Military History

Canada’s History spoke with Sean Smith and Chris Sanagan from the Archives of Ontario, to learn more about Ely Playter and what his diary can teach us about the war. The diary provides a first-hand account of the events of the war, as well as a remarkable social history of the day-to-day affairs of a resident of Upper Canada.

Ely Playter’s War of 1812 Diary

Nous vous proposons de revivre les événements d’octobre 1970 à travers le regard de Robert Côté, ancien commandant de la Police de Montréal, responsable de l’équipe chargée de désamorcer les explosifs et les bombes.

L’homme qui désamorçait les bombes du FLQ

The battle of Vimy Ridge (April 9, 1917) remains Canada’s most storied attack of the First World War. Today, war letters offer a window on that long ago time. Here, in their own words, are the stories of the soldiers who fought, and the loved ones back home who cherished them.

Voices Of Vimy

Listen to Frank Rowan describe his harrowing experiences as a prisoner of war.

WW2: The Long Road Home

Joel Ralph from Canada's History Society speaks with David O'Keefe about his book, the legacy of the battle and the level of public consciousness about Canadian history.

Canada's History

One Day in August with David O'Keefe

Listen to a podcast about Bell Island, Newfoundland's fascinating wartime history as a target of German U-boats.

noosterom's Album

Attack on Bell Island

Hellyer was eighty-seven-years-old when he spoke to Canada's History associate editor Nelle Oosterom about what he did right &mdash; and what he did wrong.

Interview with Paul Hellyer

Military historian Tim Cook explores the history of shell shock in the June-July issue of Canada's History magazine.

WWi: The Great War of The Mind

Intelligence agencies such as the CIA developed new and disturbing methods of interrogation based on the findings of researchers like the University of Manitoba's Dr. John Zubek. Canada's History interviews Cecil Rosner, who followed this story.

Experiments in Isolation

Robert Côté headed the Montreal Police Bomb Squad in the 1970s . He spoke with Canada's History Associate Editor Nelle Oosterom about the challenges he faced.

Interview with Robert Côté

Throughout 2010, the Canadian Navy Centennial celebrated the rich history and legacy of the navy. Captain John Pickford spoke with editor Mark Reid about these festivities.

mreid's Album

100 Years for Canada's Navy

In April 1917, Archer took part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge as a member of the 4th Canadian Division, 11th Infantry Brigade. It’s there that he earned his Military Medal for continuing to operate his Lewis Gun after the rest of his crew was either injured or killed. 

Archer’s brave conduct only tells part of the tale, though. In letters home, another side emerges: that of a strongly religious son who seeks to reassure his mother that, despite wartime’s many temptations, he would remain morally pure.

Mark Reid's Album

Matthew Archer's Letter Home

Evy Wilson, the daughter of Igor and Svetlana Gouzenko, remembers her parents’ stories on the 75th anniversary of their escape to Canada — the first Cold War defection.

Photographs of Svetlana Gouzenko in 1948 (left) and Evy Wilson, her daughter, in 1970 (right) - both at the age of 24.

Gouzenko Deciphered - Evy Wilson

The defection of the Russian cipher clerk, Igor Gouzenko, in September, 1945, revealed to Canadian authorities a web of Soviet espionage spun throughout Canada, with threads running through atomic military research, Canadian parliament, and across the world – in Washington DC, London, and Moscow. 

Seventy-five years later, we can observe how this single defection sent ripples and cracks throughout the global military and political landscape.

Dr. Calder Walton, a historian of espionage, grants us a peek behind the Iron Curtain, describing the intentions, perspectives, and practices of Soviet spying coordinated by Stalin and his officers. 

He explains how the various Western nations responded to the knowledge of these spying rings revealed by the Gouzenko defection.  Dr. Walton explains how the first Cold War defection has relevance that extends across the West, the world, and to the present day.

Gouzenko Deciphered Part 2 - Dr. Calder Walton

Dundonald Park in Ottawa sits across the street from the apartment that Igor Gouzenko, the first Cold War defector, previously resided. This apartment building was where Gouzenko and his family hid from Soviet pursuers, and this park was where RCMP officers kept watch of the premises. Today, seventy-five years later, a plaque stands in Dundonald Park memorializing Gouzenko.

Andrew Kavchak, former federal civil servant, autism advocate, and amateur historian, explains his lengthy efforts for the municipal and federal recognition of Gouzenko in Ottawa. The author of several books, Kavchak discusses the writing of Remembering Gouzenko: the Struggle to Honour a Cold War Hero, as well as other books related to Soviet history.

Gouzenko Deciphered Part 3 - Andrew Kavchak

The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line was a radar defense network in Canada’s Arctic. It was a Cold War engineering marvel, but it had terrible effects on the land and Inuit communities.