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Metric conversion was the process of making metric units — such as metre, kilogram and degree Celsius — the common units of measurement in Canada, leaving the British imperial system (with units such as yard, gallon and pound) behind. The process was fraught with political interference and public resistance, and took place incrementally between 1970 and the early 1980s. Despite the shift, many Canadians still express certain measurements in imperial units, such as height (feet and inches).

The period between 1960 and 1980 was a definitive moment in Canadian literary history. Energized by the country’s centennial celebrations and widespread cultural nationalism, authors were excited by the prospect of Canadian literature as a means to help develop a national identity.

The Compagnie des Indes occidentales was a trading company that drove France’s colonial economy from 1664 to 1674. Its name translates to West Indies Company. King Louis XIV gave the company exclusive rights to trade and govern in all French colonies. Its territory extended from the Americas to the Caribbean and Western Africa. In addition to natural resources such as furs and sugar, the Compagnie traded enslaved people.

This company is not to be confused with the French trading company founded by John Law and renamed Compagnie des Indes in 1719.

 The caisse populaire was established in 1900 as a co-operative savings and loan company with nonfixed capital and limited liability in Lévis, Québec, by Alphonse DESJARDINS, a journalist and French-language stenographer in the House of Commons.

There are more than 75 000 charities in Canada. They range in size from low-budget, neighbourhood-centred Meals on Wheels services to national healthcare and educational institutions with budgets of almost $1 billion. The majority of registered charities, some 40%, are places of worship.

Rivers are part of our lives and our heritage. They are the threads that bind the fabric of nature and humanity together.

On 19 April 1904, a fire swept through 20 acres of Toronto’s industrial core. By the time firefighters contained it, the blaze had destroyed at least 98 buildings. The fire incurred around $10 million in losses and left thousands unemployed. One person died in its aftermath. The disaster is known as the Great Fire of Toronto or the Second Great Fire of Toronto (the first major fire occurred in 1849). It exposed the city’s need for safer building codes and a high-pressure water system.

Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Montreal, the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS) started out as a learned society with over 150 institutional and 600 individual members. It sought to act upon key recommendations from T.H.B Symons’ study To Know Ourselves (1975) that pointed to a considerable gap in knowledge on the part of Canadians about the country. The ACS proposed to address this situation by promoting knowledge about Canada through teaching, research, and publications.

Passed in 1988, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was the first act of its kind in the world. It enshrined into law the federal government’s commitment to promoting and maintaining a diverse, multicultural society (see Multiculturalism).

An ethnic group is often a distinct category of the population in a larger society with a (generally) different culture. Distinct ethnic and cultural groups were recorded by Herodotus 2500 years ago.

The Military Service Act became law on 29 August 1917. It was a politically explosive and controversial law that bitterly divided the country along French-English lines. It made all male citizens aged 20 to 45 subject to conscription for military service, through the end of the First World War. The Act’s military value was questionable, but its political consequences were clear. It led to the creation of Prime Minister Borden’s Union Government and drove most of his French-Canadian supporters into opposition.

The Association des Frères-Chasseurs was a secret society that aimed to free Canada from British rule. It was founded by Patriote exiles following their defeat in 1837. The association took several cues from the Masons, including a variety of rituals, oaths, hand signs and passwords. Commanded by Dr. Robert Nelson, the association quickly spread throughout the American borderland and Lower Canada. The association played a major role in the second phase of the Canadian rebellion, planning and leading the failed invasion of Lower Canada in November 1838. The Frères-Chasseurs and Hunters’ Lodges were part of the same general association with similar aims, practices and rituals. While one was organized by American sympathizers, the other was organized by Lower Canadian Patriotes.