HIST 1407 (Canadian History Survey Course)
My lecture on Monday was about Canadian history from 1984 to 1993. I spoke about the following issues: the pre-1983 career of Brian Mulroney; the 1984 election; the nature of the “Mulroney Coalition”; the 1988 Free Trade election (I showed a clip from the 1998 leaders’ debate); the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords; Elijah Harper; the Oka Crisis; the emergence of the BQ; the Somalia Affair (there are some great images and video clips available online!); the judicial politics of abortion; Canada’s policies towards the apartheid regime in South Africa; Kim Campbell. I also devoted a fair bit of time to the environmental policies of Brian Mulroney because environmental history is one of the themes of this course.
Brian Mulroney in 1984
My lecture on Wednesday was on an even more recent period of history, 1993-2003. My major focus was on the 1995 Referendum and the subsequent Clarity Act and sponsorship programs. I showed video clips from the night of the referendum. The video clips really captivated the attention of the class. Most of students were born in roughly 1991. I also spoke about Jean Chrétien’s life before 1993, Paul Martin’s career as Finance Minister, and NAFTA.
HIST 4165
4th Year Seminar on BNA in the Age of Confederation
Fenian Raid Medal
We listened to five student research presentation this week. A number of students have selected topics related to what one student has called the War on Fenianism in the 1860s.
Fenian Raids Monument, Toronto, 1890
We heard two presentations on the assassination of McGee and a presentation on the Fenian Raids.
Committee of Safety Minutes, 1866, Page 1, Welland, Canada West
We also heard a student present on the impact of railway construction on the town of Stratford Ontario.
Grand Trunk System Map
Perhaps the most entertaining presentation related to the abolition of public capital punishment in Canada in the late 1860s. That student has discovered some great primary sources related to her topic!
A Canadian Hanging
The Past Speaks 