The Past Speaks

The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada is proud to announce that Manulife Financial is sponsoring its 2010 Sir John A. Macdonald Prize in the amount of $5,000. Dawn Marchand, AVP, Internal Communications and Brand at Manulife Financial explains, “Our support for this important prize is a natural fit for Manulife. Founded in 1887, Sir John A. Macdonald was our first president. As one of Canada’s strongest, most reliable and trustworthy companies, we are proud to help support and honour scholarly excellence.”

The Sir John A. Macdonald Prize, given annually to the best scholarly book in Canadian history and named in honour of our first Prime Minister, is awarded, since 2009, at the yearly Governor General Awards for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, in addition to its long-established presentation at the annual CHA’s Annual Meeting. This year’s Governor General Awards will take place on November 18-19. Béatrice Graig will be present to accept the 2010 Sir John A. Macdonald Prize for her book; Backwoods Consumers and Homespun Capitalists. The Rise of a Market Culture in Eastern Canada (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2009).

Manulife Financial’s support of scholarly research in Canada is not new; it originally sponsored the Sir John A. Macdonald Prize from 1977 until 1984. The inaugural dinner was held at the Grange, the original building of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Manulife President E. S. Jackson presented the 1977 award to Professor Fernand Ouellet for his book: Le bas Canada 1791 – 1840: Changements Structuraux et Crise. The key note speaker for the occasion was the Hon. John Roberts, Secretary of State.  Following the inaugural dinner, Manulife representatives were on hand to present the award at the CHA’s Annual Meeting. The CHA is pleased that Manulife Financial renewed its support for scholarly historical research in Canada by sponsoring the Sir John A. Macdonald Prize in 2010.