canadian national identity.  

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A Brief History of Policing in Canada

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For many Canadians the presence of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on highways and city streets is a common sight. Not only is the RCMP Canada's national police force, they also serve as the official police for most of Canada's provinces and territories. Only Ontario, Quebec and part of Newfoundland have a provincial police force (Newfoundland's is limited to Saint John's and Corner Brook).  How did some provinces end up with the RCMP policing their roads and towns, while others instituted their own force? Today we look at the history of policing in Canada.

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Conservative Diplomacy and Canada's 'Place' in the World

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Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, and potential Iranian nuclear activity – on each of these three leading international issues today, Canada has been outspoken and steadfast. The views of Harper’s Conservative government are not shared unequivocally across the Canadian populace, but nonetheless as Canada’s representative voice internationally these are the views and opinions that shape Canadian interaction on the global stage. Both Harper and John Baird, Canada’s current Minister of Foreign Affairs, have come under sharp criticism lately for adopting a loud voice on international matters which has at times resonated with tones of arrogance. The Conservatives’ foreign diplomacy has certainly sparked heated debate in media and public circles. Some applaud their decidedly different form of Canadian politics, while others question their purpose and resolve. Whichever side of the debate you may fall, it’s important to situate current Conservative diplomacy in its proper context by reflecting on Canada’s international contributions of the past.

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The Silent Epidemic of Environmental Sensitivities

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In the first part of this series, we broadly touched on environmental and medical history as new (to us) areas of discussion. We examined the impact of poor policy on lead regulation and the “silent epidemic” of lead poisoning in the 1960s. We wonder what silent epidemics afflict us today as we look for lessons from these fields. So today we turn to what could be a modern day epidemic that has far reaching consequences, chemical contaminants and environmental sensitivities.

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The "Silent Epidemic" of Lead Poisoning

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Clio's Current has wandered widely in its foray into online history, but there are some topics which we have avoided. Some because we know nothing about them, and others because we know just enough that we know we have nothing worth saying. Environmental and medical history fall into the second category. In a two part series, we touch on these unfamiliar fields while exploring the history of lead use in North America.

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Palestinian Sovereignty and Peace in Israel

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Recent events involving the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers have escalated existing tension between Israel and Hamas-controlled Gaza and sparked a wave of protests across Israel. As a result, Israel has mobilized roughly 20,000 troops for a possible invasion of Gaza in an attempt to neutralize militant targets. Israel’s mobilization of troops and aerial strikes against Gazan targets, as well as Hamas’ continuing rocket fire have significantly reduced the possibility of a lasting peace in the region. Coupled with the broader geopolitical situation in which Israel and Palestine find themselves, a meaningful and lasting peace does not seem likely in the near future. Yet, there have been several important developments relating to the peace process in the Middle East that provide some hope for a better future.

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Stuck in Time: A Call for the ‘Transtemporal’ Historian

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Historians are considered experts, not of all history but certainly of a particular subfield. There are those of us who study Canadian history, or British or Japanese history, and within those subfields are additional ‘areas of expertise,’ such as political, environmental, or economic history. The Canadianist is certainly not bound to a Canadian context, nor is she/he restricted to study specific subfields or genres. Nonetheless, and despite recent interest in adopting inclusive modes of inquiry, historians are generally taught to embrace a sense of familiarity in their work that derives from research focused both topically and temporally. Clio’s Current has previously explored issues related to national and regional identities, political and social histories, and inquiry-based methodologies, but given that we recently passed the one-year mark, it’s perhaps appropriate for us to investigate the impact of time on historical writing.

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Clio's Current at One Year

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July 1 marked the anniversary of Clio's Current – one year ago we published our first blog post on Canadian views of the world. A lot has changed over the last year, and as historians we like to look back to better understand what we are doing here and what the future might hold. So for today, we're setting historical investigation aside to reflect on the past and future direction of our site.

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