
The Nations of Canada
byGreg Koabel
History
A narrative history of Canada from its first inhabitants to the present day.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Episodes(40 episodes)
Episode 281: Nothing But the Ships
1912. Robert Borden finds that his broad coalition (which was so successful on the campaign trail) makes for an unruly government. Especially with Britain ever more insistent on contributions to the Royal Navy.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Dec 24, 2025Duration: 43m 1s
Episode 280: The Best Safeguard of the Faith
1912. New regulations on the use of French in Ontario public schools galvanizes the province's growing francophone population and sets off a fresh round of French Canadian nationalism in Quebec.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Dec 17, 2025Duration: 34m 22s
Episode 279: Not Asked For Nor Wanted
1911. A panic over black settlers moving into western Canada sparks a heated debate on Canada's immigration laws, and the country's racial politics. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Dec 10, 2025Duration: 39m 57s
Episode 278: A Parting of the Ways
September 1911. An unlikely partnership of conservative imperialists and French Canadian nationalists bring an end to Wilfrid Laurier's fifteen-year rule in Ottawa.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Dec 3, 2025Duration: 39m 31s
Episode 277: Reciprocity 2.0
1911. Desperate for a distraction from the Navy Question, Wilfrid Laurier is presented with a golden opportunity to fulfill a decades-long ambition by developments in Washington.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Nov 26, 2025Duration: 39m 10s
Episode 276: A Situation Disgraceful to the Country
1911. A damning report from a public health official sparks a national conversation on the future of the Indian Residential Schools program.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Nov 19, 2025Duration: 30m 40s
Episode 275: Fiasco Canadense
As a growing pile of Canadian capital seeks new investment opportunities, a group of entrepreneurs, engineers, and corporate lawyers descend on the fast growing coffee economy of Brazil. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Nov 12, 2025Duration: 31m 25s
Episode 274: A Tin Pot Navy
1910. When Britain calls on Canada to help fund its naval arms race with Germany, Wilfrid Laurier faces his greatest political test since the Boer War.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Nov 5, 2025Duration: 37m 37s
Episode 273: The Fishermen's Advocate
1910. Disillusioned with the governance provided by the elites of St. John's, Newfoundland's outport fishermen form their own political and social movement.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Oct 29, 2025Duration: 35m 17s
Episode 272: Coal and Steel
1910. Nova Scotia enters the industrial age with ambitions to become an international steel-making power. However, by extension, the province also enters a new, modern age of conflict between the forces of labour and capital.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Oct 22, 2025Duration: 34m 48s
Episode 271: Strangers Within Our Gates
1909. Canadians grapple with the implications of large scale migration from continental Europe, and begin a long-running debate on how so-called "New Canadians" fit into the national story. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Oct 15, 2025Duration: 39m 38s
Episode 270: Lord Beaverbrook
1909. A hustler from New Brunswick exemplifies a novel class of stock brokers and promoters who transform Canada's financial environment, and usher in a new era of industrial consolidation and economic inequality in Canada. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Oct 8, 2025Duration: 32m 1s
Episode 269: Degraded by Yankee Professionalism
1908. In southwestern Ontario, oilmen, brewers, and cabinet-makers forge a complicated relationship with a different nation-defining sport - baseball.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Oct 1, 2025Duration: 41m 33s
Episode 268: The Athletic War
1908. From Montreal and Toronto, to the mines of Timiskaming and old Rat Portage, Canadians battle over the soul of the nation's most important institution - hockey.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Sep 24, 2025Duration: 42m 9s
Episode 267: Our Nationalism is Canadian Nationalism
1908. Disillusioned with Wilfrid Laurier's Liberal party, a group of French Canadians commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec by mapping out a new kind of Canadian nationalism.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Sep 17, 2025Duration: 37m 15s
Episode 266: A Canadian Diplomat
1908. In the aftermath of the Vancouver anti-Asian race riot, Canadian officials visit Tokyo, Washington, London, Bombay, Shanghai, and Beijing - in the process, crafting a position for Canada on the international stage. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Sep 10, 2025Duration: 40m 24s
Episode 265: A White Man's Country
September 1907: An anti-Asian race riot in Vancouver thrusts Canada into the centre of a multi-faceted trans-Pacific geopolitical puzzle involving Japan, Britain, the United States, and India.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Sep 3, 2025Duration: 41m 24s
Episode 264: Bell Canada
1907. A new technology sparks national debates about public utilities, labour relations, and gender. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Aug 27, 2025Duration: 39m 45s
Episode 263: The Killing Winter
1906-1907. A coal miner's strike in southern Alberta restricts the supply of fuel on the prairies, just as the region enters the coldest winter on record.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Aug 20, 2025Duration: 37m 27s
Episode 262: Another Railroad or Two
1906. Hoping to encourage a national railroad to rival the Tory-aligned CPR, Liberal Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier gets more than he bargained for.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-nations-of-canada--4572969/support.
Published: Aug 13, 2025Duration: 34m 54s