History Browser

Wilfrid Laurier's penchant for compromise allowed him to remain in power for 15 years, earning him the nickname of the "Great Conciliator". But in 1911, this talent proved inadequate to the task of winning elections.

Throughout his career, compromise would remain the main political strategy Laurier used to settle conflicts. A staunch defender of national unity, he was called on to solve a series of major controversies which set Canadians against one another.

Louis Riel was born in Saint Boniface in 1844 and was educated in Montréal. When he returned to the Red River Settlement in 1868, he found the community anxious and divided over its political future.

The Sir Wilfrid Laurier National Historic Site of Canada is located in Saint-Lin-Laurentides, a town 50 km north of Montreal. The site commemorates one of the most important figures in Canadian political history, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the man often referred to as the father of modern Canada.

Many of those whose lives were claimed by the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence have no known grave. Their lives, and their sacrifices, are commemorated on Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials on both sides of the Atlantic. This website gives account of these memorials and awards.

During the summers in southern Italy, the Canadians wore tropical uniforms like the rest of the British 8th Army. This reconstruction by Ron Volstad shows a corporal of the Royal 22e Régiment, the only Francophone regular infantry regiment in the Canadian army during the war. The unit saw its first action of the war during the landings in Sicily in 1943. Note the famous red patch of the 1st Canadian Division on the upper shoulder. This formation badge dates from the First World War. (Canadian Department of National Defence)

As World War II war drew to a close, members of all the armed forces of the Allies wanted nothing so much as to shed their uniforms, and fast. But there was not enough shipping available to bring Allied troops from all over the world as quickly as they wished.

At the end of the war, Padre Foote received the Victoria Cross for his conduct at Dieppe, the first ever awarded to a Canadian chaplain.

The Nursing Sisters' Memorial is located in the Hall of Honour in the centre block on Parliament Hill. The sculptor was Mr. G.W. Hill, R.C.A., of Montréal. The completed panel was mounted in the Hall of Honour during the summer of 1926. In the Programme given at the presentation on Parliament Hill, the artist interprets the sculptured panel.

Japanese-Canadian names are added to a Second World War memorial, thus helping to lesson the painful memories of internment, relocation, and prejudice against this minority during the war.