Search for "New France"

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

"And I knew that I had shot many of these young soldiers at that time of meeting them. And that seemed to stick in my memory, their faces."

See below for Mr. Guy's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.

Canadian painting in the 19th century tended towards the pastoral. It depicted idyllic scenes of rural life and represented the country as a wondrous Eden. Canadian painter Homer Watson, under the influence of such American masters as Frederic Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt, created images that are serene and suffused with golden light. In On the Mohawk River (1878), for instance, a lazy river ambles between tall, overhanging trees; in the background is a light-struck mountain. In Watson’s world, nature is peaceful, unthreatening and perhaps even sacred.

Gordon Sidney Harrington, labour lawyer, military officer (colonel), politician, premier of Nova Scotia (born 7 August 1883 in Halifax, NS; died 4 July 1943 in Halifax, NS). Educated at Dalhousie University, Harrington practised law in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. During the First World War, he served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1915–17, and with the Overseas Military Forces of Canada from 1917–20. After the war, he became an MLA for Cape Breton Centre in 1925. He succeeded Edgar N. Rhodes as premier of Nova Scotia in 1930. However, with the onset of the Great Depression, Harrington and the Conservatives were defeated just three years later by the Liberals in 1933. Harrington remained an MLA for Cape Breton South until 1937. A skillful administrator, Harrington’s legacy includes his instrumental involvement in the repatriation of Canadian soldiers after the First World War and his role in ending labour disputes in the Cape Breton mining industry.

"The children hadn’t seen chocolate during the war. There were a lot of young children that had never seen it before. There was a lot of misery during the war."

See below for Mr. Querry's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

This article contains sensitive material that may not be suitable for all audiences.

Samuel Simpson Sharpe, barrister, politician, soldier (born on 13 March 1873 in Zephyr, Ontario; died 25 May 1918 in Montreal, Quebec). Sharpe was a militia officer and sitting Member of Parliament when he raised the 116th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and took it overseas. After participating in some of Canada’s bloodiest battles of the war, he was hospitalized for “nervous shock” and returned to Canada. While undergoing treatment, he committed suicide by jumping from a Montreal hospital window.

Clifford MacKay “Black Mike” McEwen, fighter pilot and ace, senior air force commander, airline executive, veterans’ advocate (born 2 July 1896 in Griswold, Manitoba; died 6 August 1967 in Toronto, Ontario). McEwen was one of Canada’s top-scoring fighter pilots of the First World War and commanded No. 6 (RCAF) Group, Bomber Command, during the Second World War.

Donald Roderick MacLaren, fighter pilot, war hero, businessman (born 28 May 1893 in Ottawa, ON; died 4 July 1988 in Burnaby, BC). A First World War fighter ace, MacLaren was credited with 54 air victories in less than eight months — an unparalleled record. He was one of the top ten aces of the war, and third among Canadians, after William “Billy” Bishop and Raymond Collishaw.

Thomas (Tommy) Ricketts, soldier, pharmacist, Victoria Cross recipient (born 15 April 1901 in Middle Arm, White Bay, NL; died 10 February 1967 in St. John’s). During the First World War, Private Tommy Ricketts was the youngest soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for bravery among troops of the British Empire.

Samuel Glode (also spelled Gloade), Mi’kmaq lumberjack, hunting and fishing guide, trapper, soldier and war hero (born 20 April 1880 in Milton, NS; died 26 October 1957 in Halifax, NS) was a veteran of the First World War. He served as an engineer and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for his heroic actions after the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

During the Second World War, Sheila Elizabeth Whitton was a coder for the Canadian Navy. Whitton was sent to England in preparation for D-Day to work on coding machines instrumental to the Allies’ success. Read and listen to Whitton’s recount of the loss of her husband in the war and the resilience she had to put forward.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

Olivar Asselin, journalist, soldier, philanthropist (born 8 Nov 1874 in Saint-Hilarion de Charlevoix, Québec; died 18 April 1937 in Montréal, Québec). Olivar Asselin was a writer, journalist, philanthropist and public intellectual in Québec at the turn of the 20th century. He was widely regarded as a giant in the world of Québec journalism and had a remarkable talent for recruiting and mentoring young writers during his extended career. As a fervent French Canadian nationalist and fierce polemist, he was deeply engaged in virtually every public issue of his day.

Herbert William Philp, MM, journalist and soldier (born 31 January 1889 in Sarnia, ON; died 19 January 1920 in Guelph, ON). From August 1914 to January 1919, Herbert Philp wrote detailed letters about his life as a soldier with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War. Most of his correspondence has survived, providing present-day readers with a first-hand account of the war from an enlisted man’s perspective and a unique window into a period when letters from the Western Front were subject to strict military censorship (see War Measures Act).

"And when he used the torch to try and burn off the hinges or whatever, it blew and blew him right clean out of the tank."

See below for Mr. Richardson's entire testimony.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

When the Second World War ended, more than a million Canadian men and women, serving in uniform, were set to return to their homes. A driving question for the country was: What was owed to the veterans?

Canada is a constitutional monarchy. As such, there is a clear division between the head of state and the head of government. The head of government is the prime minister, an elected political leader. The head of state is the Canadian monarch. Their duties are carried out by the governor general, who acts as the representative of the Crown — currently Elizabeth II — in Canada. (Lieutenant-Governors fulfill the same role in provincial governments.) The governor general performs a wide array of ceremonial duties. They also fulfill an important role in upholding the traditions of Parliament and other democratic institutions. Inuk leader Mary Simon was formally installed as Canada’s 30th Governor General on 26 July 2021. She is the first Indigenous person to hold Canada’s viceregal position.

Arthur Brooke, career soldier (b at Ireland 1772; d at London 1843). Colonel Arthur Brooke is best remembered as one of the two key British commanders during the Battle of North Point (part of the Battle of Baltimore) in the War of 1812.