Marathon of Hope

On April 12, 1980, amputee Terry Fox set out on a run across Canada with the goal of raising $1 from every Canadian for cancer research.
Posted August 2, 2024
Read the transcript

This is the seventh episode of the animated web series, History Bits. The series explores a diverse range of topics, from overcoming racism in Africville, Nova Scotia, to the historic fight for women’s voting rights, to the struggle to survive the dustbowl era of the Dirty Thirties. Each action-packed episode highlights the courage, creativity, and perseverance of Canadians from the past.

Supplemental lesson

Running Towards Change

In this lesson, students will learn about Terry Fox and explore the history and development of lower limb prostheses.
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Flying and Spying

Chinese-Canadian Kam Len “Doug” Sam served in the air force in the Second World War. Shot down in France, he gathered critical information as a spy for the Allies.

No Votes For Men!

Nellie McClung and a group of devoted suffragists stage their mock parliament to make a point about women’s equality.

Remembering Africville

The city of Halifax bulldozes a Black settlement that had stood for 150 years, destroying a community but not its spirit.

Railway Men

Ride the rails across Canada with Black sleeping car porters as they fight for labour rights and civil rights.

Dust and Depression

Prairie families in the 1930s watch their farms — and hopes — blow away while they wait for rain.

Wildfire

Meet Tom Longboat, an Onondaga long distance runner who becomes a world-class athlete.

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Support Canada's History

History Bits was inspired by comics that appear in Kayak: Canada’s History Magazine for Kids, written by Kayak editor Nancy Payne and illustrated by Alex Diochon, and published by Canada’s History Society.

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