Historica Canada Education Portal

This guide is intended to assist teachers and students as they study Canada’s involvement in the Second World War. It highlights some of the significant historical themes and events of that period but is not meant to be a comprehensive history of Canada and the war; in fact, some teachers may choose to highlight different aspects of this period in their classes, such as the naval war on Canada’s doorstep or Canada’s participation in the bombing offensive against Germany. Nonetheless, the...

Residential schools were government-sponsored religious schools established to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian society. Successive Canadian governments used legislation to strip Indigenous peoples of basic human and legal rights, dignity and integrity, and to gain control over the peoples, their lands and natural rights and resources. The Indian Act, first introduced in 1876, gave the Canadian government license to control almost every aspect of...

Beginning in the early 1600s, the British Crown (later the Government of Canada) entered into a series of treaties with Indigenous nations in Canada. The treaties were intended as formal agreements to encourage peaceful relations and to specify promises, obligations and benefits for both parties. Indigenous peoples wanted to protect their traditional lands, resources, and ways of life, while ensuring peace and friendship, and eventually receiving support as they shifted to...

Immigrants who came to Canada in the late nineteeth century and early twentieth century were also motivated by similar push and pull factors that motivate modern day immigrants. Each individual, family, and ethnic group had specific reasons to move to Canada, whether they were pulled here by propaganda posters and stories about the uncharted territory or they were forced to leave their home country. Your task is to research a specific ethnic group that immigrated to Canada during...

The purpose of this Guide is to enhance your students' knowledge and appreciation of the Black Canadian experience, drawing from Lawrence Hill's award-winning historical fiction, The Book of Negroes, the remarkable journey of Aminata Diallo and the historic British document known as the "Book of Negroes." Structured around themes of journey, slavery, human rights, passage to Canada and contemporary culture, this Guide asks students to examine issues of identity, equality, community, and...

This learning tool complements Historica Canada’s Richard Pierpoint Heritage Minute by exploring his life and the experiences and contributions of Black soldiers in the War of 1812.

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In May 1812, Major General Isaac Brock, the commander of British forces in Upper Canada, visited the Six Nations chiefs at “Brant’s Ford” (near presentday Brantford, Ontario) to enlist their help. Brock knew that their support would be crucial to protect the vast Upper Canadian frontier if the United States declared war, which they did in June 1812.

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This learning tool complements Historica Canada’s Sir George-Étienne Cartier Heritage Minute by exploring the role of Cartier in the negotiations surrounding Canada’s Confederation. The role that Sir George-Étienne Cartier played in uniting the provinces of Canada is so extensive that it was impossible to choose only one achievement to commemorate. Therefore, the Heritage Minute features a series of Cartier’s notable accomplishments.

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The guide's purpose is to enhance your students’ learning and appreciation of the pivotal role that this 1917 battle played within Canadian history. The questions and activities of the guide also aim to have students examine issues and situations from an individual, humanistic point of view as well as from a macro perspective.

Structured around five primary sources from the First World War, this guide asks students to think and to empathize as they analyze and deconstruct those pieces of...

This Guide is designed to enhance your students’ knowledge and appreciation of this seminal historic conflict through engaging discussion and interactive activities.

Understanding the War of 1812 and its place in Canada’s history is an important part of a history student’s education. Being able to recognize the different perspectives, experiences, and outcomes that resulted from the War of 1812 is also important. The skills taught in this learning tool are meant to be useful to students throughout their study of history.

In this guide, borders are defined in geographic, political, national, linguistic and cultural terms. Sometimes they are clearly defined and other times they are abstract, though still significant to the populations affected by them. During the War of 1812, borders were often unclear as no proper survey had been done to define the boundaries. Border decisions were made by government leaders and frequently led to decades of disagreements. When borders changed, they often affected the people...

The 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 presents an opportunity for Canadians to turn their attention to this significant time in the country’s history. The War of 1812 had a major impact on the future of British North America and, in particular, on the continent’s Aboriginal peoples, many of whom played an important role in protecting the Canadas (Upper and Lower Canada; now Ontario, Québec and Labrador) from American invasion.

The First World War, often called “the Great War,” was a global conflict that divided many of the world’s nations into two opposing camps, called the Allies (originally the Triple Entente) and the Central Powers. From 1914 through the end of hostilities in 1918, more countries joined the conflict out of necessity or opportunism, including Japan, the United States and the Ottoman Empire.

The war had disastrous consequences for many Canadian individuals, families and communities: approximately...