Canada: A People's History is a 17-episode, 32-hour documentary television series on the history of Canada. It first aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from October 2000 to November 2001. The production was an unusually large project for the national network, especially during budget cutbacks. The unexpected success of the series actually led to increased government funding for the CBC. It was also an unusual collaboration with the French arm of the network, which traditionally had autonomous production. The full run of the episodes was produced in English and French. The series title in French was Le Canada: Une histoire populaire. In 2004, OMNI.1 and OMNI.2 aired a multicultural version.
The series was truly a people's history; as much as possible, the story was told through the words of the people involved, from great leaders and explorers to everyday people of the land at the time. In the first season, these words were spoken by actors representing historical figures. In the second season, photographic images and film were shown while words were read by actors, or spoken by the figures themselves wherever archival recordings could be used.
Episodes
First Season
| # |
Title |
Time Span |
Topics |
Personalities |
| 1 |
When the World Began... |
15,000 BC To 1800 AD |
First Nations and Inuit history; first European contact |
Jacques Cartier, Chief Donnacona, John Jewitt |
| 2 |
Adventurers and Mystics |
1540 To 1670 |
European exploration, hunt for Northwest Passage, founding of New France, start of fur trade |
Samuel de Champlain, François le Mercier |
| 3 |
Claiming the Wilderness |
1670 To 1755 |
Expansion of New France and its fur trade, conflict with British colonies, Acadian deportation |
Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Marquis de Sallières |
| 4 |
Battle for a Continent |
1754 To 1775 |
Period around the Seven Years' War, including the battle of Louisbourg, and the taking of Quebec City at the Plains of Abraham |
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, James Wolfe, Benjamin Franklin, Guy Carleton |
| 5 |
A Question of Loyalties |
1775 To 1815 |
The effects of the American Revolution on Canada, including attempted invasion and the Loyalist migration; the War of 1812 |
Isaac Brock, Charles-Michel de Salaberry, Tecumseh, Joseph Brant, Benedict Arnold |
| 6 |
The Pathfinders |
1670 To 1850 |
The Northwest is opened by the fur-trading Hudson's Bay Company and Northwest Company; explorers and adventurers discover the layout of Canada's interior. |
Alexander Mackenzie, Pierre-Esprit Radisson, David Thompson, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes |
| 7 |
Rebellion and Reform |
1815 To 1850 |
Advocates of democracy clash with colonial governors; bloody rebellions are quashed, but the goal of self-government is realized |
Joseph Howe, Louis-Joseph Papineau, William Lyon Mackenzie, Robert Baldwin |
| 8 |
The Great Enterprise |
1850 To 1867 |
The story of Confederation; advocates of nationhood struggle to create a new dominion, as the American Civil War rages |
John A. Macdonald, George Brown, George-Étienne Cartier, Harriet Tubman |
| 9 |
From Sea to Sea |
1867 To 1873 |
Canada's fledgling dominion tries to spread west, provoking the Red River Rebellion; British Columbia joins Confederation |
John A. Macdonald, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, George-Étienne Cartier, Louis Riel |
Second Season
| # |
Title |
Time Span |
Topics |
Personalities |
| 10 |
Taking the West |
1873 To 1896 |
The Macdonald government faces economic trouble, the fate of Riel, and the Manitoba Schools Question; the CPR is completed |
John A. Macdonald, Louis Riel, Crowfoot |
| 11 |
The Great Transformation |
1896 To 1915 |
The immigration boom and prairie settlement bring sweeping change; political movements and intolerances arise; the First World War looms |
Wilfrid Laurier, Clifford Sifton, Guglielmo Marconi |
| 12 |
Ordeal by Fire |
1915 To 1929 |
World War I bears a heavy toll in Europe and at home; conscription is a divisive issue; labour unrest follows war's end |
Robert Borden, Sam Hughes, Lionel Groulx |
| 13 |
Hard Times |
1929 To 1940 |
The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl bring suffering and crisis; international turmoil leads to the next war |
William Aberhart, Maurice Duplessis, R.B. Bennett, Mitchell Hepburn |
| 14 |
The Crucible |
1940 To 1946 |
The Second World War is Canada's coming of age; bravery and anguish at home and abroad |
William Lyon Mackenzie King, Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| 15 |
Comfort and Fear |
1946 To 1964 |
The baby boom and the age of television bring prosperity; the Cold War looms large |
John Diefenbaker, Joey Smallwood, Maurice Duplessis, Tommy Douglas |
| 16 |
Years of Hope and Anger |
1964 To 1976 |
The 60s and 70s bring change: the Quiet Revolution, a new flag, the FLQ crisis, and the rise of Trudeau. |
Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau, Jean Lesage, Patrick Moore |
| 17 |
In an Uncertain World |
1976 To 1990 |
Economic and political uncertainty rise; the 1980 Quebec referendum and constitutional reforms are followed by the dawn of free trade. |
Pierre Trudeau, Rene Levesque, Brian Mulroney |
Production
The production team, christened the Canadian History Project and later renamed the CBC Documentary Unit, is headed by producer Mark Starowicz. They continue to work on CBC documentaries, including the series The Canadian Experience and The Greatest Canadian.
External links
