John Boyko on Sir Sandford Fleming

John Boyko on Sir Sandford Fleming

In this episode Allan talks with historian and author John Boyko about his latest book, In Pursuit of Tomorrow: The Inventive Life of Sandford Fleming. While Fleming is best known for coming up with the idea of standard time and time zones used around the world today, that was just one of a long list of significant achievements. By his mid-twenties, Fleming had already surveyed and mapped half a dozen Ontario cities, redesigned Toronto’s waterfront, created Canada’s first postage stamp featuring the beaver, founded the Canadian Institute, and established a reputation as one of the country's leading engineers. Fleming’s contributions shaped projects that helped define modern Canada, including the Intercolonial Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, Queen’s University, scientific institutions, and communications networks that connected the country to the wider world. www.cihe.ca

Donald Wright on the Canadian Historical Association and Donald Creighton

In Episode 26, recorded at the annual meeting of the Canadian Historical Association in Charlottetown, Allan talks with Professor Donald Wright, past president of the Canadian Historical Association and professor at the University of New Brunswick, about his biography Donald Creighton: A Life in History. The conversation opens with a look at the CHA itself—its bilingual mandate, its annual conference, and the role of the presidential address, before turning to Wright's own presidential address on historian Ramsay Cook and Cook's complicated relationship with his thesis supervisor, Donald Creighton. From there, Wright traces Creighton's life: his Toronto upbringing and devotion to literary storytelling, his Laurentian thesis of Canadian history, and his celebrated two-volume biography of Sir John A. Macdonald, a work Wright calls brilliant but deeply flawed in its hero-worship and silence on Indigenous policy. The episode closes with Creighton's bitter later years, his widely panned book on Mackenzie King, and Wright's reflections on writing a biography with the cooperation of Creighton's family. www.cihe.ca

Patrice Dutil on Mackenzie King and Conscription

In this episode Allan talks with Patrice Dutil, professor of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University, about his edited volume The Enduring Riddle of Mackenzie King and what it reveals about one of Canada’s most puzzling political figures: how did someone with no obvious charm or charisma remain in office so long? The conversation focuses on the issue of conscription as a way into understanding King’s leadership, especially during the Second World War, the tension King had to manage between English and French Canada, and how carefully he navigated that divide. Dutil argues that King made little effort to understand French Canada, instead relying on Quebec lieutenants, first Ernest Lapointe and later Louis St. Laurent, who became his successor as Prime Minister. www.cihe.ca

Duncan McDowall on the Life and Legacy of Sir John A Macdonald

In this episode Allan talks with Professor Duncan McDowall, University Historian Emeritus at Queen’s University, about the life and legacy of Sir John A. Macdonald. McDowall suggests that Macdonald’s early years in Kingston were critical in shaping his appreciation for the importance of building ties between Protestant and Catholic, English and French, and with the thousands of immigrants, particularly the Irish, who passed through Kingston en route to destinations beyond. The conversation explores Macdonald’s political rise, his essential role in achieving Confederation, and his accomplishments as Canada’s first Prime Minister, including building the CPR and bringing Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island into Confederation. It also looks at relations with Indigenous Peoples and provides context on how Macdonald operated within the realities of 19th-century society while shaping a nation. www.cihe.ca

Ty Seidule on the ‘Myth of the Lost Cause”

In this episode of History Matters, host Allan Williams speaks with historian and former U.S. Army officer Ty Seidule about how history is remembered, interpreted, and debated in the United States. The conversation begins with recent controversies over the renaming of U.S. military bases previously associated with Confederate figures, including the work of the Naming Commission. From there, Seidule reflects on his upbringing in the American South and the beliefs that shaped his early understanding of the past—an experience he examines in Robert E. Lee and Me. The discussion explores the origins and influence of the “Lost Cause” narrative, how it has been sustained through education and popular culture, and how historical evidence can challenge deeply held assumptions. Drawing on his time teaching at West Point, Seidule explains how institutions and commemorative practices reflect broader social and political dynamics. The episode also considers how societies decide whom to honour, the differences between historical figures such as Robert E. Lee, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, and why their legacies are evaluated differently. While focused on the United States, the conversation raises wider questions about public memory and the challenges of engaging with difficult histories. www.cihe.ca