# Canada: A People's History

Canada: A People's History is a 17-episode, 32-hour documentary television series on the history of Canada. It first aired on CBC Television from October 2000 to November 2001. The production was an unusually large project for the national network, especially during budget cutbacks. The unexpected success of the series actually led to increased government funding for the CBC. It was also an unusual collaboration with the French arm of the network, which traditionally had autonomous production. The full run of the episodes was produced in English and French. The series title in French was Le Canada: Une histoire populaire. In 2004, OMNI.1 and OMNI.2 began airing multicultural versions, in Chinese, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Russian.
The producers intended to make this a dramatic history of the Canadian people; as much as possible, the story was told through the words of the people involved, from great leaders and explorers to everyday people of the land at the time. The documentary makes effective use of visuals, transitions, and dramatic music from or evocative of the eras being covered. In the first season, actors representing historical figures spoke their words, while later seasons used voiceovers over photographic images and film or, when available, original recordings of the subject.
In June 2017, CBC Television aired two new episodes. Part one aired on June 15, 2017, with part two on June 22, 2017.

## Episodes

Source:

### Series 1

| # | Title | Time span | Topics | Personalities |
| 1 | When the World Began... | 15,000 BC–1800 AD | First Nations and Inuit history First European contact | John Cabot Jacques Cartier James Cook Chief Donnacona Henry Hudson Maquinna |
| 2 | Adventurers and Mystics | 1540–1670 | European exploration Hunt for Northwest Passage Founding of New France Start of fur trade | Jean de Brébeuf Étienne Brûlé Martin Frobisher Samuel de Champlain Jean Talon |
| 3 | Claiming the Wilderness | 1670–1755 | Expansion of New France and its fur trade Conflict with British colonies Acadian deportation | Louis de Buade de Frontenac Robert de LaSalle Charles Lawrence William Shirley |
| 4 | Battle for a Continent | 1754–1775 | Period around the Seven Years' War Battle of Louisbourg Taking of Quebec City at the Plains of Abraham | Guy Carleton Benjamin Franklin Louis-Joseph de Montcalm James Wolfe |
| 5 | A Question of Loyalties | 1775–1815 | The effects of the American Revolution on Canada Attempted invasion Loyalist migration The War of 1812 | Benedict Arnold Joseph Brant Isaac Brock Guy Carleton Richard Montgomery Charles-Michel de Salaberry Tecumseh |

### Series 2

| # | Title | Time span | Topics | Personalities |
| 6 | The Pathfinders | 1670–1850 | The Northwest is opened by the fur-trading Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company Explorers and adventurers discover the layout of Canada's interior. | Alexander Mackenzie Pierre-Esprit Radisson David Thompson Pierre Gaultier de Varennes (sieur de La Vérendrye) |
| 7 | Rebellion and Reform | 1815–1850 | Advocates of democracy clash with colonial governors Bloody rebellions are squashed The goal of self-government is realized | Robert Baldwin Joseph Howe Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham William Lyon Mackenzie Louis-Joseph Papineau |
| 8 | The Great Enterprise | 1850–1867 | The story of Confederation Advocates of nationhood struggle to create a new dominion The American Civil War rages | George Brown George-Étienne Cartier Agnes Macdonald John A. Macdonald Harriet Tubman |
| 9 | From Sea to Sea | 1867–1873 | Canada's fledgling dominion tries to spread west The Red River Rebellion British Columbia joins Confederation | George-Étienne Cartier John A. Macdonald Thomas D'Arcy McGee Louis Riel |

### Series 3

| # | Title | Time span | Topics | Personalities |
| 10 | Taking the West | 1873–1896 | The Macdonald government faces economic trouble The fate of Riel The Manitoba Schools Question The CPR is completed | Big Bear Crowfoot John A. Macdonald Alexander Mackenzie Louis Riel |
| 11 | The Great Transformation | 1896–1915 | The immigration boom and prairie settlement bring sweeping change Political movements and intolerances arise The First World War looms | Robert Borden Henri Bourassa Won Alexander Cumyow Wilfrid Laurier Guglielmo Marconi Nellie McClung John McCrae Clifford Sifton J.S. Woodsworth |
| 12 | Ordeal by Fire | 1915–1929 | World War I bears a heavy toll in Europe and at home Conscription is a divisive issue Labour unrest follows war's end | Robert Borden Lionel Groulx Sam Hughes Wilfrid Laurier Nellie McClung Arthur Meighen |
| 13 | Hard Times | 1929–1940 | The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl bring suffering and crisis International turmoil leads to the next war | William Aberhart Richard Bedford Bennett Maurice Duplessis Mitchell Hepburn Adolf Hitler William Lyon Mackenzie King Cairine Wilson |

### Series 4

| # | Title | Time span | Topics | Personalities |
| 14 | The Crucible | 1940–1946 | The Second World War is Canada's coming of age Bravery and anguish at home and abroad | Winston Churchill Tommy Douglas Adolf Hitler William Lyon Mackenzie King Andrew McNaughton Franklin Delano Roosevelt |
| 15 | Comfort and Fear | 1946–1964 | The baby boom and the age of television bring prosperity The Cold War looms large | John Diefenbaker Tommy Douglas Maurice Duplessis René Lévesque Lester Pearson Joey Smallwood Louis St. Laurent |
| 16 | Years of Hope and Anger | 1964–1976 | The 60s and 70s bring change The Quiet Revolution EXPO 67 A new flag The FLQ crisis The rise of Trudeau. | Doris Anderson Robert Bourassa Jean Lesage René Lévesque Patrick Moore Lester Pearson Pierre Trudeau |
| 17 | In an Uncertain World | 1976–1990 | Economic and political uncertainty rise The 1980 Quebec referendum Constitutional reforms are followed by the dawn of free trade. | Robert Bourassa Jean Chrétien René Lévesque Peter Lougheed Brian Mulroney Pierre Trudeau John Turner |

### 2017 Series

| # | Title | Time span | Topics | Personalities |
| 18(1) | New Times New Ways, Part 1 | 1991-2001 | "Gays and lesbians achieve equality; Indigenous people seek redress over past abuse; the country once again stands on the brink of breakup; Cirque du Soleil conquers the world; a way of life ends in Newfoundland; the BlackBerry gives birth to Canada's own Silicon Valley; Canada's peacekeeping role suffers a near-fatal blow; and the 9/11 attack makes a small-town in Newfoundland heroic." | |
| 18(2) | New Times New Ways, Part 2 | 2001-2015 | "Canada fights terrorism in Afghanistan and pays a heavy price; the Muslim community is under suspicion and makes innocent victims; Indigenous women are Idle No More; Canadian athletes own the podium at the Olympics in Vancouver; security goes rogue when the G20 meet in Toronto; the Earth's climate is in jeopardy; and a Canadian astronaut sees its frailty." | |

## Production

The production team, christened the Canadian History Project and later renamed the CBC Documentary Unit, was headed by producer Mark Starowicz until CBC discontinued in-house documentary production in 2015. Following Canada: A People's History, the team developed and produced such CBC documentary series as The Canadian Experience, The Greatest Canadian, Hockey: A People's History and 2012's acclaimed series about Canada's aboriginal communities, 8th Fire.

## Awards

In 2001, Season One of Canada: A People's History was awarded three Gemini Awards by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television:
* Best Documentary Series
* Best Sound in an Information or Documentary Series or Program
* Best Original Score
The series was also recognized by the Columbus International Film and Video Festival in 2001 with a CHRIS Award in Humanities category for Best Series as well as recognition for Best Episode and Best print press/marketing materials.
The extensive bilingual website created to support and enhance the series was recognized with two awards at the 2001 Baddeck International New Media Festival: one for Best Education / Information / Training Web Site and Best Technical Achievement.
Canada's History Society awarded the series and its executive producer Mark Starowicz its Governor General's History Award for Popular Media: Pierre Berton Award in 2001.