The Halifax Explosion occurred during WW1 in 1917 so that was a munitions ship on its way to Europe. It remains the largest accidental non-nuclear explosion. Nova Scotia sends a giant Christmas tree to Boston every year in thanks for the support Halifax received after the disaster. Nova Scotians kids learn about it in school. Can't speak for the rest of Canada. Maybe you realized it already, but Nova Scotia is latin for New Scotland.
The entire hold of the Mont-Blanc was loaded with TNT and picric acid and there was barrels of benzol on the deck of the ship as well all headed for the European theater. When the 2 ships collided the sparks set the benzol on fire and when the fire made it to the hold and heated up enough it turned the entire almost 100 meter long cargo ship into a giant bomb. I remember learning about it in school in Ontario as well but I learned a lot more about it through some great documentaries here on TH-cam. I believe I read somewhere that the Canadian Institute for the Blind came about because of this disaster. So many of the wounded suffered eye injuries from flying glass and needed help after that it lead to the starting of the institute. It was a truly horrifying accident but very interesting to learn about.
The Canadian Institute for the Blind came out of the Halifax Explosion because so many people were looking out there windows when the ships exploded. The glass blasting in damaged the people's eyes. It also lead to advancements in eye surgery and treatment too.
The reason the Heritage Minutes are in the format that they are is that they were shown on normal television broadcasts in place of commercials (commercials are normally 30 seconds). Quite often you would see them during children's television programs so that kids would get a bit of education with their cartoons.
I remember those. They were great. Those and the Hinterland who's who shorts. Canadian tv was pretty awesome back in the day. Sure we didn't have the big name productions, but we had Forest Rangers, Beachcombers, King of Kensington, Littlest Hobbo, etc. Loved it as a kid.
I loved when those would pop up instead of commercials...those and the Hinterland Whos Who...definitely found them more enjoyable and interesting to watch.
It was to raise awareness and interest. They'll give you knowledge of the story so you can look into it deeper if it grabs your interest. Mert, I see you followed up on the Halifax explosion. You keep asking how we learn about these things in Canada while demonstrating the process yourself. ;)
I'm canadian and me and my history class and I went to the Netherlands during the 100 year start if the first world War. We where walking in Bruge and a man came up and asked us if we where Canadian and when confirmed he started crying and telling us a story about how the Canadian soldiers gave the shoes off there feet to him and his family during the winter.
Same experience here. My grandfather died in WWII and is buried in a Canadian war cemetery just outside of Bruges. When I visited his grave there twice. To this day they are still grateful and are happy to meet Canadians and express their gratitude even 65 - 70 yrs later.
A lot of Canadians do not know about this history either. That is why the Canadian Heritage Commercials were created - to teach us about our heritage, whether it be about celebrating out best or learning from our failures and worst moments.
I graduated in 2002. Just after that, they added a gradation requirement that you had to have one Canadian History course credit. My school, at the time, did not have Canadian history as a course you could take, even as an elective. So yeah, a lot of us don't know our own history.
An interesting fact, during D-Day, James Doohan, (who would later play Scotty on Star Trek) was a Canadian officer who led forces of the Canadian Highland Regiment on Juno Beach. He was wounded twice, and lost his middle finger of his right hand during the battle. After the war he obviously became one of the most recognized Canadian actors in movies and television.
This is why you’ll often see Doohan hiding his injured hand (behind his back, behind crossed arms etc.). There’s a couple scenes in the Original Series where you can see it, notably in Trouble with Tribbles where he comes into frame with an armful of tribbles.
I forgot about Doohan being at D-Day. Met him once. Super nice guy who went out of his way to meet fans at a convention in Edmonton when he was in town for a separate event. It had to be undercover because he wasn't supposed to do anything like this.
One of the things I love the best about our Heritage Minutes was……They showed Canadian History, warts and all. We got to see the good, bad and ugly of our past. Nothing was sugarcoated. The facts were all very researched and the depictions were excellent. The Halifax Explosion has a lot of videos explaining what happened. One ship was loaded with every kind of explosive you can imagined. Halifax was where allied ships harboured during WWI. They would raise submarine nets during the night to prevent German U boats from attacking the various ships. There were mistakes made that caused a Norwegian ship to collide with the French munitions ship. This resulted in the largest man made explosion recorded before the dropping of the Atomic bomb in Hiroshima. It was like a shock wave effect buildings were flattened, a tsunami was created. Of the wounded I believe over 500 were blinded by flying glass. As if things weren’t bad enough ….a blizzard hit the very next day greatly hampering rescue efforts. Vince Coleman the telegraph dispatcher was a true hero sacrificing his life to save the people on the train. Many slaves who escaped to Canada did so through the Underground railway, but they weren’t always completely safe in Canada as there were American “ bounty “ hunters who would cross the border and grab them to return them to their “ owners “.. A lot of the Acadian French who were expelled from Canada ended up in Louisiana and other Southern states. Viola Desmond now graces the Canadian $10.00 bill. The Indian Residential Schools were one of the worse abominations in Canadian History. Because they were run by mainly religious organizations……I think a lot of Canadians thought that the indigenous peoples were being helped. Nothing could be further from the truth. Children as young as four ripped from their families and taken thousands of miles away. Stripped of their native tongue their names stolen from them. Cruel treatment. Many parents never saw their children again.. We will never be able to completely atone for what these poor people have suffered. I am so glad you are looking into our “ Minutes”. They were great for helping kids to learn and remember details and for adults they were a great “ refresher “ of things we may have long since forgotten.
The British screwed the Indigenous population over after France lost the battle at the Plains of Abraham at Québec city in 1759 to General Wolfe of the English forces and Montréal was lost to the British in 1760, When France succeeded New France and all its territories to England in the 1763 Treaty of Paris, that is when the attack on the Indigenous peoples began. The French always had a good relationship of trade with the Indigenous tribes from the very first meetings with the St Lawrence Iroquois in 1534 at Stadacona (now Québec City) and the other tribes across the province from James Bay down to New York state. Many French married and had families with several of the Indigenous tribes, creating the Métis peoples of today who are officially recognized as Indigenous by the Canadian gov't. Even today, there are many Québecois families and people who have mixed heritage from Montagnais, Métis, Abenaki, Mohawk and others. However, even though some tribes sided with the British (the Iroquois confederacy signed a treaty with the British in 1701 giving them access to firearms to fight the French with) and during the 7 years war against the French, eventually, once England was fully in the picture, they threatened all the Indigenous nations that had been allies of the French since the 15th century to either pledge their alliance to England (by contract, signed with an "X' for each Nation). If they did not pledge their alliance and cut off all ties with the French colonists, they would have their villages burned, women and children, and men executed. They, put them on reservations. Yes, we learned this history in Québec schools and the official documents are on display in the Québec City Museum..however, all mention of these documents were removed from the Canadian school curriculum except for in Québec.
Viola Desmond's official charge was not paying the 1 cent extra for a floor seat. In that town, black people were expected to sit in the cheaper balcony seats. The box office agent would only let her pay for a balcony seat so it was considered theft, maybe, for sitting in a floor seat.
@@supergirl0526The irony was for the Americans Rosa Parks was not the first. Claudette Colvin was months earlier - and kicked butt. But because she was not gentil Rosa got the accolade.
My grandmother lost an eye at 2yrs old in the Halifax explosion. We lost family in the blizzard that landed that same week on the devastated city. Before she passed, fairly recently, she was one of the 4 surviving injury victims. Made of strong stock, a tough lot we Canucks! Thank you for this content. Be well, ❤️🇨🇦
You shouldnt be embarrassed about not knowing this stuff, you're actually going out of your way to learn and engage, that's quite admirable. You know more Canadian history now than most Canadians lol
Sad reality, immigrants know more about Canadian History than most Canadians... Yeah they should bring back those Canadian heritage minute, so many need to go back to school in history class nowadays...
@rig4365 immigrants have to learn Canadian history in order to pass the citizenship test. My mother had to do it. I had the advantage of being born in the 70s so I constantly saw these heritage minutes. Plus I had to take Canadian history in grade 13. Kids in Ontario take it grade 10.
So true. A few new comers were going to take the test to become Canadian Citizen. A few of us who were from here. And ranging from 30 to 60 yrs old looked up the test on line. By question 10 we were in trouble. One girl kept asking, did we learn this in school. lol
Dr. Banting is also the youngest Nobel laureate to this day (He was 32 when he received it.) The four inventors also prevented a singular company from patenting it by signing the patent over to the University of Toronto, a public university and, as such, allowed as free use as possible in order to help as many people as possible. This move was hailed as a step forward in medical ethics worldwide.
You'll have to do the "Log Driver's Waltz" to get the full experience of breaks between Canadian shows. Plus to this day I can still hear the Ducks Unlimited music that was broadcast too. :)
When Nova Scotia created a new holiday called Heritage Day in 2015, Viola Desmond was the first honouree. Each year a part of our history is featured with ads, school programs, and other awareness campaigns. This year was a Mi'kmaq elder and author named Rita Joe.
Aye, lad....greetings from New Scotland! My father was one of those that liberated Italy and The Netherlands. It is hard to put into words as it is a deep visceral feeling, but when Canadians go to war they become absolutely ferocious. An entire German army surrender when they found it was the Canadians they were about to face in Denmark.
Fun fact, James Doohan or Mr. Scott from Star Trek, stormed Juno beach on D-Day, in the Canadian Army and was injured, being shot 6 times. One bullet blew off his middle finger which you can see in some Star Trek episodes.
My Grandfather stormed the beaches too, I've often wondered if they may have met. "Your grandfather stormed the beaches with the rest of the Canadians... everyone he knew died" This was the only thing ever told to me about my grandfathers service. I knew better than to ask my gramps myself but when him and my pops died i asked my aunt. It broke me. My gramps was 20 on D-day
Somebody has probably mentioned this already, but when a Canadian enters a pub in The Netherlands, and the locals find out about it, that person drinks for free for the rest of the evening. The Netherlands sends millions of tulip bulbs to Ottawa yearly for flower beds around our government buildings for free.
It's because in WW2, when the Dutch princess was taking refuge, she went into labor so the Dutch "brought" the land the hospital was on, so the baby was born on Dutch land. Now Ottawa has a tulip festival every year In celebration
Yep, one of my Canadian cousins found this out when he was taking part in the Nijmegan marches along with his Canadian Army colleagues! The fact he was Canadian meant a free round, being Canadian Army was doubly so!
@@BridgesCalebthe Dutch didn't "buy" the land the hospital was on. The Canadian government simply declared the rooms she would be in extraterritorial, so that for her stay it was just as if it was open ocean, belonging to no country. Canadian citizenship is given by birth, if you're born in Canada you're Canadian. Dutch citizenship is by the citizenship of your parents, if they are Dutch citizens it doesn't matter if you're born in another country, you're still Dutch. It was done this way to ensure she only had Dutch citizenship. This was so that if the worst thing happened, and her 2 older sisters were killed, the future queen of the Netherlands would not be someone with both Canadian and Dutch citizenship.
Heritage Minutes are fantastic, I wish they would bring them back. As a 58 year old white dude, I can say we learned nothing about residential schools when I was in school. When I found out about them during the 90s, I was ashamed, & there are more discoveries being made about these atrocities even now. A good thing about Heritage Minutes is that they show the good AND the bad. As they say, they're all a part of our heritage.
Hey Rob, they still make Heritage Minutes but now they're found online. Historica Canada is on TH-cam, FaceBook, and Instagram. Hope you're hangin' in, bud.✌🏻🍁
I’m a 59 year old white woman, born and raised in Canada. I certainly did not learn about the residential schools, growing up in Manitoba. My children where raised in the Northwest Territories and they had native studies in school. That encompassed Indigenous Canadians and Inuit peoples. Grade school all the way to high school. I’m grateful for that. These Heritage moments made me cry back when they where aired on National television. And they still do, watching you, watch them. Thank you for the reminder.
I am a first nations man. My mom is a product of residential schools. The only time I ever saw her cry was when she talked about what happened to her. She is the strongest person I know. We are still here. MiiGwetch(Thank you)
Canadian forces in the Netherlands liberated the country, not simply Appledorn. The Battle of Scheldt opened maritime traffic to Antwerp and was a bloody hard-fought affair. My father was a tank squadron commander that completed the clean up: Fifth Armoured Division - Lord Strathcona's Horse.
My Uncles & a Cousin served as Gunners in The 1st Canadian Anti Tank Regiment & were among those who fought for The Liberation of the Netherlands. Sadly, my one Uncle was killed in a stupid training accident in England. New mortars were coming into use & they were learning how handle & use them. Sadly, a live round was missed, my Uncle Leslie got it &…😢. My Uncle Elwood wouldn't talk about it at all & ended up drinking himself to death. My Cousin Nelson did talk about it & some of the stories he shared…Both the Good & the Bad. The only thing he'd never ever talk about The Battle of Ortona in Italy. All he say, "There's a reason it’s called Bloody Ortona." That was all he'd say. The last time he was able to go back to Holland was for the 60th Commemoration Events. His Daughter was finally able to go w/her Parents & she said all the Stories told about how the Vets are treated like Royalty? Even that doesn’t come remotely close to describing it. They never paid for a single thing the entire trip!! Not even a Chocolate Bar in a little store they popped into to grab a snack from. "You helped free my Country & my People. Your Money is no good here." They have never forgotten & I think it's criminal a child in Holland is taught more about what our Forces did for them, than our own are & that needs changed fast we're losing our WWII Vets so fast now. When that living history's gone, who tells their Stories? Anyway, I'm so sorry for babbling on, but making sure OUR History is taught & properly is a passion of mine &…Yeah. 😊 Thanks for reading & Take Care!! 😊
I wonder if someone may be trying to wind us up with that "liberated the tiny village" bit..? Also, check out the tulip festival in Ottawa, cool history.
Yes Sir. Canada kicked serious ass. I had the honor of knowing one of our last. He lived in and died in the house he built after the war. Married and had 5 boys and a girl. In his last days I would stop by and politely ask him "whatchya up to sir?" With a scowl on his face he would turn to me and say "Wating on the Grimm reaper". What a warrior!
Lord Strathconas Horse is a regiment even i, a relatively young man, have heard about. Like most Canadians fighting back then, the “hardest drinking, hardest partying, hardest fighting men that we are thankful are fighting for us.” (To paraphrase a quote)
The insulin story is really cool and really makes me proud to be Canadian... Especially when you think that the team that developed the technique to extract the insulin decided that rather than try to get rich off it, the discovery belonged to the world and , "on 23 January 1923, Banting, Collip and Best were awarded U.S. patents on insulin and the method used to make it. They all sold these patents to the University of Toronto for $1 each."
It's crazier still because Banting was forced out of Toronto and took up his practice in London just to without any resentment sell those patents to UoT.
Best was excluded from the award for the discovery. For a truly sad story, look into the death of Banting. Crashed in a plane in Newfoundland and laid in the rubble for days before succumbing to his injuries.
The experience of Chanie Wenjhack is illustrated in a 2016 graphic novel/ music by Jeff Lemire and Gordon Downie called "The Secret Path". A must-read/ view. Indigenous history is taught unevenly in schools across Canada. Jeff Lemire also wrote the graphic tome "Essex County" which is a slice of life for many young men in Canada's rural communities.
I watched your video about the fact that Canadian has never lost a war. I am from a Canadian militay family. My father served in World War II in the Seaforth Higlanders. He saw action in Italy during the Battle of Ortona (one of the bloodiest battles Canadians fought in). He was wounded in Italy. He was always proud of being in the Seaforth Highlanders. I took highland dancing and we attended every Scottish festival - bagpipes, the cabre, etc. etc. I have wonderful memories of those times. My mother served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Women's Division during World War II. I am so proud of both of my parents. When I was in Amsterdam my ex-husband and I were in the lounge of the Schiphol Hilton Airport. When we ordered a drink the group of people sitting at a table not far from us heard us speak English and they immediately invited us to their table as soon as they found out we were Canadian and they wouldn't let us pay for anything. Yes, the Dutch have never forgotten that Canada liberated their country. Thank you so much for your channel. It touches my heart how you want to learn about Canada. By the way, I lived in Singapore and Brunei and I have visited Malaysia.
New subscriber from Canada. Love this. My ancestors were Acadian and were deported in 1760, The family of six kids ended up split and some ended up in Louisiana and some back in France. They never saw each other again, but 2 of the family members in France returned in 1773, and I am a direct descendant. (My 4 and 5 times great grandparents.) But I understand this is history and I blame no one alive today for someone else's action centuries ago.
I'm also of Acadian descent. Luckily, my direct ancestors managed to find safety in Quebec where we could keep most of our culture, though of course it morphed over time. I still love going back out east to feel connected to my ancestors though.
The Canadian band The Tragically Hip's front man, Gord Downie, who died of brain cancer a few years ago, did an amazing audio-visual project about Chanie Wenjack's story, "Secret Path", right before he passed. Highly recommend you listen to it. He was a huge advocate of First Nations rights, and was even given an honorary Lakota name "Wicapi Omani" by the Assembly of First Nations, which means "Man who walks among the stars". He's the greatest true Canadian poet of his generation. In fact, IMO there should be a Heritage Minute about Gord Downie...
When Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital the maternity ward was declared not part of Canada. That way she wouldn't have Canadian citizenship. She would inherit Dutch citizenship , and maintain royal status. Canada loves the Netherlands. Thanks for all the tulips. They're beautiful. 11:21 The doctors sold the patent for insulin for a dollar. That way everyone could get it.
Viola is on Canadian bank notes (side note Canada has the best bank notes in my opinion). The acadian story is a complicated but amazing story that involves Britain France the USA the natives and the Canadians. Something else off beat. Montreal has the world largest underground city. It’s called reso. Fun random stuff.
@@francelaferriere6106 Oui. Meaning network. It has only been called that since 2004. Before that it was the Underground City, La Ville Souteraine. I believe it got it's start when they built the Metro, beginning in 1965.
@@francelaferriere6106 I hadn't heard it either until quite recently. I moved away in 1974. I remember there were underground stores below Place Ville Marie. I worked downtown for a couple of years and rented a parking stall under Place Des Arts. I could walk from there underground and come up right across the street from where I worked at Domtar House on De Maisonneuve.
@@francelaferriere6106 If you are referring to the term, frogs, it goes way back to when England and France were at war in the 1700's. Perhaps in Montreal it was only used in the mostly English suburbs where I grew up in the 1960's/70's.
I think you are awesome to pursue so much about us Canadians. I’ve watched a bunch of your Canadian reaction videos and have become huge fan of yours. Thank you for having such an open mind.
@@shinrapresident7010 Fuck off with your disgusting "justification" for the genocide of fist nations people. I seem to remember the various "tribes" of Europe fighting and enslaving each-other for thousands of years, you pig.
@@shinrapresident7010 If one has spent enough time learning about the transatlantic slave trade in order to try and have a complete understanding of the system, certainly one should learn about the role African tribes played in supplying slaves through war, and the Muslim slave trade which created the infrastructure which got the European trade going. However, I think you are not interested in getting that complete picture, but are only trying to deflect and minimize the responsibility of our ancestors. After all, the immediate thing you learn after learning the role that the African tribes played in supplying slaves is this: The creation of a large export market on West Africa's southern coast by European slave traders kicked the activity of taking slaves and warring for the purpose of taking slaves into high gear. As well, the chattel slave trade of the colonial era had features that made it worse than the slave trade as practised in both Europe and Africa. Slavery for Christians in the middle ages was forbidden, in the transatlantic slave trade it was no longer confined to pagan enemies, but only on the basis of race, removing a key avenue of escape from bondage through conversion. As well, slavery in both Europe and Africa generally didn't pass from the enslaved to their children. Chattel slavery was eternal because it was less about servitude and oppression of a human being taken as a prize of war, and more about assigning people to being mere property on the basis of race.
I'd argue the stain persists today. Living in Winnipeg you see the ongoing fall out of Residential schools, addictions, transient criminality, over-reaching and heavy handed policing...
My great grandfather is from the Neatherlands, he fought in the Dutch resistance during ww2. He and his family immigrated to Canada in 1951. A couple years ago I went to Amsterdam, and I tell you, I have never been so greeted ever before when I told everyone I'm from Canada
My father lost his uncle and baby cousin in the explosion. There are piecs of the ships flung over the two cities. I remember seeing two in Dartmouth growing up. one on Albro Lake Rd and one on the lawn at the old Library which is quite near the harbour.
I love your outlook and enthusiasm on learning about Canada, and yes, we need the good as well as the sad and shameful stories. That is how you learn. To hopefully never make those same mistakes. Would love to make it to Europe one day and see where my family came from.
I personally feel like a large part of what "we" can do, not having actively participated in the atrocities from our personal history (goes for essentially ANY country, to be clear) is to TRULY learn about, remember, and learn FROM "the bad stuff"
My mom got mad at me when I told her about while visiting Europe I talked about the residential schools and how Canada isn't the big friendly goof everyone sees us as.
You can sit with Oscar, outside the National Arts Centre, across from our National War Memorial. There is a very shiny spot on the bench beside him, from all the people who sit down with him.
Princess Margaret was born in Ottawa and the room she was born in was declared Netherlands soil that way she could officially be Princess or Queen one day. We were given huge gifts of tulips from the Dutch. Ottawa also has a Tulip Festival to honour that gift and the close ties to the Netherlands. Princess Margaret came to visit in 2022 to see the beauty and enjoy the festivities.
Not Dutch soil, simply extraterritorial. For the duration the princess was in the rooms, they didn't belong to any country. As the 3rd in line, not much chance of becoming queen, but still as a precaution in case the worst happened, and the queen wouldn't be a duel citizen.
I grew up in Dartmouth across the harbour from Halifax. There were pieces of the ships that had landed far from the explosion that stood where they landed as a reminder of the explosion.
I didn't realize just how many of these have been made. I remember when they first started airing in the early 1990s. The Vikings, Laura Secord, Superman, and the Basketball ones were some of my favourites. But one of the most impactful for me will always be the Halifax Explosion.
I was first in The Netherlands when I was 10 in 1980, and when people found out we were Canadian--that was how I learned about the Canadian involvement in the liberation. Then I returned with a friend in my 20s, and we walked past a school with "Thank you Canada" posters made by the kids and posted on the shool windows. My friend was brought to tears as I told her the story for the first time she had ever heard it.
The discovery of Insulin was so incredible, but what is even more incredible is that they gave the patent away for free so that everyone could afford it and use it, they could have had a monopoly on it and charged a fortune but they didnt :)
One of my favourite Heritage Moments was the one about the Halifax explosion. It was a horrific loss of life! But the bravery Mr. Colman had. To stay there, choosing to save the lives of the people on that train. Over trying to run and save his own life. It gets me choked up every time. Even now, after years from when I last saw it. 🖤
The Halifax Explosion one always stuck with me because of how well made it is. Easily the best Heritage Minute. Whoever was in charge of that one was in top form that day.
My grandfather was part of the Netherlands liberation. He met my grandmother there, she was a Dutch war bride. They married and he brought her to Alberta. They had 4 children who all married and had children. Their legacy lives! 🇨🇦🇲🇫
These videos are core memories for those of us who grew up in Canada in the 80s and 90s. You've got yourself a new subscriber. Love how interested you are in the land I call home and I look forward to revisiting the topics as you go along.
As a life long Canadian, you have made me laugh and cry throughout your presentations. It has also been made clear to me that the negative aspects of our history were not taught in our schools but learned about later. We are only recently bringing these atrocities to the forefront and teaching our children. If we learn from our past it will strengthen our future as the amazing country we have become.
My great grandfather survived the Halifax Harbour Explosion. The windows were blown out of his home and he was suffering from scarlet fever at the time. That left him with a weak heart that caused him to die at age 53. My grandfather never got over losing his father so young.
I found a letter from an ancestor who survived it. She talked about men walking down the street, their clothes blown off them, people digging through rubble for days looking for family.
These videos were sponsored by the Canadian Government. In recent years the government has embraced a truer reading of Canadian history, the good and the bad. Some like the expulsion of the Acadians were well known in our history, other bad things were not. The old saying “ before you can fix a problem, you have to admit you have one” is the principle at work here. The good stories say that we have come a long way but the bad stories remind us that there was a cost that someone paid along the way.
Thank you for reviewing Heritage Minutes. My hope is that people from other countries will see these through reaction videos and that other countries will copy the idea. There are plenty of sports-related minutes for you to look forward to.
I'm a Canadian in my mid-30s and I'm sad to admit that I was never taught about the Residential School system at all at any point in my primary and secondary education. Regrettably, I only learned about these atrocities when news broke about all of the old graveyards that were discovered near residential schools and it became an international news story. Let us hope that younger Canadians from this day forward are educated about this horrible part of our history so that we can show compassion to those who were and continue to be affected.
It’s changing for sure. At my kid’s elementary school there’s an assembly and walk for Chanie Wenjack every year. They painted the sidewalks around the school with orange chalk paint for Truth and Reconciliation Day. All the kids from kindergarten on are taught about residential schools. There are Every Child Matters signs everywhere all year long too. That being said, it may not be the same in all of Canada. From others I’ve spoken to, especially people from southern Ontario, they were only ever taught what was in the social studies textbooks in the 90’s & early 00’s. I was lucky in Victoria, BC, because we had Indigenous Art & Culture classes in elementary school and Native art and culture were always a part of our day to day school life. So, I’m sure progress is being made elsewhere, but it just may not be as much as it is in BC.
I'm in my mid-30s as well and I was lucky enough to have a history teacher that took the initiative to teach us about the residential school system and the damage it did. At the time I thought it was just a standard part of the curriculum. I didn't realise that wasn't the case until former students of the other history teacher in our school mentioned they'd never learned anything about it.
The is a very nice song by ‘The Band‘ entitled ‘Acadian Driftwood‘ that touches on the subject of ‘Le Grand Dérangement‘ , or, the great upheaval touched on by the second Heritage Moment.
These were great but I’m surprised that the Heritage moments about Laura Secord, Agnes McPhail, the Underground Railroad, Nellie McClung and the Famous Five and Dr Penfield weren’t in the top 12. Those ones are imprinted in my mind from my childhood. You should check them out. It would be interesting to do the top ten from the 80s, the 90s and the 2000s. I’d be interested to see the shift in what was covered.
Johnny Wenjack is remembered by Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario. A campus theatre is named after him. * * The German army surrendered to the Canadian army May 5, 1945, (Liberation Day). When I visited the Netherlands (2015) I could not have been treated more kindly by the Dutch. They remember the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers through stories passed down the generations and school children are taken to the cemeteries to place flags at each individual headstone. * *
As a child I loved watching these especially the Winnie one as my Father is the person who was feeding honey to the bear cub. I think it is amazing that they have been releasing them since 1991 because they are such a nice bite sized way to learn a bit of Canadian history.
I thank God for the discovery of Insulin. My sister is 84 years old and has been an insulin dependent diabetic since she was 24 years old. 60 years!! I think that has to be a record!
Great thing about heritage minutes is that there are definitely longer videos on TH-cam that can go deeper on any topic you wanna look into further. I live in Halifax and it's a big part of the history of Nova Scotia.
Halifax has a wonderful Maritime museum with a great retrospective on the explosion - miraculous survivals, the devastation and death, heavy ship parts blown miles from the blast site. It was so moving to see the artifacts and read the stories.
@@timothyjuvet4073 the thing is that victims have been saying for decades that this is what happened, decades, my mom remembers a girl she went to school with (1970’s) telling her about it (she wasn’t Indigenous but she attended the Day school in Tuktoyaktuk for a year which was also responsible for the same atrocities) that they drained the pond and it was full of bodies from the school disposing of the kids, and then claiming they ran away. And the kicker is since they started finding the. Mass graves is how I’ve heard over, and over, and over, and over “how did we not know?” “How did no one know?”, we did know we’ve been saying it for decades and there are so many people who said that they believed and supported survivors, but then when they started finding those babies (I call them all babies that were taken to those places because they are to me they should have been held and loved and instead we know what happened at those places) they were shocked that it was true. I have cousins who are buried at those hellholes, my direct line managed to escape being in the system but that comes with it’s own trauma’s, survivors guilt, we were still subject to many of the other traumas inflicted upon Indigenous people, 60’s scoop, etc. But never not for one minute did I doubt that there were babies that were murdered at those schools and that they were hidden, and now every time they find more I weep, I weep for all those babies, I weep for my cousins, aunts, uncles because they should be here.
The Netherlands sends tulips to Canada (Ottawa) every year in thanks for allowing their Princess to give birth on "Netherland soil" during WWII. She was in a Canadian Hospital, but the Canadian Gov't gifted the location to the Netherlands so her baby was born in her home country.
I had 4 uncles that served overseas 1940-1945 2 helped liberate Holland I was wounded in Dieppe and 1 came up through Italy all survived the war. Plus both my parents served my mom joined at 18 years old on her birthday And my Father was a prisoner of war guard in Thunder Bay.I also joined a 17 years old 1970 and served for 23 years 12 overseas. I grew up with Veterans. Thanks for the memories.
My father was taken prisoner on the Blue beach at Puys in Dieppe France on August 19, 1942. He spent 3 years at Stalag 8B. There is a book out called "Heroes of Lamsdorf" I wrote the chapter about my father .
The residential schools are a very recent piece of history: the last one closed in 1996 when I was a toddler. I went to school in Thunder Bay for nursing and we had an entire course about cultural sensitivities and generational trauma. You can see it both in the hospitals and on the streets how they were treated and the legacy it still leaves us, especially in Northern Ontario, the Western provinces, and the territories. It depends on who teaches whether it's taught or not. We had an entire class on it in high school whereas the generation before I don't think it was taught or even touched on. The Halifax explosion is taught in school but I think unless you're from the Maritimes (each province has a different curriculum), it's a side note to WWI because the ship that blew was an ammunition ship heading to France that collided with another ship in the harbour. The Dutch are still very thankful to the Canadians who liberated them. I was over at the 70th D-Day anniversary ceremonies with my school and we were in a Canadian cemetery when a Dutch unit happened upon us. They gave us a full military salute in thanks for what our great grandfather's did for their people. Canadians are still rather proud about how we helped with the liberation of the Dutch and the role we played in the winter of 44-45. Mom said great granddad never talked about it but he absolutely refused to let anyone waste any food because of it. There is a statue of Terry Fox outside of Thunder Bay if you ever go there, where he ended his run where it's an hour drive outside of the city. Every year in September public schools do what is termed "The Terry Fox run" and raise money for cancer research. Banting is one of the most celebrated scientists in Canada because he helped to discover insulin and tragically he died in a plane crash in 1941 off of Newfoundland. He sold the patent of insulin for a single dollar, stating "Insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world."
You have got to watch one of the documentaries on the Halifax explosion. At the time, it was the biggest man-made explosion, not exceeded until Hiroshima.
The Spitfire looms large in British consciousness in the Battle of Britain because it is an absolutely gorgeous looking plane, but Hurricanes were responsible for 60% of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe during that campaign.
Another touching story relating to the Halifax explosion concerns the fact that the city of Boston sent vital help to Halifax. Nova Scotia never forgot that, and to this day the province sends Boston a Nova Scotia pine tree for their city's Christmas tree each year, in thanks.
You have a good range of various situational videos. Some of Canada's greatest moments and some of her worst. Like all countries we have a history, but unlike many countries, we like to bring light both the good and the bad. Unfortunately, sometimes the bad takes a little longer.
We definitely learn about residential schools yearly in grade school, and the example of Chanie is a very wellknown case, so much so that a famous Canadian artist named Gord Downie did a visual album all about Chanie's escape and eventual death
Imagine being a parent sitting at your child's hospital bedside whilst they're in a diabetic coma, knowing that your child is never going to wake up again... Suddenly, a doctor and a couple of nurses start coming in and injecting something into the kids' IVs, one by one. And, one by one, the children started waking up...
The ship on fire, the Mont Blanc, was a munitions ship joining a convoy to Europe during WWI. It got into a 'game of chicken' situation with a departing ship, the Emo. Both captains were ignoring the pilots and ignoring harbor regulations (ignoring speed limits, ignoring right of way, not flying the munitions flag which would have told all harbor traffic to hold still until the Mont Blanc was at anchor.) Worse, the Mont Blanc's captain and crew evacuated without attempting to put out the fire, or scuttle the ship, or even notify shore of the danger. And because the Mont Blanc wasn't flying the munitions flag, few realized an evacuation was even necessary. There's a lot more to the story, but those are the "highlights".
One history moment you may not know of was the street name valor in Winnipeg Manitoba Being British you know of the Victoria cross medal and how hard it is to win it well that street had three members to win the Victoria Cross so street name was changed These history moments have done more to show Canadians about their unique history then what is taught in school
I'm a Canadian - have always loved these wee history spots - as a lover of history, they are so effective at both teaching the next generations about our history, but also encouraging an interest in learning more.
There were 4,200 slaves in Canada between the 1600's and 1834 the year Britain abolished slaves in the Dominion and set the war/crusade against the slave trade. 2 thirds of these slaves were native 1 third were African. What the video is depicting is the end of slavery here and the slavers taking the slaves to the US where slavery was still legal.
I come from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’s newest and 10th province. We were our own country until 1949. In both world wars our men served as part of the British forces. In WWI a regiment was raised and in the Battle of Beaumont Hamel most of the regiment was killed or wounded. You should be able to find out more about this online, Facebook Canada Remembers etc. It has been said that the loss of so many men was the beginning of the end of us being able to continue as an independent country. It had far reaching consequences for our struggling economy. The fact we managed to continue through a depression and another world war on our own speaks volumes for the character of the people!
The Halifax explosion remains to this day the largest non-nuclear accidental explosion in history. To give you an idea of reference, it was more than 3x more powerful than the Beirut explosion in Lebanon a few years ago.
I grew up in Halifax. When I was young, survivors came and talked at my school. At the time they were pushing 100 years old. They had amazing stories and tragic stories. We remembered every year.
I had a science teacher who said he taught Terry Fox in Burnaby BC and said he was the most mature student he had ever seen. Wise well beyond his years. RIP Terry, you will never be forgotten.
I respect the fact here in Canada, we dont shy away from the dark parts of our country's history. It's inportant to remember them as to not repeat them and to grow as a society.
You've got the whole point of these one-minute history clips, which were shown during commercial breaks on tv stations right across Canada since 1987. They were very well produced vignettes that introduced topics and stirred interest among the public to research further into the history. They really were marvelous introductions to topics not necessarily learned about in schools over different eras and across all provinces, as education programs are a provincial government responsibility, not a federal one.
Thank you for learning of our Canadian history. We Canadians are proud of it. Halifax STILL sends Boston USA a Christmas tree to thank them for their help in Halifax's time of need. I'm PROUD of that fact. Two great neighbours, helping without question.....
It should be mentioned that there is a man with the same disease and situation as Terry. His name is Steve Fonyo. He finished the Marathon of Hope starting where Terry stopped. He finished the run and very few people mentioned him. He lived longer and had a chance to do some things that Terry didn’t get the chance to do. I don’t understand why he isn’t getting the credit for what he did.
According to Wikipedia: At some point Fonyo began abusing alcohol and drugs.[3] He repeatedly ran afoul of the law, and was charged and convicted of various crimes.[5] In 1996, Fonyo pleaded guilty to 16 charges for offences in Edmonton, including assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, fraud for writing bad cheques totalling $10,000 to supermarkets, and possession of a stolen vehicle.[2][5] He was also convicted at least five times of impaired driving, and seven times of driving without a licence, most recently in the fall of 2008.[2] On August 13, 2009, Fonyo, last known to have been working as a heavy-machinery mechanic, appeared in BC Provincial Court in Surrey charged with one count of assault. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one day in jail. He was credited for ten days already served. He was also subject to a one-year probation order. But just five days later, the 44-year-old was back in court, having breached his conditions. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 days in jail.[6]
@@aconventgirl I am well aware that he lived long enough to get into trouble. That doesn’t take away from the fact that he finished Terry’s run. We have all made mistakes in our lives, it has absolutely no bearing on the fact that he did what he did. Terry started the run but Steve finished it. The he should be recognized for what he accomplished, he had the advantage of being able to live longer and do more. Terry spent his adulthood that he had fighting to survive. Steve went from Thunder Bay to the ocean and deserves the same credit as the person he ran in the place of. What happened afterwards is not my issue.
You are right as not only did Steve Fonyo have cancer he had almost identical amputation and prosthetics. I think some of it was due to charisma. Terry had a way about him that captured Canadians that apparently Steve didn't. The Times Colonist wrote that he was "measured by an impossible yardstick" which is also probably true. Out here in BC there is a beach named after him and a statue but as the legend of Terry Fox grew his accomplishment faded into the background.
As to the residential schools, I am an indigenous Canadian. I'm Metis, which is the French-Canadian word for mixed-race indigenous. The French fur traders that first settled in the regions west of the Canadian Shield had much more harmonious interactions with the local indigenous population. Many married into and the new group formed a merged culture. My grandmother was a residential school survivor, born in the 1920's in Manitoba. We only know little about her due to the government's long history of neglect and passionately "uncaring" for the indigenous. My father was adopted, and on his adoption certificate, an official government document, they listed his (caucasian) father's name, but for mother, they only bothered to write, and I quote (because I don't use these words myself, they are derogatory), "well-groomed for an indian". We only know her name as my father reconnected with his birth father in the late 1980's, and he told us about her. In 2020, over 200 children's bodies were discovered in a mass, unmarked grave at the site of a former residential school in British Columbia. Since then, ground-penetrating radar has been used to search more of the residential schools, and as far as I know, the total now stands at over 20,000 children's bodies found. The multiple stories told by survivors, corroborating stories, detail atrocities this heritage minute did not touch on. Every. Single. School. Had huge number's of reports of physical and s***l abuse, assault, torture, r***, experimentation, and worse. Children were malnourished, tuberculosis ran rampant at the schools and despite penicillin having been discovered, it was never administered to these children. Those who survived, proved the schools' stated intent of "preparing the children for life in the english-speaking, Christian world" were false, these children had been stripped of their native languages and often had only barely passable knowledge of English or French. The intent of the schools was genocide, and by the sheer numbers of cases of the above assaults, at *every* school, those in power obviously intentionally dispatched staff (nuns, priests, and others) known to have these proclivities. I urge you to read up on and watch some of the hard-hitting stories and videos on the atrocities of these schools. As a Canadian, I think it is our biggest black stain on our history, our biggest dirty secret. Which the governments, of all political parties, have worked hard to keep the knowledge of suppressed, or at least not disclosed to the rest of the world. The orange handprint has become a symbol used in political protest, including by myself, in recent years. To represent the 10's of thousands of children stolen from their parents who would never return home. The political struggle continues to this day, with issues popping up all over the country. My own city is experiencing numerous protests daily, over the issue of (just search the hashtag) #searchthelandfill. With a provincial election looming in two months, this is a major issue right now. And don't get me started on police/indigenous relations in Canada's history, and present day. The problems still continue. Only they are more in the spotlight now, and hopefully change and reconciliation can be had.
I wish you had watched the video about Andrew Mynarski as well. His story deserves to be heard as well. I'm not sure if it's still there but there was once a statue of him outside an English airfield for what he did.
3:29 The Acadian’s developed dykes to reclaim valuable farmland in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. Acadian populations were growing and well established across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and had a long history of peace and friendship with the indigenous Mi’kmaq, often crediting them for surviving the first winters in the region. After the end of the 30 years war, Acadie was signed over to British control in Utrecht‘a treaty in 1713. The British wanted the valuable farmland and were concerned the French speaking Acadian’s would side with France in any armed conflict, as the French still had colonies in the area. Hopefully that helps understand the context of the video. Acadian history is tonight in depth to Acadian students at various levels, including at Acadian universities (U de Moncton and U Sainte-Anne)
Every year on November 14th my family celebrates World Diabetes Day (which is also Sir Frederick Banting’s birthday) and the discovery of insulin. I am the mother of three children, two of whom were diagnosed with diabetes as toddlers (at age 2 and 4, respectively). Without the work of Dr. Banting and Charles Best (and their American co-researchers), my children would not have survived their childhood. I don’t think there is any other Canadian who has directly saved the lives of so many people, around the world.
Several years ago, an endocrinologist I was seeing told me about medical conferences he attended in the U.S.. The majority of American doctors believed that the Eli Lilly company single handedly discovered and developed insulin in the U.S. by Americans, for Americans.
I agree with other viewers who recommend doing a reaction to a video about the Halifax explosion. Unbelievable event. A couple of other ideas for videos are: The history of the Fur Trade and the Hudson's Bay Company that still exists today and is 352 years old. Also there is a Viking settlement called L'Anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland that would be interesting to look into.
Thank you for showcasing our beautiful country in your video. Canada truly is a beautiful place to live, but that video by no means give it any justice. It just makes you start salivating over the smell of dinner cooking….if that makes sense? For example, you mentioned that there is a place in Scotland named Tobermory, well we have our own Tobermory too. Niagara Falls is basically the beginning of a several kilometre trail call the Bruce Trail and ends on the mainland in Tobermory. While travelling along the Niagara Escarpment towards Tobermory, you will run into an amazing city called Hamilton. It may be a large city that is called the “Steel city” because of the steel factories and the shipping industry. The best thing about Hamilton is that it is known as the City of Waterfalls. There are over 100 diverse varieties of waterfalls all around the escarpment. Some big, some small, get a map. There is also a place called Dundas Peak which is a short jaunt down from one the waterfalls (Toews Falls), and a very breathtaking view. So, if you continue to travel North (up highway 6) you will make it to Tobermory (there is a lot to see on your way there) where there is Bruce National Park and Phantom 5 National Park. Tobermory is where Lake Huron and Georgian Bay meet. The water in Georgian Bay is crystal clear and due to that and the rock base, you can jump and have no idea how deep the water is. In the park the hiking trails are phenomenal, tremendous amount of wild life and you have to visit The Grotto. Going into town, you have to take the boat tour (glass bottom boat) to Flower Pot Island. You will go for a tour and see many shipwrecks (which can be scuba dived). Flower Pot Island is a beautiful place to hike, lots of wildlife and is a continuation of the escarpment (which begins on our side in Niagara Falls) and then continues on further to Manatoulin Island, which you can take a ferry to from town and if you are lucky and have binoculars, so may see a bear swimming from one island to another. This is just one thing that has to be seen in Ontario. It is many hundreds of kilometres long and you will need several weeks to see it all deeply, but it is worth every moment. Start by googling Hamilton City of Waterfalls, The Grotto, Bruce National Park, The Bruce Trail, Phantom Five, and Shipwrecks in Tobermory.
Even in the prairies we learned about the Halifax explosion in school, but we also learned other things from the Heritage Minutes. I would love to see them start up again. I did see the more detailed short film on the tragedy and it explain there was a minor collision between the munitions ship and another but, it caused a fire.
I worked on that residential school spot. We shot at an actual residential school (I believe the last to close in Canada). The historians told us there were thought to be mass graves of children literally under our feet while we were shooting in the backyard of the school. Just recently ground-penetrating radar has confirmed that that school and every other residential school scanned do indeed contain mass graves full of hundreds of children. The Catholic Church has still not even acknowledged this mass genocide of children they perpetrated with the help of the Canadian government.
hi there :) I'm a mi'kmaq (pronounced meeg-mah) woman from New-Brunswick on the east coast. I definitely only speak for myself but I personally have had to go on a journey to learn my heritage and what it means to be indigenous. Communities have been made to deal with trauma with no support, returning home to a culture you no longer know, and no way to deal with the abuse that accured. At this time you need to prove to the government your indigenous ancestry to recieve reparation from them, let alone recognition of identity from them. One of those "i now have to prove who i am to the very agency that tried so hard to remove what they now ask of me?". Cultural genocide is acknowledged but reparation is a mucky subject, especially because of the generational trauma from that period.
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
The Halifax Explosion occurred during WW1 in 1917 so that was a munitions ship on its way to Europe. It remains the largest accidental non-nuclear explosion. Nova Scotia sends a giant Christmas tree to Boston every year in thanks for the support Halifax received after the disaster. Nova Scotians kids learn about it in school. Can't speak for the rest of Canada. Maybe you realized it already, but Nova Scotia is latin for New Scotland.
We do in Ontario
I Remember learning about it in Ontario
The entire hold of the Mont-Blanc was loaded with TNT and picric acid and there was barrels of benzol on the deck of the ship as well all headed for the European theater. When the 2 ships collided the sparks set the benzol on fire and when the fire made it to the hold and heated up enough it turned the entire almost 100 meter long cargo ship into a giant bomb. I remember learning about it in school in Ontario as well but I learned a lot more about it through some great documentaries here on TH-cam. I believe I read somewhere that the Canadian Institute for the Blind came about because of this disaster. So many of the wounded suffered eye injuries from flying glass and needed help after that it lead to the starting of the institute. It was a truly horrifying accident but very interesting to learn about.
In the 90's I learned about the halifax explosion in Alberta.
We learned of it in B.C.
The Canadian Institute for the Blind came out of the Halifax Explosion because so many people were looking out there windows when the ships exploded. The glass blasting in damaged the people's eyes. It also lead to advancements in eye surgery and treatment too.
The reason the Heritage Minutes are in the format that they are is that they were shown on normal television broadcasts in place of commercials (commercials are normally 30 seconds). Quite often you would see them during children's television programs so that kids would get a bit of education with their cartoons.
I remember those. They were great. Those and the Hinterland who's who shorts. Canadian tv was pretty awesome back in the day. Sure we didn't have the big name productions, but we had Forest Rangers, Beachcombers, King of Kensington, Littlest Hobbo, etc. Loved it as a kid.
I loved when those would pop up instead of commercials...those and the Hinterland Whos Who...definitely found them more enjoyable and interesting to watch.
They need to bring them back tbh
It was to raise awareness and interest. They'll give you knowledge of the story so you can look into it deeper if it grabs your interest.
Mert, I see you followed up on the Halifax explosion. You keep asking how we learn about these things in Canada while demonstrating the process yourself. ;)
These were mini series to look forward in commercial breaks watching X-Men cartoons.
I'm canadian and me and my history class and I went to the Netherlands during the 100 year start if the first world War. We where walking in Bruge and a man came up and asked us if we where Canadian and when confirmed he started crying and telling us a story about how the Canadian soldiers gave the shoes off there feet to him and his family during the winter.
I too had life changing moments as a 14 year old Canadian visiting the Netherlands
We share a very tight bond with the Dutch. They're great people and to this day have not forgotten our help during the war.
Same experience here. My grandfather died in WWII and is buried in a Canadian war cemetery just outside of Bruges. When I visited his grave there twice. To this day they are still grateful and are happy to meet Canadians and express their gratitude even 65 - 70 yrs later.
A lot of Canadians do not know about this history either. That is why the Canadian Heritage Commercials were created - to teach us about our heritage, whether it be about celebrating out best or learning from our failures and worst moments.
I graduated in 2002. Just after that, they added a gradation requirement that you had to have one Canadian History course credit. My school, at the time, did not have Canadian history as a course you could take, even as an elective. So yeah, a lot of us don't know our own history.
My grade 12 history class focused solely on Canadian history.
An interesting fact, during D-Day, James Doohan, (who would later play Scotty on Star Trek) was a Canadian officer who led forces of the Canadian Highland Regiment on Juno Beach. He was wounded twice, and lost his middle finger of his right hand during the battle. After the war he obviously became one of the most recognized Canadian actors in movies and television.
I didn’t know he was Canadian. TIL!
I'm going to have to watch for that. Scotty always cracked me up.
This is why you’ll often see Doohan hiding his injured hand (behind his back, behind crossed arms etc.). There’s a couple scenes in the Original Series where you can see it, notably in Trouble with Tribbles where he comes into frame with an armful of tribbles.
Shatner Wing at McGill?
I forgot about Doohan being at D-Day. Met him once. Super nice guy who went out of his way to meet fans at a convention in Edmonton when he was in town for a separate event. It had to be undercover because he wasn't supposed to do anything like this.
One of the things I love the best about our Heritage Minutes was……They showed Canadian History, warts and all. We got to see the good, bad and ugly of our past. Nothing was sugarcoated. The facts were all very researched and the depictions were excellent. The Halifax Explosion has a lot of videos explaining what happened. One ship was loaded with every kind of explosive you can imagined. Halifax was where allied ships harboured during WWI. They would raise submarine nets during the night to prevent German U boats from attacking the various ships. There were mistakes made that caused a Norwegian ship to collide with the French munitions ship. This resulted in the largest man made explosion recorded before the dropping of the Atomic bomb in Hiroshima. It was like a shock wave effect buildings were flattened, a tsunami was created. Of the wounded I believe over 500 were blinded by flying glass. As if things weren’t bad enough ….a blizzard hit the very next day greatly hampering rescue efforts. Vince Coleman the telegraph dispatcher was a true hero sacrificing his life to save the people on the train. Many slaves who escaped to Canada did so through the Underground railway, but they weren’t always completely safe in Canada as there were American “ bounty “ hunters who would cross the border and grab them to return them to their “ owners “.. A lot of the Acadian French who were expelled from Canada ended up in Louisiana and other Southern states. Viola Desmond now graces the Canadian $10.00 bill. The Indian Residential Schools were one of the worse abominations in Canadian History. Because they were run by mainly religious organizations……I think a lot of Canadians thought that the indigenous peoples were being helped. Nothing could be further from the truth. Children as young as four ripped from their families and taken thousands of miles away. Stripped of their native tongue their names stolen from them. Cruel treatment. Many parents never saw their children again.. We will never be able to completely atone for what these poor people have suffered. I am so glad you are looking into our “ Minutes”. They were great for helping kids to learn and remember details and for adults they were a great “ refresher “ of things we may have long since forgotten.
YES! I always appreciated that about them.
The British screwed the Indigenous population over after France lost the battle at the Plains of Abraham at Québec city in 1759 to General Wolfe of the English forces and Montréal was lost to the British in 1760, When France succeeded New France and all its territories to England in the 1763 Treaty of Paris, that is when the attack on the Indigenous peoples began. The French always had a good relationship of trade with the Indigenous tribes from the very first meetings with the St Lawrence Iroquois in 1534 at Stadacona (now Québec City) and the other tribes across the province from James Bay down to New York state. Many French married and had families with several of the Indigenous tribes, creating the Métis peoples of today who are officially recognized as Indigenous by the Canadian gov't. Even today, there are many Québecois families and people who have mixed heritage from Montagnais, Métis, Abenaki, Mohawk and others. However, even though some tribes sided with the British (the Iroquois confederacy signed a treaty with the British in 1701 giving them access to firearms to fight the French with) and during the 7 years war against the French, eventually, once England was fully in the picture, they threatened all the Indigenous nations that had been allies of the French since the 15th century to either pledge their alliance to England (by contract, signed with an "X' for each Nation). If they did not pledge their alliance and cut off all ties with the French colonists, they would have their villages burned, women and children, and men executed. They, put them on reservations. Yes, we learned this history in Québec schools and the official documents are on display in the Québec City Museum..however, all mention of these documents were removed from the Canadian school curriculum except for in Québec.
Viola Desmond was such an inspiring story and she was one of Canada’s early civil rights leader, she was recently put on our 10 dollar bill
I always found it funny that everyone knows Rosa Parks, but Viola was earlier. She's a true hero
Viola Desmond's official charge was not paying the 1 cent extra for a floor seat. In that town, black people were expected to sit in the cheaper balcony seats. The box office agent would only let her pay for a balcony seat so it was considered theft, maybe, for sitting in a floor seat.
@@supergirl0526The irony was for the Americans Rosa Parks was not the first. Claudette Colvin was months earlier - and kicked butt. But because she was not gentil Rosa got the accolade.
a decade before Rosa Parks
My grandmother lost an eye at 2yrs old in the Halifax explosion. We lost family in the blizzard that landed that same week on the devastated city. Before she passed, fairly recently, she was one of the 4 surviving injury victims. Made of strong stock, a tough lot we Canucks! Thank you for this content. Be well, ❤️🇨🇦
You shouldnt be embarrassed about not knowing this stuff, you're actually going out of your way to learn and engage, that's quite admirable. You know more Canadian history now than most Canadians lol
Sad reality, immigrants know more about Canadian History than most Canadians...
Yeah they should bring back those Canadian heritage minute, so many need to go back to school in history class nowadays...
@@Black-Rat lol that's not true at all. How can you conclude that? I do see these clips on tv from time to time.
@rig4365 immigrants have to learn Canadian history in order to pass the citizenship test. My mother had to do it.
I had the advantage of being born in the 70s so I constantly saw these heritage minutes. Plus I had to take Canadian history in grade 13. Kids in Ontario take it grade 10.
So true. A few new comers were going to take the test to become Canadian Citizen. A few of us who were from here. And ranging from 30 to 60 yrs old looked up the test on line. By question 10 we were in trouble. One girl kept asking, did we learn this in school. lol
Agreed there is a good portion of Canadians who don't know all of these.
Dr. Banting is also the youngest Nobel laureate to this day (He was 32 when he received it.) The four inventors also prevented a singular company from patenting it by signing the patent over to the University of Toronto, a public university and, as such, allowed as free use as possible in order to help as many people as possible. This move was hailed as a step forward in medical ethics worldwide.
You'll have to do the "Log Driver's Waltz" to get the full experience of breaks between Canadian shows. Plus to this day I can still hear the Ducks Unlimited music that was broadcast too. :)
I was just going to mention the log drivers waltz! I now have the song playing in my head, lol.
Hinterland Who's Who for real old time nostalgia.
@@stephenolan5539 thanks for the ear worm
The story of Flin Flon..
I'm new here, has he done any of the National Film Board of Canada animations? So much of that lives rent free in my head from my childhood
When Nova Scotia created a new holiday called Heritage Day in 2015, Viola Desmond was the first honouree. Each year a part of our history is featured with ads, school programs, and other awareness campaigns. This year was a Mi'kmaq elder and author named Rita Joe.
Aye, lad....greetings from New Scotland! My father was one of those that liberated Italy and The Netherlands. It is hard to put into words as it is a deep visceral feeling, but when Canadians go to war they become absolutely ferocious. An entire German army surrender when they found it was the Canadians they were about to face in Denmark.
Fun fact, James Doohan or Mr. Scott from Star Trek, stormed Juno beach on D-Day, in the Canadian Army and was injured, being shot 6 times. One bullet blew off his middle finger which you can see in some Star Trek episodes.
My Grandfather stormed the beaches too, I've often wondered if they may have met.
"Your grandfather stormed the beaches with the rest of the Canadians... everyone he knew died"
This was the only thing ever told to me about my grandfathers service. I knew better than to ask my gramps myself but when him and my pops died i asked my aunt. It broke me. My gramps was 20 on D-day
Somebody has probably mentioned this already, but when a Canadian enters a pub in The Netherlands, and the locals find out about it, that person drinks for free for the rest of the evening. The Netherlands sends millions of tulip bulbs to Ottawa yearly for flower beds around our government buildings for free.
The tulips are in thanks for hosting the Dutch royal family during WWII.
It's because in WW2, when the Dutch princess was taking refuge, she went into labor so the Dutch "brought" the land the hospital was on, so the baby was born on Dutch land. Now Ottawa has a tulip festival every year In celebration
Yep, one of my Canadian cousins found this out when he was taking part in the Nijmegan marches along with his Canadian Army colleagues! The fact he was Canadian meant a free round, being Canadian Army was doubly so!
How interesting!
@@BridgesCalebthe Dutch didn't "buy" the land the hospital was on. The Canadian government simply declared the rooms she would be in extraterritorial, so that for her stay it was just as if it was open ocean, belonging to no country. Canadian citizenship is given by birth, if you're born in Canada you're Canadian. Dutch citizenship is by the citizenship of your parents, if they are Dutch citizens it doesn't matter if you're born in another country, you're still Dutch. It was done this way to ensure she only had Dutch citizenship. This was so that if the worst thing happened, and her 2 older sisters were killed, the future queen of the Netherlands would not be someone with both Canadian and Dutch citizenship.
Heritage Minutes are fantastic, I wish they would bring them back. As a 58 year old white dude, I can say we learned nothing about residential schools when I was in school. When I found out about them during the 90s, I was ashamed, & there are more discoveries being made about these atrocities even now. A good thing about Heritage Minutes is that they show the good AND the bad. As they say, they're all a part of our heritage.
Hey Rob, they still make Heritage Minutes but now they're found online. Historica Canada is on TH-cam, FaceBook, and Instagram. Hope you're hangin' in, bud.✌🏻🍁
I learned about the residential schools because I live in Kamloops and have visited the school here. These were children. Children……
Insulin… free inCanada.
Can we have a Heritage moment for Bethune?
I’m a 59 year old white woman, born and raised in Canada. I certainly did not learn about the residential schools, growing up in Manitoba. My children where raised in the Northwest Territories and they had native studies in school. That encompassed Indigenous Canadians and Inuit peoples. Grade school all the way to high school. I’m grateful for that.
These Heritage moments made me cry back when they where aired on National television. And they still do, watching you, watch them. Thank you for the reminder.
I am a first nations man. My mom is a product of residential schools. The only time I ever saw her cry was when she talked about what happened to her. She is the strongest person I know. We are still here. MiiGwetch(Thank you)
Ojibwe?
Do you still go to church?
@@RonDoiron-pz3ee No my mom refused to raise me in the church
Canadian forces in the Netherlands liberated the country, not simply Appledorn. The Battle of Scheldt opened maritime traffic to Antwerp and was a bloody hard-fought affair. My father was a tank squadron commander that completed the clean up: Fifth Armoured Division - Lord Strathcona's Horse.
My Uncles & a Cousin served as Gunners in The 1st Canadian Anti Tank Regiment & were among those who fought for The Liberation of the Netherlands. Sadly, my one Uncle was killed in a stupid training accident in England. New mortars were coming into use & they were learning how handle & use them. Sadly, a live round was missed, my Uncle Leslie got it &…😢. My Uncle Elwood wouldn't talk about it at all & ended up drinking himself to death. My Cousin Nelson did talk about it & some of the stories he shared…Both the Good & the Bad. The only thing he'd never ever talk about The Battle of Ortona in Italy. All he say, "There's a reason it’s called Bloody Ortona." That was all he'd say. The last time he was able to go back to Holland was for the 60th Commemoration Events. His Daughter was finally able to go w/her Parents & she said all the Stories told about how the Vets are treated like Royalty? Even that doesn’t come remotely close to describing it. They never paid for a single thing the entire trip!! Not even a Chocolate Bar in a little store they popped into to grab a snack from. "You helped free my
Country & my People. Your Money is no good here." They have never forgotten & I think it's criminal a child in Holland is taught more about what our Forces did for them, than our own are & that needs changed fast we're losing our WWII Vets so fast now. When that living history's gone, who tells their Stories? Anyway, I'm so sorry for babbling on, but making sure OUR History is taught & properly is a passion of mine &…Yeah. 😊 Thanks for reading & Take Care!! 😊
@@denisecampbell6736 Very well put, Denise. My Dad and three of his brothers saw overseas service in WWll.
I wonder if someone may be trying to wind us up with that "liberated the tiny village" bit..? Also, check out the tulip festival in Ottawa, cool history.
Yes Sir. Canada kicked serious ass. I had the honor of knowing one of our last. He lived in and died in the house he built after the war. Married and had 5 boys and a girl. In his last days I would stop by and politely ask him "whatchya up to sir?" With a scowl on his face he would turn to me and say "Wating on the Grimm reaper". What a warrior!
Lord Strathconas Horse is a regiment even i, a relatively young man, have heard about. Like most Canadians fighting back then, the “hardest drinking, hardest partying, hardest fighting men that we are thankful are fighting for us.” (To paraphrase a quote)
The insulin story is really cool and really makes me proud to be Canadian... Especially when you think that the team that developed the technique to extract the insulin decided that rather than try to get rich off it, the discovery belonged to the world and , "on 23 January 1923, Banting, Collip and Best were awarded U.S. patents on insulin and the method used to make it. They all sold these patents to the University of Toronto for $1 each."
Indeed that is a most significant aspect of the events (not profiteering from the patents) that is surprisingly absent from the Heritage Minute
The saddest things is the drug companies charge way over what it costs to produce insulin today.
It's crazier still because Banting was forced out of Toronto and took up his practice in London just to without any resentment sell those patents to UoT.
Best was excluded from the award for the discovery.
For a truly sad story, look into the death of Banting. Crashed in a plane in Newfoundland and laid in the rubble for days before succumbing to his injuries.
The experience of Chanie Wenjhack is illustrated in a 2016 graphic novel/ music by Jeff Lemire and Gordon Downie called "The Secret Path". A must-read/ view. Indigenous history is taught unevenly in schools across Canada. Jeff Lemire also wrote the graphic tome "Essex County" which is a slice of life for many young men in Canada's rural communities.
I watched your video about the fact that Canadian has never lost a war. I am from a Canadian militay family. My father served in World War II in the Seaforth Higlanders. He saw action in Italy during the Battle of Ortona (one of the bloodiest battles Canadians fought in). He was wounded in Italy. He was always proud of being in the Seaforth Highlanders. I took highland dancing and we attended every Scottish festival - bagpipes, the cabre, etc. etc. I have wonderful memories of those times.
My mother served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Women's Division during World War II. I am so proud of both of my parents.
When I was in Amsterdam my ex-husband and I were in the lounge of the Schiphol Hilton Airport. When we ordered a drink the group of people sitting at a table not far from us heard us speak English and they immediately invited us to their table as soon as they found out we were Canadian and they wouldn't let us pay for anything. Yes, the Dutch have never forgotten that Canada liberated their country.
Thank you so much for your channel. It touches my heart how you want to learn about Canada. By the way, I lived in Singapore and Brunei and I have visited Malaysia.
New subscriber from Canada. Love this. My ancestors were Acadian and were deported in 1760, The family of six kids ended up split and some ended up in Louisiana and some back in France. They never saw each other again, but 2 of the family members in France returned in 1773, and I am a direct descendant. (My 4 and 5 times great grandparents.) But I understand this is history and I blame no one alive today for someone else's action centuries ago.
I, too, am of Acadian descent. My father's ancestors, Comeau, ended up in northern NB, Louisiana and (of all places) Bristol, England.
Despite such dreadful treatment of such people it is inspiring that the culture lives on.
I'm also of Acadian descent. Luckily, my direct ancestors managed to find safety in Quebec where we could keep most of our culture, though of course it morphed over time. I still love going back out east to feel connected to my ancestors though.
The Canadian band The Tragically Hip's front man, Gord Downie, who died of brain cancer a few years ago, did an amazing audio-visual project about Chanie Wenjack's story, "Secret Path", right before he passed. Highly recommend you listen to it. He was a huge advocate of First Nations rights, and was even given an honorary Lakota name "Wicapi Omani" by the Assembly of First Nations, which means "Man who walks among the stars". He's the greatest true Canadian poet of his generation. In fact, IMO there should be a Heritage Minute about Gord Downie...
When Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital the maternity ward was declared not part of Canada. That way she wouldn't have Canadian citizenship. She would inherit Dutch citizenship , and maintain royal status. Canada loves the Netherlands. Thanks for all the tulips. They're beautiful. 11:21
The doctors sold the patent for insulin for a dollar. That way everyone could get it.
And look what the u.s. did... until Biden capped it at 30 dollars.
Between these and the Hinterland Who's Who commercials, we learned a lot. (Hinterland was animal themed but same idea)
Viola is on Canadian bank notes (side note Canada has the best bank notes in my opinion). The acadian story is a complicated but amazing story that involves Britain France the USA the natives and the Canadians. Something else off beat. Montreal has the world largest underground city. It’s called reso. Fun random stuff.
Reso as in "réseau"?
@@francelaferriere6106 Oui. Meaning network. It has only been called that since 2004. Before that it was the Underground City, La Ville Souteraine. I believe it got it's start when they built the Metro, beginning in 1965.
@@SnowmanN49 I used to live in Montreal, I had never heard that term before.
@@francelaferriere6106 I hadn't heard it either until quite recently. I moved away in 1974. I remember there were underground stores below Place Ville Marie. I worked downtown for a couple of years and rented a parking stall under Place Des Arts. I could walk from there underground and come up right across the street from where I worked at Domtar House on De Maisonneuve.
@@francelaferriere6106 If you are referring to the term, frogs, it goes way back to when England and France were at war in the 1700's. Perhaps in Montreal it was only used in the mostly English suburbs where I grew up in the 1960's/70's.
I think you are awesome to pursue so much about us Canadians. I’ve watched a bunch of your Canadian reaction videos and have become huge fan of yours. Thank you for having such an open mind.
Coleman actually went back, knowing he wouldn't be able to get out, in order to send that message. He saved many lives.
We should also remember the countless dead from the tribes fighting and enslaving each other for thousands of years.
@@shinrapresident7010 Sadly it's very easy to hide your atrocities when your entire people are illiterate and have no written history.
@@shinrapresident7010 Fuck off with your disgusting "justification" for the genocide of fist nations people. I seem to remember the various "tribes" of Europe fighting and enslaving each-other for thousands of years, you pig.
@@shinrapresident7010 If one has spent enough time learning about the transatlantic slave trade in order to try and have a complete understanding of the system, certainly one should learn about the role African tribes played in supplying slaves through war, and the Muslim slave trade which created the infrastructure which got the European trade going.
However, I think you are not interested in getting that complete picture, but are only trying to deflect and minimize the responsibility of our ancestors. After all, the immediate thing you learn after learning the role that the African tribes played in supplying slaves is this: The creation of a large export market on West Africa's southern coast by European slave traders kicked the activity of taking slaves and warring for the purpose of taking slaves into high gear.
As well, the chattel slave trade of the colonial era had features that made it worse than the slave trade as practised in both Europe and Africa. Slavery for Christians in the middle ages was forbidden, in the transatlantic slave trade it was no longer confined to pagan enemies, but only on the basis of race, removing a key avenue of escape from bondage through conversion. As well, slavery in both Europe and Africa generally didn't pass from the enslaved to their children. Chattel slavery was eternal because it was less about servitude and oppression of a human being taken as a prize of war, and more about assigning people to being mere property on the basis of race.
I'd argue the stain persists today. Living in Winnipeg you see the ongoing fall out of Residential schools, addictions, transient criminality, over-reaching and heavy handed policing...
I live 3 hours away from Halifax, deep in old Acadia. Both of these things, they are still in peoples minds today, they will never be forgotten.
My great grandfather is from the Neatherlands, he fought in the Dutch resistance during ww2. He and his family immigrated to Canada in 1951. A couple years ago I went to Amsterdam, and I tell you, I have never been so greeted ever before when I told everyone I'm from Canada
My father lost his uncle and baby cousin in the explosion. There are piecs of the ships flung over the two cities. I remember seeing two in Dartmouth growing up. one on Albro Lake Rd and one on the lawn at the old Library which is quite near the harbour.
I love your outlook and enthusiasm on learning about Canada, and yes, we need the good as well as the sad and shameful stories. That is how you learn. To hopefully never make those same mistakes. Would love to make it to Europe one day and see where my family came from.
I personally feel like a large part of what "we" can do, not having actively participated in the atrocities from our personal history (goes for essentially ANY country, to be clear) is to TRULY learn about, remember, and learn FROM "the bad stuff"
My mom got mad at me when I told her about while visiting Europe I talked about the residential schools and how Canada isn't the big friendly goof everyone sees us as.
I remember Heritage moments from the days when we only had 2 TV channels. They were played instead of commercials, so we saw them over and over. ❤️🇨🇦
You can sit with Oscar, outside the National Arts Centre, across from our National War Memorial. There is a very shiny spot on the bench beside him, from all the people who sit down with him.
Princess Margaret was born in Ottawa and the room she was born in was declared Netherlands soil that way she could officially be Princess or Queen one day. We were given huge gifts of tulips from the Dutch. Ottawa also has a Tulip Festival to honour that gift and the close ties to the Netherlands. Princess Margaret came to visit in 2022 to see the beauty and enjoy the festivities.
Not Dutch soil, simply extraterritorial. For the duration the princess was in the rooms, they didn't belong to any country. As the 3rd in line, not much chance of becoming queen, but still as a precaution in case the worst happened, and the queen wouldn't be a duel citizen.
I grew up in Dartmouth across the harbour from Halifax. There were pieces of the ships that had landed far from the explosion that stood where they landed as a reminder of the explosion.
I've heard that the ships anchor landed about 3 miles away.
@@ralphvelthuis2359 And there's a solid iron bollard from the pier that's imbedded in the side of a hill miles away.
@@ralphvelthuis2359 it's still there
I didn't realize just how many of these have been made.
I remember when they first started airing in the early 1990s. The Vikings, Laura Secord, Superman, and the Basketball ones were some of my favourites.
But one of the most impactful for me will always be the Halifax Explosion.
I was first in The Netherlands when I was 10 in 1980, and when people found out we were Canadian--that was how I learned about the Canadian involvement in the liberation. Then I returned with a friend in my 20s, and we walked past a school with "Thank you Canada" posters made by the kids and posted on the shool windows. My friend was brought to tears as I told her the story for the first time she had ever heard it.
The discovery of Insulin was so incredible, but what is even more incredible is that they gave the patent away for free so that everyone could afford it and use it, they could have had a monopoly on it and charged a fortune but they didnt :)
One of my favourite Heritage Moments was the one about the Halifax explosion.
It was a horrific loss of life!
But the bravery Mr. Colman had. To stay there, choosing to save the lives of the people on that train. Over trying to run and save his own life.
It gets me choked up every time. Even now, after years from when I last saw it.
🖤
The Halifax Explosion one always stuck with me because of how well made it is. Easily the best Heritage Minute. Whoever was in charge of that one was in top form that day.
My grandfather was part of the Netherlands liberation. He met my grandmother there, she was a Dutch war bride. They married and he brought her to Alberta. They had 4 children who all married and had children. Their legacy lives! 🇨🇦🇲🇫
These videos are core memories for those of us who grew up in Canada in the 80s and 90s. You've got yourself a new subscriber. Love how interested you are in the land I call home and I look forward to revisiting the topics as you go along.
As a life long Canadian, you have made me laugh and cry throughout your presentations. It has also been made clear to me that the negative aspects of our history were not taught in our schools but learned about later. We are only recently bringing these atrocities to the forefront and teaching our children. If we learn from our past it will strengthen our future as the amazing country we have become.
They've put Ms. Desmond on the new ten dollar bill, and it's also the first bill printed vertically. It's bright purple. 😊
Not just that town but Canadian soldiers helped to liberate all of the Netherlands and are remembered throughout the Netherlands.
there is one Canadian Leo Major who liberated a whole town by himself on the evening of April 14 1945 he liberated the Dutch town of Zwolle
My great grandfather survived the Halifax Harbour Explosion. The windows were blown out of his home and he was suffering from scarlet fever at the time. That left him with a weak heart that caused him to die at age 53. My grandfather never got over losing his father so young.
I found a letter from an ancestor who survived it. She talked about men walking down the street, their clothes blown off them, people digging through rubble for days looking for family.
These videos were sponsored by the Canadian Government. In recent years the government has embraced a truer reading of Canadian history, the good and the bad. Some like the expulsion of the Acadians were well known in our history, other bad things were not. The old saying “ before you can fix a problem, you have to admit you have one” is the principle at work here. The good stories say that we have come a long way but the bad stories remind us that there was a cost that someone paid along the way.
There’s a monument on the hill overlooking the port of Halifax in memory. It’s absolutely beautiful and I’m glad I’ve seen it
Thank you for reviewing Heritage Minutes. My hope is that people from other countries will see these through reaction videos and that other countries will copy the idea.
There are plenty of sports-related minutes for you to look forward to.
I'm a Canadian in my mid-30s and I'm sad to admit that I was never taught about the Residential School system at all at any point in my primary and secondary education. Regrettably, I only learned about these atrocities when news broke about all of the old graveyards that were discovered near residential schools and it became an international news story. Let us hope that younger Canadians from this day forward are educated about this horrible part of our history so that we can show compassion to those who were and continue to be affected.
It’s changing for sure. At my kid’s elementary school there’s an assembly and walk for Chanie Wenjack every year. They painted the sidewalks around the school with orange chalk paint for Truth and Reconciliation Day. All the kids from kindergarten on are taught about residential schools. There are Every Child Matters signs everywhere all year long too.
That being said, it may not be the same in all of Canada. From others I’ve spoken to, especially people from southern Ontario, they were only ever taught what was in the social studies textbooks in the 90’s & early 00’s. I was lucky in Victoria, BC, because we had Indigenous Art & Culture classes in elementary school and Native art and culture were always a part of our day to day school life. So, I’m sure progress is being made elsewhere, but it just may not be as much as it is in BC.
I think there was a week or 2 in grade 11 Canadian History.
I'm in my mid-30s as well and I was lucky enough to have a history teacher that took the initiative to teach us about the residential school system and the damage it did. At the time I thought it was just a standard part of the curriculum. I didn't realise that wasn't the case until former students of the other history teacher in our school mentioned they'd never learned anything about it.
It s taught in schools...my kids learned it and theyr're lste teens early 20s. No sugar coating either.
The is a very nice song by ‘The Band‘ entitled ‘Acadian Driftwood‘ that touches on the subject of ‘Le Grand Dérangement‘ , or, the great upheaval touched on by the second Heritage Moment.
These were great but I’m surprised that the Heritage moments about Laura Secord, Agnes McPhail, the Underground Railroad, Nellie McClung and the Famous Five and Dr Penfield weren’t in the top 12. Those ones are imprinted in my mind from my childhood. You should check them out. It would be interesting to do the top ten from the 80s, the 90s and the 2000s. I’d be interested to see the shift in what was covered.
I don't think the first 12 he watched were necessarily the Top 12. I think they were just picked at random.
Johnny Wenjack is remembered by Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario. A campus theatre is named after him. * * The German army surrendered to the Canadian army May 5, 1945, (Liberation Day). When I visited the Netherlands (2015) I could not have been treated more kindly by the Dutch. They remember the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers through stories passed down the generations and school children are taken to the cemeteries to place flags at each individual headstone. * *
As a child I loved watching these especially the Winnie one as my Father is the person who was feeding honey to the bear cub. I think it is amazing that they have been releasing them since 1991 because they are such a nice bite sized way to learn a bit of Canadian history.
Viola's portrait has now been on a recent Canadian stamp honouring her contribution.
As well as $10 bill! Which is also a vertical bill! It is purple and really cool looking!
I thank God for the discovery of Insulin. My sister is 84 years old and has been an insulin dependent diabetic since she was 24 years old. 60 years!! I think that has to be a record!
Great thing about heritage minutes is that there are definitely longer videos on TH-cam that can go deeper on any topic you wanna look into further. I live in Halifax and it's a big part of the history of Nova Scotia.
Halifax has a wonderful Maritime museum with a great retrospective on the explosion - miraculous survivals, the devastation and death, heavy ship parts blown miles from the blast site. It was so moving to see the artifacts and read the stories.
The horrific history of the residential schools is such a terrible blot on our country. We do have to learn from such horrible acts. 😥
Yeah even a good like Canada has a dark side
And we're still learning how awful it truly was. So incredibly sad
@@timothyjuvet4073 the thing is that victims have been saying for decades that this is what happened, decades, my mom remembers a girl she went to school with (1970’s) telling her about it (she wasn’t Indigenous but she attended the Day school in Tuktoyaktuk for a year which was also responsible for the same atrocities) that they drained the pond and it was full of bodies from the school disposing of the kids, and then claiming they ran away. And the kicker is since they started finding the. Mass graves is how I’ve heard over, and over, and over, and over “how did we not know?” “How did no one know?”, we did know we’ve been saying it for decades and there are so many people who said that they believed and supported survivors, but then when they started finding those babies (I call them all babies that were taken to those places because they are to me they should have been held and loved and instead we know what happened at those places) they were shocked that it was true. I have cousins who are buried at those hellholes, my direct line managed to escape being in the system but that comes with it’s own trauma’s, survivors guilt, we were still subject to many of the other traumas inflicted upon Indigenous people, 60’s scoop, etc. But never not for one minute did I doubt that there were babies that were murdered at those schools and that they were hidden, and now every time they find more I weep, I weep for all those babies, I weep for my cousins, aunts, uncles because they should be here.
I dare say fact check your self. The narrative on the residential schools is almost all misleading.
generally speaking - how indigenous people were treated historically is a blot on humanity. Canada is not unique in that regard.
The Netherlands sends tulips to Canada (Ottawa) every year in thanks for allowing their Princess to give birth on "Netherland soil" during WWII. She was in a Canadian Hospital, but the Canadian Gov't gifted the location to the Netherlands so her baby was born in her home country.
I had 4 uncles that served overseas 1940-1945 2 helped liberate Holland I was wounded in Dieppe and 1 came up through Italy all survived the war. Plus both my parents served my mom joined at 18 years old on her birthday And my Father was a prisoner of war guard in Thunder Bay.I also joined a 17 years old 1970 and served for 23 years 12 overseas. I grew up with Veterans. Thanks for the memories.
My father was taken prisoner on the Blue beach at Puys in Dieppe France on August 19, 1942. He spent 3 years at Stalag 8B. There is a book out called "Heroes of Lamsdorf" I wrote the chapter about my father .
Much gratitude and respect to you, and to the other members of your family, for your service to Canada. Thank you.
The residential schools are a very recent piece of history: the last one closed in 1996 when I was a toddler. I went to school in Thunder Bay for nursing and we had an entire course about cultural sensitivities and generational trauma. You can see it both in the hospitals and on the streets how they were treated and the legacy it still leaves us, especially in Northern Ontario, the Western provinces, and the territories. It depends on who teaches whether it's taught or not. We had an entire class on it in high school whereas the generation before I don't think it was taught or even touched on.
The Halifax explosion is taught in school but I think unless you're from the Maritimes (each province has a different curriculum), it's a side note to WWI because the ship that blew was an ammunition ship heading to France that collided with another ship in the harbour.
The Dutch are still very thankful to the Canadians who liberated them. I was over at the 70th D-Day anniversary ceremonies with my school and we were in a Canadian cemetery when a Dutch unit happened upon us. They gave us a full military salute in thanks for what our great grandfather's did for their people. Canadians are still rather proud about how we helped with the liberation of the Dutch and the role we played in the winter of 44-45. Mom said great granddad never talked about it but he absolutely refused to let anyone waste any food because of it.
There is a statue of Terry Fox outside of Thunder Bay if you ever go there, where he ended his run where it's an hour drive outside of the city. Every year in September public schools do what is termed "The Terry Fox run" and raise money for cancer research.
Banting is one of the most celebrated scientists in Canada because he helped to discover insulin and tragically he died in a plane crash in 1941 off of Newfoundland. He sold the patent of insulin for a single dollar, stating "Insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world."
You have got to watch one of the documentaries on the Halifax explosion. At the time, it was the biggest man-made explosion, not exceeded until Hiroshima.
Still stands as the biggest non-nuclear explosion
Shattered City. Scenes from this Heritage Minute were actually taken from that series.
The Spitfire looms large in British consciousness in the Battle of Britain because it is an absolutely gorgeous looking plane, but Hurricanes were responsible for 60% of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe during that campaign.
Another touching story relating to the Halifax explosion concerns the fact that the city of Boston sent vital help to Halifax. Nova Scotia never forgot that, and to this day the province sends Boston a Nova Scotia pine tree for their city's Christmas tree each year, in thanks.
I love that these videos show the good, the bad, and the ugly . Being honest so we could learn from our mistakes. I'm a proud Canadian.❤🇨🇦
You have a good range of various situational videos. Some of Canada's greatest moments and some of her worst. Like all countries we have a history, but unlike many countries, we like to bring light both the good and the bad. Unfortunately, sometimes the bad takes a little longer.
We definitely learn about residential schools yearly in grade school, and the example of Chanie is a very wellknown case, so much so that a famous Canadian artist named Gord Downie did a visual album all about Chanie's escape and eventual death
A history richer than most people realise, The British have so much to thank Canada for!
These Heritage Minutes were OUTSTANDING 👍👌😇✨🚀Cheers 🍻
Imagine being a parent sitting at your child's hospital bedside whilst they're in a diabetic coma, knowing that your child is never going to wake up again...
Suddenly, a doctor and a couple of nurses start coming in and injecting something into the kids' IVs, one by one. And, one by one, the children started waking up...
The ship on fire, the Mont Blanc, was a munitions ship joining a convoy to Europe during WWI. It got into a 'game of chicken' situation with a departing ship, the Emo. Both captains were ignoring the pilots and ignoring harbor regulations (ignoring speed limits, ignoring right of way, not flying the munitions flag which would have told all harbor traffic to hold still until the Mont Blanc was at anchor.) Worse, the Mont Blanc's captain and crew evacuated without attempting to put out the fire, or scuttle the ship, or even notify shore of the danger. And because the Mont Blanc wasn't flying the munitions flag, few realized an evacuation was even necessary. There's a lot more to the story, but those are the "highlights".
One history moment you may not know of was the street name valor in Winnipeg Manitoba Being British you know of the Victoria cross medal and how hard it is to win it well that street had three members to win the Victoria Cross so street name was changed These history moments have done more to show Canadians about their unique history then what is taught in school
I'm a Canadian - have always loved these wee history spots - as a lover of history, they are so effective at both teaching the next generations about our history, but also encouraging an interest in learning more.
There were 4,200 slaves in Canada between the 1600's and 1834 the year Britain abolished slaves in the Dominion and set the war/crusade against the slave trade. 2 thirds of these slaves were native 1 third were African. What the video is depicting is the end of slavery here and the slavers taking the slaves to the US where slavery was still legal.
The first legislation curtailing slavery in the British colonies was in Upper Canada in 1793.
I come from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’s newest and 10th province. We were our own country until 1949. In
both world wars our men served as part of the British forces. In WWI a regiment was raised and in the Battle of Beaumont Hamel most of the regiment was killed or wounded. You should be able to find out more about this online, Facebook Canada Remembers etc. It has been said that the loss of so many men was the beginning of the end of us being able to continue as an independent country. It had far reaching consequences for our struggling economy. The fact we managed to continue through a depression and another world war on our own speaks volumes for the character of the people!
The Halifax explosion remains to this day the largest non-nuclear accidental explosion in history. To give you an idea of reference, it was more than 3x more powerful than the Beirut explosion in Lebanon a few years ago.
I grew up in Halifax. When I was young, survivors came and talked at my school. At the time they were pushing 100 years old. They had amazing stories and tragic stories. We remembered every year.
Just found your channel last night and was hoping to see Canadian Heritage Minutes reactions so this is awesome!
I had a science teacher who said he taught Terry Fox in Burnaby BC and said he was the most mature student he had ever seen. Wise well beyond his years. RIP Terry, you will never be forgotten.
I remember watching these as a kid.
They led me to take a greater interest in not only these specific stories but our (dark) history in general.
I respect the fact here in Canada, we dont shy away from the dark parts of our country's history. It's inportant to remember them as to not repeat them and to grow as a society.
You've got the whole point of these one-minute history clips, which were shown during commercial breaks on tv stations right across Canada since 1987. They were very well produced vignettes that introduced topics and stirred interest among the public to research further into the history. They really were marvelous introductions to topics not necessarily learned about in schools over different eras and across all provinces, as education programs are a provincial government responsibility, not a federal one.
Viola Desmond is still celebrated today here in Nova Scotia Canada
Fun fact: during her lifetime there was a comic book about Elsie MacGill. There's a plaque for her at UofT just by Convocation Hall.
Thank you for learning of our Canadian history. We Canadians are proud of it. Halifax STILL sends Boston USA a Christmas tree to thank them for their help in Halifax's time of need. I'm PROUD of that fact. Two great neighbours, helping without question.....
It should be mentioned that there is a man with the same disease and situation as Terry. His name is Steve Fonyo. He finished the Marathon of Hope starting where Terry stopped. He finished the run and very few people mentioned him. He lived longer and had a chance to do some things that Terry didn’t get the chance to do. I don’t understand why he isn’t getting the credit for what he did.
According to Wikipedia: At some point Fonyo began abusing alcohol and drugs.[3] He repeatedly ran afoul of the law, and was charged and convicted of various crimes.[5]
In 1996, Fonyo pleaded guilty to 16 charges for offences in Edmonton, including assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, fraud for writing bad cheques totalling $10,000 to supermarkets, and possession of a stolen vehicle.[2][5] He was also convicted at least five times of impaired driving, and seven times of driving without a licence, most recently in the fall of 2008.[2] On August 13, 2009, Fonyo, last known to have been working as a heavy-machinery mechanic, appeared in BC Provincial Court in Surrey charged with one count of assault. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one day in jail. He was credited for ten days already served. He was also subject to a one-year probation order. But just five days later, the 44-year-old was back in court, having breached his conditions. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 days in jail.[6]
@@aconventgirl I am well aware that he lived long enough to get into trouble. That doesn’t take away from the fact that he finished Terry’s run. We have all made mistakes in our lives, it has absolutely no bearing on the fact that he did what he did. Terry started the run but Steve finished it. The he should be recognized for what he accomplished, he had the advantage of being able to live longer and do more. Terry spent his adulthood that he had fighting to survive. Steve went from Thunder Bay to the ocean and deserves the same credit as the person he ran in the place of. What happened afterwards is not my issue.
@@aconventgirl Wikipedia is not a trustworthy site, since anyone can write anything about anyone there. Better to use citable sources.
You are right as not only did Steve Fonyo have cancer he had almost identical amputation and prosthetics. I think some of it was due to charisma. Terry had a way about him that captured Canadians that apparently Steve didn't. The Times Colonist wrote that he was "measured by an impossible yardstick" which is also probably true. Out here in BC there is a beach named after him and a statue but as the legend of Terry Fox grew his accomplishment faded into the background.
My father had Steve Fonyo on one of his flights (dad was an airline pilot); he said he was actually quite arrogant and rude.
As to the residential schools, I am an indigenous Canadian. I'm Metis, which is the French-Canadian word for mixed-race indigenous. The French fur traders that first settled in the regions west of the Canadian Shield had much more harmonious interactions with the local indigenous population. Many married into and the new group formed a merged culture. My grandmother was a residential school survivor, born in the 1920's in Manitoba. We only know little about her due to the government's long history of neglect and passionately "uncaring" for the indigenous. My father was adopted, and on his adoption certificate, an official government document, they listed his (caucasian) father's name, but for mother, they only bothered to write, and I quote (because I don't use these words myself, they are derogatory), "well-groomed for an indian". We only know her name as my father reconnected with his birth father in the late 1980's, and he told us about her.
In 2020, over 200 children's bodies were discovered in a mass, unmarked grave at the site of a former residential school in British Columbia. Since then, ground-penetrating radar has been used to search more of the residential schools, and as far as I know, the total now stands at over 20,000 children's bodies found.
The multiple stories told by survivors, corroborating stories, detail atrocities this heritage minute did not touch on. Every. Single. School. Had huge number's of reports of physical and s***l abuse, assault, torture, r***, experimentation, and worse. Children were malnourished, tuberculosis ran rampant at the schools and despite penicillin having been discovered, it was never administered to these children. Those who survived, proved the schools' stated intent of "preparing the children for life in the english-speaking, Christian world" were false, these children had been stripped of their native languages and often had only barely passable knowledge of English or French. The intent of the schools was genocide, and by the sheer numbers of cases of the above assaults, at *every* school, those in power obviously intentionally dispatched staff (nuns, priests, and others) known to have these proclivities.
I urge you to read up on and watch some of the hard-hitting stories and videos on the atrocities of these schools. As a Canadian, I think it is our biggest black stain on our history, our biggest dirty secret. Which the governments, of all political parties, have worked hard to keep the knowledge of suppressed, or at least not disclosed to the rest of the world.
The orange handprint has become a symbol used in political protest, including by myself, in recent years. To represent the 10's of thousands of children stolen from their parents who would never return home. The political struggle continues to this day, with issues popping up all over the country. My own city is experiencing numerous protests daily, over the issue of (just search the hashtag) #searchthelandfill. With a provincial election looming in two months, this is a major issue right now.
And don't get me started on police/indigenous relations in Canada's history, and present day. The problems still continue. Only they are more in the spotlight now, and hopefully change and reconciliation can be had.
I wish you had watched the video about Andrew Mynarski as well. His story deserves to be heard as well. I'm not sure if it's still there but there was once a statue of him outside an English airfield for what he did.
3:29 The Acadian’s developed dykes to reclaim valuable farmland in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. Acadian populations were growing and well established across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and had a long history of peace and friendship with the indigenous Mi’kmaq, often crediting them for surviving the first winters in the region. After the end of the 30 years war, Acadie was signed over to British control in Utrecht‘a treaty in 1713. The British wanted the valuable farmland and were concerned the French speaking Acadian’s would side with France in any armed conflict, as the French still had colonies in the area. Hopefully that helps understand the context of the video. Acadian history is tonight in depth to Acadian students at various levels, including at Acadian universities (U de Moncton and U Sainte-Anne)
Every year on November 14th my family celebrates World Diabetes Day (which is also Sir Frederick Banting’s birthday) and the discovery of insulin. I am the mother of three children, two of whom were diagnosed with diabetes as toddlers (at age 2 and 4, respectively). Without the work of Dr. Banting and Charles Best (and their American co-researchers), my children would not have survived their childhood. I don’t think there is any other Canadian who has directly saved the lives of so many people, around the world.
Several years ago, an endocrinologist I was seeing told me about medical conferences he attended in the U.S.. The majority of American doctors believed that the Eli Lilly company single handedly discovered and developed insulin in the U.S. by Americans, for Americans.
great video. much appreciated.
I agree with other viewers who recommend doing a reaction to a video about the Halifax explosion. Unbelievable event. A couple of other ideas for videos are: The history of the Fur Trade and the Hudson's Bay Company that still exists today and is 352 years old. Also there is a Viking settlement called L'Anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland that would be interesting to look into.
Thank you for showcasing our beautiful country in your video. Canada truly is a beautiful place to live, but that video by no means give it any justice. It just makes you start salivating over the smell of dinner cooking….if that makes sense?
For example, you mentioned that there is a place in Scotland named Tobermory, well we have our own Tobermory too. Niagara Falls is basically the beginning of a several kilometre trail call the Bruce Trail and ends on the mainland in Tobermory. While travelling along the Niagara Escarpment towards Tobermory, you will run into an amazing city called Hamilton. It may be a large city that is called the “Steel city” because of the steel factories and the shipping industry.
The best thing about Hamilton is that it is known as the City of Waterfalls. There are over 100 diverse varieties of waterfalls all around the escarpment. Some big, some small, get a map. There is also a place called Dundas Peak which is a short jaunt down from one the waterfalls (Toews Falls), and a very breathtaking view.
So, if you continue to travel North (up highway 6) you will make it to Tobermory (there is a lot to see on your way there) where there is Bruce National Park and Phantom 5 National Park. Tobermory is where Lake Huron and Georgian Bay meet. The water in Georgian Bay is crystal clear and due to that and the rock base, you can jump and have no idea how deep the water is. In the park the hiking trails are phenomenal, tremendous amount of wild life and you have to visit The Grotto.
Going into town, you have to take the boat tour (glass bottom boat) to Flower Pot Island. You will go for a tour and see many shipwrecks (which can be scuba dived).
Flower Pot Island is a beautiful place to hike, lots of wildlife and is a continuation of the escarpment (which begins on our side in Niagara Falls) and then continues on further to Manatoulin Island, which you can take a ferry to from town and if you are lucky and have binoculars, so may see a bear swimming from one island to another.
This is just one thing that has to be seen in Ontario. It is many hundreds of kilometres long and you will need several weeks to see it all deeply, but it is worth every moment. Start by googling Hamilton City of Waterfalls, The Grotto, Bruce National Park, The Bruce Trail, Phantom Five, and Shipwrecks in Tobermory.
Even in the prairies we learned about the Halifax explosion in school, but we also learned other things from the Heritage Minutes. I would love to see them start up again.
I did see the more detailed short film on the tragedy and it explain there was a minor collision between the munitions ship and another but, it caused a fire.
They still make them. Check out Historica Canada they produce the Heritage Minutes. They make a couple of new ones a year
@@87Fraser Thank you so much. I am going there now.
I worked on that residential school spot. We shot at an actual residential school (I believe the last to close in Canada). The historians told us there were thought to be mass graves of children literally under our feet while we were shooting in the backyard of the school. Just recently ground-penetrating radar has confirmed that that school and every other residential school scanned do indeed contain mass graves full of hundreds of children. The Catholic Church has still not even acknowledged this mass genocide of children they perpetrated with the help of the Canadian government.
hi there :) I'm a mi'kmaq (pronounced meeg-mah) woman from New-Brunswick on the east coast. I definitely only speak for myself but I personally have had to go on a journey to learn my heritage and what it means to be indigenous. Communities have been made to deal with trauma with no support, returning home to a culture you no longer know, and no way to deal with the abuse that accured. At this time you need to prove to the government your indigenous ancestry to recieve reparation from them, let alone recognition of identity from them. One of those "i now have to prove who i am to the very agency that tried so hard to remove what they now ask of me?". Cultural genocide is acknowledged but reparation is a mucky subject, especially because of the generational trauma from that period.
Thanks, Mert. Best one yet. You’ve reintroduced a lot of us to our amazing culture.