Happy Canada Day!
Canada is turning 150, and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to learn more about this great country. Here are some UTP titles to add to your reading list, or use in your classes.
Canada’s Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests
By Peter H. Russell
150 years after Confederation, Canada is known around the world for its social diversity and its commitment to principles of multiculturalism. But the road to contemporary Canada is a winding one, a story of division and conflict as well as union and accommodation.
In Canada’s Odyssey, renowned scholar Peter H. Russell provides an expansive, accessible account of Canadian history from the pre-Confederation period to the present day. By focusing on what he calls the “three pillars” of English Canada, French Canada, and Aboriginal Canada, Russell advances an important view of our country as one founded on and informed by “incomplete conquests”. It is the very incompleteness of these conquests that have made Canada what it is today, not just a multicultural society but a multinational one.
Featuring the scope and vivid characterizations of an epic novel, Canada’s Odyssey is a magisterial work by an astute observer of Canadian politics and history, a perfect book to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
Conflict and Compromise: Pre-Confederation Canada
and
Conflict and Compromise: Post-Confederation Canada
By Raymond B. Blake, Jeffrey Keshen, Norman J. Knowles, and Barbara J. Messamore
Driven by its strong narrative, Conflict and Compromise presents Canadian history chronologically, allowing a better understanding of the interrelationships between events. Its main objective is to demonstrate that although Canadian history has been marked by cleavages and conflicts, there has been a continual process of negotiation and a need for compromise which has enabled Canada to develop into arguably one of the most successful and pluralistic countries in the world. The authors have drawn from all genres characterizing the present state of Canadian historiography, including social, military, cultural, political, and economic approaches. In doing so their aim is to challenge readers to engage with debates and interpretations about the past rather than simply to study for an exam.
Celebrating Canada: Holidays, National Days, and the Crafting of Identities
Edited by Matthew Hayday and Raymond Blake
Holidays are a key to helping us understand the transformation of national, regional, community and ethnic identities. In Celebrating Canada, Matthew Hayday and Raymond Blake situate Canada in an international context as they examine the history and evolution of our national and provincial holidays and annual celebrations.
The contributors to this volume examine such holidays as Dominion Day, Victoria Day, Quebec’s Fête Nationale and Canadian Thanksgiving, among many others. They also examine how Canadians celebrate the national days of other countries (like the Fourth of July) and how Dominion Day was observed in the United Kingdom. Drawing heavily on primary source research, and theories of nationalism, identities and invented traditions, the essays in this collection deepen our understanding of how these holidays have influenced the evolution of Canadian identities.
In honour of Canada’s sesquicentennial, University of Toronto Press is proud to introduce the Canada 150 Collection, a special selection of outstanding books published over the years that bear witness to the depth and breadth of the nation’s history and the diversity of its peoples. These books showcase remarkable achievements as well as uncomfortable truths in Canada’s history, from pre-Confederation to the present. This carefully curated collection includes classic works of cultural, historical, legal, and literary scholarship that have informed and shaped Canada as a nation. A testament to University of Toronto Press’s longstanding commitment to authoritative and boundary-pushing scholarship, the Canada 150 Collection presents works that are essential reading for students, scholars, and anyone with an interest in Canada’s past and future.
