Canadian History

On July 10, 1943, two great Allied armadas of over 2,000 ships readied to invade Sicily. This was Operation Husky, the first step toward winning a toehold in fascist-occupied Europe. Among the invaders were 20,000 Canadian troops serving in the First Canadian Infantry Division and First Canadian Tank Brigade - in their first combat experience. Over the next 28 days, the Allied troops carved a path through the rugged land, despite fierce German opposition.

On September 4, 1944, Antwerp, Europe’s largest port, fell to the Second British Army and it seemed the war would soon be won. But Antwerp was of little value unless the West Scheldt Estuary linking it to the North Sea was also in Allied hands. In his greatest blunder of the war, Field Marshal Montgomery turned his back on the port, leaving the First Canadian Army to fight its way up the long coastal flank. By the time the Canadians and others serving with them reached the area, it had been transformed into a fortress manned by troops ordered to fight to the death.

It is remembered in the Netherlands as "the sweetest of springs," the one that saw the country's liberation from German occupation. But for the soldiers of First Canadian army, who fought their way across the Rhine River and then through Holland and northwest Germany, that spring of 1945 was bittersweet. While the Dutch were being liberated from the grinding boot heel of the Nazis, their freedom was being paid for in Canadian lives lost.

At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War on July 17, 1936, 42 thousand Internationals, comprised of Canadians, Americans, and Spaniards, fought together on the side of the Republicans who were trying to throw back fascist dictator General Franco’s troops, which included countless German and Italian soldiers. By October 29, 1938 though, only two thousand Internationals were able to gather for a speech requesting them to withdraw. Despite all their efforts, Spain wanted to continue on its own, hoping the war would become a Spanish affair once again.

In geology an erratic is a "boulder or rock formation transported some distance from its original source, as by a glacier." In award-winning novelist Mark Frutkin's case, his movement from his native Cleveland. Ohio, was instigated by his wish to protest and resist the U.S. military draft during the Vietnam War, and his destination was Canada. An estimated 50,000 to 100,000 American Vietnam War draft resisters sought sanctuary in Canada.

While researching why Freud failed to win a Nobel Prize at the Nobel Archives in Sweden, a psychiatrist makes an unusual discovery. Among the piles of papers in the "Crackpot" file are letters addressed to the executor of Alfred Nobel's will, written by several notable Nobel laureates - including Rudyard Kipling and Marie Curie - each offering an explanation of why and how Stonehenge was constructed. Diligent research uncovers that Alfred Nobel added a secret codicil to his will, a prize for the Nobel laureate who solves the mystery of Stonehenge.

In A History of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Volume 5: 1973-1999, the story of CIBC unfolds amidst a backdrop of world-changing events, economic booms and busts, and memorable moments in Canadian history. This era of the bank saw challenges such as the OPEC crisis and recession-driven collapses of iconic companies like Massey Ferguson, Dome Petroleum, and Olympia & York.

For two years the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the world. The physician and medical historian Jacalyn Duffin presents a global history of the virus, with a focus on Canada. Duffin describes the frightening appearance of the virus and its identification by scientists in China; subsequent outbreaks on cruise ships; the relentless spread to Europe, the Americas, Africa, and elsewhere; and the immediate attempts to confront it. COVID-19 next explores the scientific history of infections generally, and the discovery of coronaviruses in particular.

Laugh as you learn about America's friendly northern neighbor with this step-by-step guide to Canadian customs, pop culture, and slang -- perfect for anyone who's considered moving to (or just visiting) maple leaf country. Written by New York Times bestselling author (and born-and-bred Canuck)...

A Hill Times’ Top 100 Best Book in 2025 FOREWORD BY CHERIE WONG National security expert Dennis Molinaro reveals the shocking details of Beijing’s five-decades-long effort to influence and interfere in Canadian political life. From cultivating future political leaders at the end of the...

"Christopher Klein's fresh telling of this story is an important landmark in both Irish and American history." —James M. McPherson Just over a year after Robert E. Lee relinquished his sword, a band of Union and Confederate veterans dusted off their guns. But these former foes had no intention...

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER Known for his sharp-witted skits on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mark Critch uses his keen observational skills to explore Canadian identity and the new wave of Canadian patriotism. In Sorry, Not Sorry, Critch delves into the heart of what it means to be Canadian...

The Battle of the Atlantic, Canada’s longest continuous military engagement of the Second World War, lasted 2,074 days, claiming the lives of more than 4,000 men and women in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian merchant navy The years 2019 to 2025 mark the...

THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER Winner – 2023 Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize Winner – 2023 John W. Dafoe Book Prize Winner – 2023 High Plains Book Award for Indigenous Writer Winner – 2022 Manitoba Historical Society Margaret McWilliams Book Award for Local History Finalist...

In Shelley Wood’s fiction debut, listeners are taken inside the devastating true story of the Dionne Quintuplets, told from the perspective of one young woman who meets them at the moment of their birth. Reluctant midwife Emma Trimpany is just 17 when she assists at the harrowing birth of the...

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on people worldwide. The death tolls, the economic disruptions, the impact on our children’s education, and the extended periods of social and physical distancing have left us feeling demoralized, exhausted, angry, and burned out. Breaking Canadians brings together health care experts, community advocates, and average citizens from across Canada to offer a unique analysis of the first three years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

A ferociously talented writer makes his stunning debut with this richly woven tapestry, set in a small Nova Scotia town settled by former slaves, that depicts several generations of one family bound together and torn apart by blood, faith, time, and fate. Vogue : Best Books to Read This Winter...

Throughout his long and illustrious career, Benjamin Franklin nursed a not-so-secret desire to annex Canada and make it American. When he was not busy conducting scientific experiments or representing American interests at home and abroad, Benjamin Franklin hatched one plan after another to join Canada to the American colonies and then later to the United States. These were not solely intellectual efforts. He went to Montreal in 1776 to try to turn around the faltering occupation by American forces.

Canada’s greatest modern-day explorer sets out into the arctic wilderness to solve a mystery more than 100 years old. In November 1910, explorer Hubert Darrell vanished in the uncharted wilds of the Northwest Territories. A prospector who had been swept up in the Klondike Gold Rush, Darrell...