A History of Canada in 15 Moments: Making and Remaking a Nation Since 1867

From Confederation in 1867 up to the present day, A History of Canada in 15 Moments investigates 15 key moments in the making of modern Canada.Starting with the treatment of First Peoples and the establishment of the federal union, it takes the reader through the decades to explore the changing place of women, the advent of same-sex marriage and the evolution of a multicultural, diverse society. Taken together, these moments provide a comprehensive understanding of the history of Canada and its wider social, economic, political and cultural influences.

Structured chronologically, each chapter describes and contextualises a specific ’moment’ to understand how it contributed to the making of modern Canada. What did the hanging of Louis Riel in 1885 mean for Canadian colonialism and its treatment of indigenous peoples? How did the arrival of the Komagata Maru ship in 1914 affect attitudes to immigration and race? Why did the 1945 Windsor strike lead to major changes in industrial relations, and what role did nationalism play in the 1995 Quebec Referendum? Though these seemingly small moments that open a window into the past, A History of Canada in 15 Moments cuts through the complexity to provide a comprehensive understanding of how Canada came to be.

Raymond B. Blake is Professor of History at University of Regina, Canada, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He specializes in identity, citizenship and political history. He is the author and editor of 20 books including Conflict and Compromise: Pre and Post-Confederation, and Where Once They Stood. Newfoundland’s Rocky Road to Confederation.

Jeff Keshen is Professor of History, President and Vice-Chancellor at University of Regina, Canada. A historian of post-Confederation Canada specializing in the area of War and Society, his publications include Propaganda and Censorship in Canada’s Great War; Saints, Soldiers and Sinners: Canada’s Second World War and Canada and the Two World Wars.