Historiography of Canada

The historiography of Canada deals with the manner in which historians have depicted, analyzed, and debated the history of Canada. It also covers the popular memory of critical historical events, ideas and leaders, as well as the depiction of those events in museums, monuments, reenactments, pageants and historic sites.

Amateur historians dominated publications in the 19th century, and are still very widely read, and pulling many tourists to museums and historic sites. They favored such themes as the colonial history, exploration, and the great contest for control between the British and the French. Professional historians emerged from the academic institutions, and typically were trained in British universities. Major themes in recent generations continue to be exploration and settlement, the British conquest of 1760, the independent emergence of a Quebec culture separate from both France and Britain, involvement in wars with the United States (in 1776 and 1812), and Canadian roles in the two world wars (WWI and WWII) of the 20th century. In political history, Confederation remains a major theme, as do the political conflicts between ethnic, racial and religious coalitions. Nationalism has replaced the earlier emphasis on the very close links to British culture. Diplomatic history starts in the early 20th century, and for the post 1945 era emphasizes Canada's role as a middle power in world affairs. Economic historians emphasize the role of the St. Lawrence transportation system, and the export of staple commodities. Social historians have taken new perspectives on Indigenous peoples, women and gender, and multiculturalism. Cultural historians have paid special attention to the dominance of American influences, and efforts to sustain an independent Canadian perspective. Most recently environmentalism has become a topic both for specialist, and for generalists who use the Canadian experience as a model.