Curious Canadian History

Written by: David Borys
  • Summary

  • Historian David Borys dives deep into the fascinating world of Canadian history in this bi-weekly podcast exploring everything from the wonderful to the weird to the downright dark.


    Please take 5-10 minutes to fill out our CCH survey, your feedback is greatly appreciated!!


    http://bit.ly/curiouscanadianhistory-survey

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    ©Curious Canadian History
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Episodes
  • S10E12 Trump's Tariff War
    Feb 18 2025



    You cannot turn on the news right now without hearing about President Donald Trump’s threat to apply a 25% tariff to Canadian goods. While his claim that our border is contributing to America’s fentanyl and illegal immigrant problem may be dubious, the ramifications of a tariff war are very real. Has a tariff war like this ever happened before? How has Canada historically responded to American economic aggression? What would the consequences of a trade war be today?


    To help us walk through these complex issues we have brought on economist Trevor Tombe. Trevor is a Professor at the University of Calgary’s Department of Economics and the Director of Fiscal and Economic Policy at The School of Public Policy. His research explores a broad set of topics, from international trade to public finances to fiscal federalism. He has published in top economics journals, is co-author of the textbooks Public Finance in Canada and Macroeconomics, co-editor of the recent volume Fiscal Federalism in Canada, and is Co-Director of Finances of the Nation. In addition to his academic work, he actively advises various governments on a wide range of issues (currently a member of the Government of Canada Working Group on Productivity in the Public Sector; and previously a member of the Bank of Canada panel reviewing its pandemic response) and contributes to policy development and discussions through regular op-eds, articles, and media engagement.


    Website: www.trevortombe.com


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    Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:


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    49 mins
  • S10E11 - Mackenzie King: The Spiritualist Prime Minister
    Feb 4 2025

    William Lyon Mackenzie King was Canada's longest-serving Prime Minister, from 1922 to 1930 and from 1935 to 1948. Historians have ranked him as Canada's greatest Prime Minister for his political leadership in winning Canada's autonomy from the British Empire and for organizing Canada's enormous war effort that enabled Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt to lead the western allies to victory in World War II. But what many people don’t realize is that Mackenzie King was also a die-hard spiritualist. From fortune tellers, to mystics, to seances with the dead, Mackenzie King used every tool in his spiritualist toolbox to communicate with his dead family and to help guide him in important political decisions.


    To help us dive into this matter we’ve brought on the show Anton Wagner. Anton Wagner was a founding executive member of the Association for Canadian Theatre Research and has edited ten books on Canadian theatre and drama. He was the Director of Research and Managing Editor of The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre, published by Routledge. Anton was a member of the Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition steering committee in Toronto for more than a decade, and produced and directed Our Hiroshima on Canada, Mackenzie King, and the atom bomb for Canadian and international television. He holds doctorates in drama (University of Toronto) and theatre (York University). Anton has recently published a two-volume history of William Lyon Mackenzie King titled The Spiritualist Prime Minister which offers a uniquely fresh look at Canada’s longest serving PM.


    Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:


    Amazon

    Indigo

    Dundurn

    Goodreads

    Indiebookstores.ca

    Get add free content at Patreon!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    26 mins
  • S10E10 - Canadian History Ehx does Godspell
    Jan 21 2025

    For today's episode we've done something a little different. Craig Baird is a friend and fellow podcaster over at the great Canadian history podcast Canadian History Ehx and today CCH has opened up its floors to a CHX episode on a legendary moment in Canadian musical theatre history. In 1972 the hottest new Broadway production, Godspell, came to Toronto and hundreds of young actors auditioned for it. When the dust settled, and the cast was announced little did anyone know the legendary impact that this cast would end up having on Canadian and North American theatre, television and film. The cast became a veritable who’s who of Canadians that would become central to some of the most important television and film moments in the ensuing decades.


    Don’t forget! You can purchase a copy of Punching Above Our Weight: The Canadian Military at War Since 1867 right now at the below links:


    Amazon

    Indigo

    Dundurn

    Goodreads

    Indiebookstores.ca

    Get add free content at Patreon!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show more Show less
    33 mins

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very cool series!

As a Canadian who loves anything involving history this series is like crack cocaine for me. the narration can be pretty fast paced so paying close attention is necessary, but well worth the listen in any case.

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