This historical book on Canada gives a survey of the country's past from the times when immigrants traveled across its lands over 15,000 years ago from Siberia to Alaska. It is then brought up to date with a profile of modern Canada, its successes, present difficulties and a prognosis for the future. Maps and line drawings.
In the 1960s, Canadians could step through time to eighteenth-century trading posts or nineteenth-century pioneer towns. These living history museums promised authentic reconstructions of the past but, as Time Travel shows, they revealed more about mid-twentieth-century interests and perceptions of history than they reflected historical fact. An appetite for commercial tourism led to the rise of living history museums. They became important components of economic growth, especially as part of government policy to promote regional economic diversity and employment. Alan Gordon explores how these museums were shaped by post-war pressures, personality conflicts, funding challenges, and the need to balance education and entertainment. Ultimately, the rise of the living history museum is linked to the struggle to establish a pan-Canadian identity in the context of multiculturalism, competing anglophone and francophone nationalisms, First Nations resistance, and the growth of the state.
This book provides both a detailed survey of Canadian travel writing in the nineteenth century and an unusual perspective on Canadian cultural history. The Canadians who wrote about their experiences abroad during the era of mass travel which followed the advent of the steamship reveal much about themselves and their own country as well. Who were these travellers, why did they travel, and what did they expect to see? In answering these questions, Eva-Marie Kroller draws upon a wide variety of materials: novels, guide books, magazines, newspapers, photographs, paintings, and previously unpublished letters and diaries. The self-assured progress of the privileged Canadian travellers often turned into introspective voyages of self-discovery. For one thing, Europeans often mistook them for Americans, and many had to ask themselves what it really meant to be Canadian. In addition, the tone of moral earnestness which pervades the early travellers' tales begins to give way to a certain world-weariness by the end. In Canada and elsewhere, the 'tourist' was a new phenomenon at the beginning of the period, but an accepted part of the modern world by the end of it. Canadian Travellers in Europe will be required reading for devotees of travel writing, but it is also a significant contribution to nineteenth-century Canadian history.
VIA Rail, Canada's national passenger train service, makes visiting this breathtaking country a truly memorable journey. Canada by Train is the complete guidebook to train travel with VIA Rail. Full of useful facts and vivid photographs, this guide provides current, comprehensive details on train services and safety measures. The guide features over 500 full-color illustrations and photographs; updated information on schedules, fares and pass options; mile-by-mile route guides; practical suggestions on traveling light, settling in sleepers and coaches; and more.--From publisher description.
Travel writing has a long history, the accounts as varied as the reasons why people travel.Although most travel publications of the eighteenth century were written by men, those by women, perhaps most famously Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, were also widely read. The Travel Journals of Henrietta Marchant Liston: North America & Lower Canada, 1796–1800 consists of the nine journals that Mrs. Liston kept while she and her husband Robert Liston, the minister from Great Britain (1796-1800), resided in Philadelphia, at that time the capital of the United States. Mrs. Liston wrote her journals (which, with one exception, have never been published) for her personal use as an aide-memoire to share with family and friends. To experience this middle-aged woman’s adventurous spirit as she and her husband travel as far south as Charleston, South Carolina and as far north as Quebec, Canada—long before the transportation conveniences and superhighways of modern-day travel—can only be termed amazing. Full of zest, her writing abounds with “you-are-there” moments. Mrs. Liston was genuinely curious about the New World: she wanted to learn about the different regions, to interact with the people who lived there, and to visit its natural wonders. She was astonished by the variety of the North American landscape, particularly its flora. Each journal has an introduction to put Mrs. Liston’s narrative in historical context. She is an intelligent and discerning guide to the eastern part of North America at a time of territorial expansion, of dispossession of Indian Nations from their territories by settlers, and of international upheavals. She and Robert Liston, a seasoned diplomat, observed and participated in the tumultuous events of the last years of the eighteenth century: the resignation of President George Washington and the orderly transfer of power to the next elected president; the “Quasi War” with France; and the rise of the political party system, to name but a few. Mrs. Liston’s description of their friendship with President and Mrs. Washington is clear-eyed as well as deeply appreciative, bringing those historical figures to life. Mrs. Liston’s engaging writing will win the hearts of all readers. For more on this topic, please visit the author's website at www.inthewordsofwomen.com. NEW from the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, a video about Henrietta M. and Robert Liston in the United States: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1kQTNScjiA. Also see the new website for digitized images and transcriptions of Mrs. Liston’s journals: http://digital.nls.uk/travels-of-henrietta-liston/.
"The story of Canadian Pacific is one of the greatest stories in the world. Straddling the continent for more than a century and globe for more than fifty years, Canadian Pacific is inextricably linked with the history of Canada itself. In 1885, the company completed the construction of two thousand miles of railway system and linking the Atlantic to the Pacific. It then established fleets of vessels on both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, laying the foundation for a transportation route that allowed members of the British Empire to travel around the world. To enhance the travel experience, the company also constructed great castle-like hotels, including the Algonquin in St. Andrews, the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, and the Banff Springs Hotel in the Rockies, which themselves became landmarks. In this sumptuously illustrated history of a company whose story is integral to the Golden Age of Travel, Barry Lane recounts the history of Canadian Pacific, from the construction of the transcontinental railway to the development of the hotels and the building of the shipping line that linked Canada to the rest of the world."--From publisher.
The Rough Guide to Canada is the ultimate travel guide to this immense country. In full colour throughout, with clear maps, detailed coverage, suggested itineraries and regional highlights, there are independent author recommendations for hotels, restaurants, cafés and bars from Toronto and Montréal to Vancouver, and from the east coast to the far north. The Rough Guide to Canada is also packed full of practical advice on exploring Canada's untamed wilderness, from hiking or skiing in the Rockies to canoeing through British Columbia's lakes, and from whale watching to looking out for grizzly bears. Whether you're camping in one of the many beautiful national parks, heli-skiing in the mountains or going in search of the northern lights, this book will give you all the practical advice you need for an amazing adventure. Make the most of your holiday with The Rough Guide to Canada.
Expanding on his landmark Globe and Mail series in which he documented his travels down 16 of Canada's great rivers, Roy MacGregor tells the story of our country through the stories of its original highways, and how they sustain our spirit, identity and economy--past, present and future. No country is more blessed with fresh water than Canada. From the mouth of the Fraser River in BC, to the Bow in Alberta, the Red in Manitoba, the Gatineau, the Saint John and the most historic of all Canada's rivers, the St. Lawrence, our beloved chronicler of Canadian life, Roy MacGregor, has paddled, sailed and traversed their lengths, learned their stories and secrets, and the tales of centuries lived on their rapids and riverbanks. He raises lost tales, like that of the Great Tax Revolt of the Gatineau River, and reconsiders histories like that of the Irish would-be settlers who died on Grosse Ile and the incredible resilience of settlers in the Red River Valley. Along the Grand, the Ottawa and others, he meets the successful conservationists behind the resuscitation of polluted wetlands, including even Toronto's Don, the most abused river in Canada (where he witnesses families of mink, returned to play on its banks). Long before our national railroad was built, our rivers held Canada together; in these sixteen portraits, filled with yesterday's adventures and tomorrow's promise, MacGregor weaves together a story of Canada and its ongoing relationship with its most precious resource.