Canadian History

At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the British Empire withdrew from India, igniting the exhilaration and turmoil of a newly free society. In this vivid, atmospheric popular history, Alex von Tunzelmann chronicles these times through the most prominent figures.

A vibrant, revealing memoir about the cultural and familial pressures that shaped George Elliott Clarke’s early life in the Black Canadian community that he calls Africadia, centred in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a boy, George Elliott Clarke knew that a great deal was expected from him and his...

Cowan details the dance of a survivor moving into adulthood: one step forward towards freedom, two steps back into conditioning, until a tipping point of consciousness is reached.

Qu’est-ce qui fait que le Québec est tel qu’on le connaît ? Nous pourrions dire que c’est grâce à sa culture, entre autres choses. Mais de quelle culture parle-t-on, exactement ? Il y a notre langue avec ses sacres, ses accents, ses expressions. Il y a aussi notre gastronomie avec sa poutine, son sirop d’érable et son fameux pâté chinois, qui, on s’en doute, ne vient pas de Chine. Ensuite, il y a le sport. Par exemple, le hockey, aves ses grandes rivalités et les émotions fortes qu’il suscite chez les Québécois. Nous n’avons qu’à penser à la fameuse Bataille du Vendredi saint en 1984!

Andrew Kirsch didn’t grow up watching spy movies, or dreaming about being a real-life James Bond. He was hardly aware that Canada even had its own intelligence service—let alone knew what its officers did. But when a terrorist attack occurred near the office of his financial services job, all of a sudden fighting terrorism meant a lot more to him than the markets. Within 18 months he had landed a job with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)—where he spent the next decade of his life.

Since our nation was first conceived, Canadian athletes have been involved in some of the weirdest moments in sport. Learn facts that will astound, confuse and make you laugh.

From the #1 bestselling author of 'Indian' in the Cabinet, a groundbreaking and accessible roadmap to advancing true reconciliation across Canada. There is one question Canadians have asked Jody Wilson-Raybould more than any other: What can I do to help advance reconciliation? This has been true...

A mesmerizing odyssey through an unforgiving landscape, and the rich history it reveals. What does it mean to explore and confront the unknown? Beyond the Trees recounts Adam Shoalts's epic, never-before-attempted solo crossing of Canada's mainland Arctic in a single season. It's also a...

Scott McIntyre has lived the story of Canadian book publishing. Beginning his career at McClelland & Stewart in 1967, he went on to cofound his own publishing house, Douglas & McIntyre, in 1970 and made his mark on the industry amid the country’s exhilarating literary coming-of-age. Becoming one of Canada’s largest and most respected publishing houses and among the first to embrace Indigenous issues, Douglas & McIntyre and its associated children’s publisher, Groundwood Books, published some 900 authors and 2,000 books in less than 50 years.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER FOLLOW-UP TO THE #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER 22 MURDERS The truth about the deadliest criminal incident in Canadian history has remained untold—until now. Investigative journalist Paul Palango’s 22 Murders examined the April 2020 shooting spree committed by Gabriel Wortman...

Ten thousand Allied troops landed in the Netherlands in September 1944. This was the largest airborne invasion ever undertaken and it ended in utter disaster. Eight thousand men were killed, wounded, or captured during the Battle of Arnhem. Yet, what of those who escaped? And how did they manage it when surrounded by German troops? Leo Heaps' remarkable book, The Grey Goose of Arnhem, charts the activities of 250 men who, with the aid of Dutch Resistance, made it back across the Rhine to Allied lines.

From award-winning journalist Jessica Barrett, an honest and urgent look at our housing crisis and lessons from around the world that will make better homes for all Canadians. After living in Vancouver for her entire adult life, Jessica Barrett packed up her apartment, quit her dream job as a...

Après l’immense succès de L’HISTOIRE NOUS LE DIRA, Laurent Turcot récidive et propose de nouveau son regard unique et passionnant sur l’histoire du Québec. De la Nouvelle-France à aujourd’hui, en passant par la Conquête, le patrimoine bâti, les lieux signifiants et quelques-unes des affaires judiciaires qui ont secoué la province, l’historien explore certains marqueurs de l’identité collective qui permettent de mieux comprendre notre héritage social, culturel et politique.

From our country's most important war historian, a gripping account of the turbulent relationship between Canada and the US during the Second World War. The two nations entered the war amidst rivalry and mutual suspicion, but learned to fight together before emerging triumphant and bound by an...

As compelling as Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark or James Ellroy's My Dark Places, this is the story of a brother's lifelong determination to find the truth about his sister's death, a police force that was ignoring the cases of missing and murdered women, and, to the surprise of...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER FINALIST FOR THE OTTAWA BOOK AWARDS A masterful telling of the way World War Two has been remembered, forgotten, and remade by Canada over seventy-five years. The Second World War shaped modern Canada. It led to the country's emergence as a middle power on the world stage...

Passionnant voyage dans l’aventure québécoise, ce livre nous invite à traverser quatre siècles en dix escales: jours de colère ou de liesse, de défaite ou de victoire, de recul ou de progrès, dates fatidiques qui continuent aujourd’hui de définir le Québec. Chacun avec sa voix propre et à la lumière de sa spécialité, les auteurs éclairent ces tournants décisifs du long chemin parcouru par les Québécoises et les Québécois.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Mike Browne, host of the popular Canadian podcast Dark Poutine, chronicles some of his all-time favourite stories of true crime and dark history from Canada and around the world. Divided into four sections —Murders with a Twist, Perpetual Puzzles, The Madness of Crowds and...

Robert D. Banks shares the untold story of Point Frederick, where early nineteenth-century Canadians built warships that stopped invasion, brought peace, and the world's longest undefended border. Opposite Kingston, Point Frederick became the 1789 dockyard home of the navy on Lake Ontario. Armed vessels were built to transport settlers and the military. War in 1812 prompted the need for larger warships. Shipwrights were critical to winning the war. French Canadians from Quebec shipyards worked with the British to build warships with massive firepower.

Né en 1921, Léo Major grandit à Montréal durant la Grande Dépression. Aîné d’une famille nombreuse, il développe une relation conflictuelle avec son père et quitte la maison à 14 ans. Son père lui dit qu’il ne fera jamais rien de bon dans la vie: Léo va lui prouver le contraire. En 1940, il s’enrôle dans le Régiment de la Chaudière. Après un entraînement long et exigeant, il participe au débarquement de Normandie. Dès son arrivée en sol français, il multiplie les actions d’éclat.