Historica Canada

On June 6, 1944, Canadian Forces landed on Juno Beach. D-Day, as this day would become known, was the largest amphibious invasion of all time, led to the liberation of France, and marked the beginning of the end of the Second World War.

Scientists Banting, Best, Collip and Macleod at the University of Toronto as they race for a treatment to cure 13-year-old Leonard Thompson of his life-threatening diagnosis of diabetes.

The story of Viola Desmond, an entrepreneur who challenged segregation in Nova Scotia in the 1940s.

This Heritage Minute follows the life of Onondaga long-distance runner Gagwe:gih, whose name means “Everything.” Known around the world as Tom Longboat, he was one of the most celebrated athletes of the early 20th century.

This Heritage Minute follows Chloe Cooley, an enslaved Black woman in Upper Canada in 1793. Her acts of resistance in the face of violence led to Canada’s first legislation limiting slavery.

In 1956, Dr. Anne Innis Dagg became the first Western researcher to study any mammal in the wild in Africa. She is still known as one of the foremost experts on giraffes.

Nursing Sisters serve at the No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital in France during the First World War.

At 68, a formerly enslaved Black Loyalist enlists men for the Coloured Corps, an instrumental company in the War of 1812.

One of Canada’s greatest legal scholars, Bora Laskin overcame antisemitism to become the first Jewish Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

This Heritage Minute follows Canada’s most honoured jazz musicians from his humble beginnings in the Black neighbourhood of Little Burgundy in Montréal to his rise to fame.

The story of Chanie "Charlie" Wenjack, whose death sparked the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in Canadian residential schools.

The Grads challenge the self-proclaimed 'world champions' the Cleveland Favorite Knits to a two game tournament in 1923.

A team of Icelandic-Canadians serve in the First World War before bringing home the very first gold medal in Olympic hockey.

This Heritage Minute introduces the mill town of Paldi, BC, through the eyes of a Sikh woman, Bishan Kaur.

The making of Treaty 9 from the perspective of historical witness George Spence, an 18-year-old Cree hunter from Albany, James Bay.

Canada's first Prime Minister outlines his vision for Confederation en route to the Charlottetown Conference.

Mohawk Chief John Norton and 80 Grand River warriors hold off American soldiers until reinforcements arrive and the Battle of Queenston Heights is won (1812).

Pioneering gay activist Jim Egan publicly challenged a culture of rampant homophobia in the press starting in the late 1940s, when it was dangerous to speak out.

From 1914-1941, the Vancouver Asahi were one of city’s most dominant amateur baseball teams, winning multiple league titles in Vancouver and along the Northwest Coast.

After losing his sight during the First World War, Edwin A. Baker co-founded the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. His determination and resilience carried forward to other blinded Canadians, empowering them to live independently.