A little history of Canada

I am an American from upstate New York who has been living on and off in Toronto for the past two years. Being an academic who has focused on American history, I have always found the points of divergence and points of confluence between the histories of the United States and Canada interesting. But I wanted to understand more about what makes Canada unique on its own terms. I bought this book during the Canada Day celebrations in 2017 (the 150th Anniversary of Confederation). “A Little History of Canada” by H.V. Nelles is a serviceable work and gives you a general overview of some broader themes in Canadian history. However, I find the first part of the book (pre-Confederation) better written than the second half of the book. The book is very much a “little” history and I found myself wanting more information.

One aspect of the book I like is that is five chapters cover non-conventional time periods, allowing the author to tell a less conventional narrative. Chapter 1 goes from prehistoric times to the 1740s, covering the settling of Canada by the First Nations and French settlers. Chapter 2 looks at the transformation a French Canada into a British territory through the Seven Years War and the American Revolution up to the 1840s. This chapter talks about the unique formation of a distinctly Canadian approach to governance. Chapter 3 looks at the period up to 1939 where Canada was a Dominion in the British Empire with deep ties to the mother country. One interesting feature of this chapter is how insular Canada was during this period. Chapter 4 looks at the gradual disconnection of Canada from Britain, its deeper ties to the United States, and attempts by the nation to look outward and to cultivate an independent voice. Chapter 5 is a later edition that takes the story to the present at the various pressures on a multicultural nation at increasing odds with its southern neighbor.

There are a few central themes in his narrative. For Nelles, the best metaphor to describe Canada is a traditional Transformation Mask from the First Nations peoples in the Pacific Northwest. The mask transforms into completely something different each time a string is pulled, all while we can see remains of the previous iteration. It is an interesting metaphor that gets at one of his central points: that Canada has changed drastically over the centuries, all while retaining features of the previous dispensations. Another broader theme is the relationship between Canada and Great Britain, which were quite strong but gradually dissipated as Canada became nominally independent and finally legally independent in 1982. There is also the relationship between Canada and the United States—always omnipresent given the proximity of the two countries but taking on increasing importance after World War II. An additional theme is the idea that Canada has evolved from being a bicultural to a multicultural country—a development that only really began to take deep root in the 1970s and 1980s.

Overall the story is fascinating, and this book can whet your appetite to learn more. But if you want a more nuanced examination, I would recommend using this book only as a first step.