History from the podium
In October 1970, the Front de Libération du Quebec, a separatist group, kidnapped Pierre Laporte, the province’s labour minister, and James Cross, a British diplomat. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act. On 16 October 1970, a sombre Trudeau appeared on national television to explain and defend his decision to citizens of the... Continue Reading →
. Lawyer and legal scholar Mary Eberts was a founder of LEAF ( Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund). The organization was created in 1985 to ensure Canadian courts protect the equality provisions Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. LEAF has often appeared in courts to advance equality for women and girls. On October 18,... Continue Reading →
Paul Martin became the Liberal government's finance minister in 1993 and was soon convinced that Canada’s deficit and debt were unmanageable. On February 27, 1995, he introduced a budget that chopped social programs, unemployment insurance, and transfers to the provinces for health care, education, and social assistance. The battle for public opinion was fierce. Martin... Continue Reading →
On September 11, 2001 terrorists crashed two hijacked jetliners into the twin World Trade Center Towers in New York City. On September 17, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was the first of many MPs to speak in the Canadian House of Commons to a motion of condolence to the families of victims and to the American people.
Abbé Lionel Groulx was a priest, an historian and a leading Quebec intellectual until his death in 1967. He was described by some as the spiritual father of Quebec and by others as a messianic nationalist. Groulx preferred isolation to closer French-English relations and was opposed to bilingualism. He gave this speech in Montreal in... Continue Reading →
John Diefenbaker, Canada’s 13th prime minister died this month in 1979. He was one of Canada’s finest political orators and election campaigners. He became leader of the Progressive Conservatives in 1956, and six months later the governing Liberals called an election. A young economist named Merril Menzies sent Diefenbaker a series of memos proposing a... Continue Reading →
The Nisga’a have lived in what is now northwest British Columbia since time immemorial. They never signed a treaty or ceded their territory, but the province denied that Aboriginal title ever existed. The stalemate lasted for more than a century until in 1973 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Aboriginal title did exist, had... Continue Reading →
British journalist and novelist George Orwell was known for expressing himself clearly and concisely. He was a print and broadcast journalist who also wrote books. He created six rules that can be applied to everything from writing a letter or news release to a short story or novel. The rules (below) are adapted from Orwell's... Continue Reading →
By the early 1900s Western Canadian farmers believed they were being exploited by private grain companies. Aaron Sapiro, an American lawyer from California, had helped to set up marketing cooperatives among farmers in the US. In 1923, he did a speaking tour in the Prairies promoting cooperatives as a vehicle for farmers to buy and... Continue Reading →
Wilfrid Laurier was campaigning for reelection when he made the following speech before a packed house in Toronto’s Massey Hall on 14 October 1904. The speech, while not one of his best, was vintage Laurier -- suave, playing to the audience, and discreetly undermining his political opponents. Near its end, he provided his grand vision... Continue Reading →
Great Canadian Speeches 