Larry Ostola talks to Alister Campbell about his book, The Harris Legacy: Reflections on a Transformational Premier.

Elected for the first of his two terms as premier of Ontario in 1995, Mike Harris introduced some of the most sweeping reforms the province has ever seen: substantial reductions in spending and taxation as well dramatic changes to welfare, education, health care, municipal affairs, labour relations, energy, the environment, and much more. He altered the way elections were fought, how the provincial government is held accountable, how it works with its counterpart in Ottawa, and on his retirement in 2002 said his only regret was “I wish I had done more… faster.” Three decades after the launch of his famous Common Sense Revolution, Mike Harris and his policies still galvanize emotions on all sides of the political spectrum. In this comprehensive and highly readable examination of The Harris Legacy, an all-star collection of political experts reviews what worked, what didn’t, and what’s still up for debate.

Alister Campbell has served as CEO of several Canadian insurance companies. He was the “Message Guy” in the 1995 Mike Harris campaign, responsible for policy, speech, communications, advertising, and media.

Image Credit:  Sutherland House

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

The Harris Legacy: Reflections on a Transformational Premier

Larry Ostola speaks with Nick Etheridge and Phil Calvert about their book, Supervising a Peace that Never Was: Recollections of Canadian Diplomatic Personnel in Indochina, 1954–1973.

Supervising a Peace that Never Was: Recollections of Canadian Diplomatic Personnel in Indochina, 1954–1973 is a collection of essays written by former Canadian diplomats who served on international commissions in Indochina. These individuals were initially deployed to oversee the implementation of the 1954 Geneva Accords (through the International Commission for Supervision and Control, or ICSC) and later, in 1973, to monitor compliance with the Paris Peace Agreement (under the International Commission of Control and Supervision, or ICCS). Over the course of two decades, young Canadians were posted to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos—regions in which Canada had previously played a minimal role. The chapters that follow reflect their personal memories and experiences during these diplomatic missions.

Read the full book here: https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/capi/assets/docs/books/supervising-a-peace-that-never-was.pdf

Nick Etheridge joined External Affairs in 1967 and held postings in Australia, Vietnam, and Europe, including roles in the CSCE. He served as Canada’s representative in Cambodia (1993), Chargé d’Affaires in the Baltic States (1993–95), and High Commissioner to Bangladesh (1996–99). He retired in 2002 as Director of the Defence Relations Division.

Phil Calvert joined the Department of External Affairs in 1982 and served in Beijing during three postings. He held key roles in trade negotiations, including as Deputy Chief Negotiator for China’s WTO accession, and was Ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos from 2011 to 2016. He retired in 2016.

Image Credit: University of Victoria - CAPI Publications  

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.


Supervising a Peace that Never Was: Recollections of Canadian Diplomatic Personnel in Indochina, 1954–1973

Larry Ostola speaks with Tim Falconer about his book, Windfall: Viola MacMillan and Her Notorious Mining Scandal.

Viola MacMillan was a trailblazing prospector and mining executive who rose to prominence in a male-dominated industry. In 1964, after decades of success, she became the central figure in a major stock scandal. Shares in her company, Windfall Oil and Mines, soared on unverified rumors of a big find. MacMillan remained silent as the price climbed—until the company admitted it had nothing. The crash devastated small investors and led to a royal commission and reforms in Canadian financial regulation. Though convicted and jailed, MacMillan was later awarded the Order of Canada.

Tim Falconer is the author of Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music and Klondikers: Dawson City’s Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey, both named to The Globe and Mail’s Top 100 Books. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Image Credit: ECW Press  

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Windfall: Viola MacMillan and Her Notorious Mining Scandal

Larry Ostola speaks with William E. Moreau about his book, The Writings of David Thompson, Volume 1.

Between 1784 and 1812, David Thompson explored and traded across much of western North America, from Athabasca to the Missouri and from Lake Superior to the Columbia River's mouth. In his later years, he recounted these experiences in his autobiographical work Travels. More than just a personal narrative, Travels blends geographic exploration with intellectual reflection, offering insights into the land and Indigenous peoples he encountered.

This distinguished work combines scientific observation with vivid storytelling, capturing Thompson’s curiosity and deep sense of wonder. It stands as a foundational text in Canadian literature and history.

The boxed set referenced includes the two companion volumes of Travels published in 2009 and 2015. It features a new transcription of Thompson’s complete manuscript, critical annotations, historical and textual introductions, biographical appendices, and maps—both historical and modern. With an updated edition and a new preface by geographer John Warkentin, it remains the definitive scholarly reference for Thompson’s legacy and continues to introduce his work to new generations.

William E. Moreau is a teacher with the Toronto District School Board and a sessional lecturer with the University of Toronto at Scarborough.

Image Credit: The Champlain Society   

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

The Writings of David Thompson, Volume 1

Nicole O’Byrne speaks with Eric Andrew-Gee about his book, The Mind Mappers.

This powerful dual biography tells the true story of two neurosurgeons—Wilder Penfield and the lesser-known William Cone—whose partnership revolutionized brain science in the early 20th century. In the 1920s, when brain surgery was still highly risky, the two men joined forces, united by a fascination with the mind’s inner workings. Together, they founded the Montreal Neurological Institute, which quickly became a world-renowned center for neurological research.

Penfield gained fame for developing the Montreal procedure to treat epilepsy, a breakthrough that revealed key brain functions related to speech, memory, and consciousness. Cone, meanwhile, worked tirelessly in the operating room and at patients’ bedsides, quietly enabling Penfield’s success. Though their achievements were shared, Cone’s contributions went largely unrecognized.

Over time, the strain between them grew. Penfield pursued scientific glory, while Cone remained grounded in patient care. Their friendship deteriorated, ending abruptly with Cone’s sudden death at age sixty-two.

Eric Andrew-Gee explores the founding of The Neuro and the complex bond between two men at the heart of modern neuroscience. The book restores Cone to his rightful place in history, illuminating the human cost of scientific progress.

Eric Andrew-Gee is the Quebec correspondent for The Globe and Mail, based in Montreal, and a former staff reporter for the Toronto Star. He is the winner of two National Newspaper Awards. His work has appeared in magazines including The Walrus, Toronto Life and The New Republic. This is his first book.

Image Credit: Penguin Random House

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

The Mind Mappers

Greg Marchildon speaks with Shannon Stunden Bower about her book, Transforming the Prairies: Agricultural Rehabilitation and Modern Canada.

Created in 1935, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) was a Canadian federal agency active for over 70 years, often praised as a model of effective environmental management. Transforming the Prairies challenges this view, highlighting the mixed results of its agricultural rehabilitation efforts in Canada and abroad.

Historian Shannon Stunden Bower critiques the PFRA’s initiatives, revealing their unintended ecological and social consequences. For instance, while promoting strip farming for soil conservation, the agency inadvertently increased crop vulnerability to pests like the sawfly. In Ghana, PFRA-led irrigation projects heightened the risk of illness among locals. In Canada, infrastructure development ignored the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples. Stunden Bower argues that the PFRA, as a high modernist agency, often reinforced colonial and racist systems while producing uneven environmental outcomes.

This book urges a rethinking of the PFRA’s legacy, both to deepen our understanding of Canadian and environmental history and to inform more just and sustainable environmental policies today. It is especially relevant to scholars and students of Canadian, environmental, and agricultural history, as well as those interested in the modern state and the Prairie West. Policymakers and Prairie residents familiar with the PFRA will also find it insightful.

Shannon Stunden Bower is an associate professor in the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the University of Alberta. She is the author of Wet Prairie: People, Land, and Water in Agricultural Manitoba, which won the Canadian Historical Association Clio Prize for the Prairies and the Manitoba Day Award from the Association for Manitoba Archives. She has also published articles in journals such as Environmental History and Agricultural History.

Image Credit: UBC Press

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Transforming the Prairies: Agricultural Rehabilitation and Modern Canada

Greg Marchildon speaks with Daniel Macfarlane about his book, The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History.

The Lives of Lake Ontario by Daniel Macfarlane explores the deep and complex relationship between Lake Ontario and the peoples and nations along its shores. For centuries, the lake has shaped the development of surrounding societies, supporting agriculture, energy production, and urban growth. Macfarlane traces how Indigenous nations, settlers, and modern Canadian and American societies have interacted with the lake, often exploiting it through dams, canals, industrial activity, pollution, and overuse of resources. This transboundary water body has acted as both a connector and divider between Canada and the United States, ultimately becoming home to Canada’s largest urban area.

However, intensive human activity led to serious ecological damage, pushing communities to turn away from the lake. In response, binational efforts like the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreements emerged in the late 20th century, resulting in some environmental improvements. Despite these efforts, Lake Ontario remains the most degraded of the Great Lakes. The impacts of urbanization, invasive species, and climate change continue to challenge its recovery.
Macfarlane’s account highlights both the lake’s resilience and its vulnerability, urging renewed attention to its environmental health. The book serves as a compelling case study of human-nature interactions and the ongoing struggle to balance development with ecological preservation.

Daniel Macfarlane is associate professor in the School of Environment, Geography, and Sustainability at Western Michigan University and the author of Natural Allies: Environment, Energy, and the History of US-Canada Relations.

Image Credit: McGill-Queen’s University Press

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History

Greg Marchildon speaks with Micah True about his book, The Jesuit Relations.

The Jesuit Relations were annual reports written between 1632 and 1673 by Jesuit missionaries in what is now Eastern Canada. Traditionally viewed as firsthand missionary narratives, Micah True’s work challenges this notion by revealing that the texts were shaped by many contributors—including Indigenous people, settlers, nuns, and editors in France. He explores the influence of historical context, such as Jesuit writing traditions and the Paris book trade, on their creation. True also examines how different editions since the 19th century have altered the interpretation of these texts. His analysis offers a more nuanced understanding of the Jesuit Relations and their role in shaping the history of New France and Indigenous-European encounters.

Micah True is professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta.

Image Credit: McGill-Queen’s University Press

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.


The Jesuit Relations

Larry Ostola speaks with Patrice Dutil about his book, Ballots and Brawls: The 1867 Canadian General Election.

Ballots and Brawls by Patrice Dutil explores Canada's first federal election in 1867, shortly after Confederation. The book vividly recounts the idealistic foundations laid in the 1864 Charlottetown and Quebec City conferences and delves into the chaotic and often violent summer election across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec. Dutil highlights the key political and social tensions of the time—economic issues, taxation, defence, and cultural divides—while profiling major figures like John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier. Drawing on archival sources and poll data, the book provides a compelling, detailed look at the birth of Canadian democracy.

Patrice Dutil is a professor of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University and a senior fellow of the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at the University of Toronto. He is the founder of the Literary Review of Canada and was president of the Champlain Society from 2011 to 2017. He is the author and editor of several books on Canadian politics and governance, including Statesmen, Strategists and Diplomats: Canada’s Prime Ministers and the Making of Foreign Policy and The Unexpected Louis St-Laurent: Politics and Policies for a Modern Canada.

Image Credit: UBC Press 

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Ballots and Brawls: The 1867 Canadian General Election

Greg Marchildon speaks with Kevin Nikkel about his book, Founding Folks: An Oral History of the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

Founding Folks tells the story of the Winnipeg Folk Festival, which began in 1974 at Birds Hill Provincial Park in Manitoba. The book explores how founder Mitch Podolak’s vision grew into one of North America’s leading folk festivals. Through interviews with musicians, staff, and volunteers—including Bruce Cockburn and Tom Jackson—filmmaker Kevin Nikkel highlights the festival's role in community building, politics, and cultural expression. Featuring over 90 photographs, the book celebrates the festival’s legacy and its impact on prairie arts, culture, and folk music lovers.

Kevin Nikkel is an independent filmmaker and educator based in Winnipeg. He is a long-time member of the Winnipeg Film Group. He co-directed the documentary Tales from the Winnipeg Film Group with Dave Barber in 2007.

Image Credit: University of Manitoba Press 

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.

Founding Folks: An Oral History of the Winnipeg Folk Festival

Greg Marchildon discusses the significance of this event of a hundred years ago with Patrice Dutil and David MacKenzie, authors of "Embattled Nation: Canada's Wartime Election of 1917" (Dundurn Press). This podcast was produced by Sumeet Dhami and Pernia Jamshed in the Allan Slaight Radio Institute at Ryerson University.

If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.


Canada's Khaki Election of December, 1917 (2025 reissue)

Immerse yourself in Canada’s history! Witness to Yesterday episodes take listeners on a journey to document a time in Canada’s past and explore the people behind it, its significance, and its relevance to today. If you like our work, please consider supporting it: https://bit.ly/support_WTY. To learn more about the Society and Canada’s history, subscribe to our newsletter at https://bit.ly/news_WTY.

The Harris Legacy: Reflections on a Transformational Premier

Witness to Yesterday

Related tracks