2024 Shortlist for the Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Community Programming

Canada’s National History Society is pleased to announce this year’s shortlist for the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming. The organizations featured represent remarkable and inspiring initiatives that encourage public engagement in Canadian history.

The award will honour two recipients, one French and one English, for innovation in community programming. Organizations receive a cash prize of $2,500 and a trip for two to receive their award.

Congratulations to the featured projects!

Célébrer le Chaînon : 90 ans de dévouement pour les femmes
La Fondation Chaînon / MEM – Centre des mémoires montréalaises
Montreal, Quebec

Le Chaînon, a Montreal shelter for women in vulnerable situations, celebrated its 90^th anniversary. Partnering organizations combined their expertise to highlight the shelter's unique history — well-rooted in Montreal life, but with many parts unknown to the public. This was accomplished in collaboration with the Laboratoire d’histoire et de patrimoine de Montréal (UQAM), which gave rise to the production of a documentary film, a temporary exhibition, an archive of eleven in-depth articles for an online encyclopedia, five mediation activities comprising the institution's cultural programming, and recorded interviews preserving a rich collection of testimonies.

Standing in the Doorway: Lived Histories and Experiences of the Chinese Community
YRDSB Museum & Archives / Markham Museum
Markham, Ontario

Acknowledging 100 years since the Chinese Exclusion Act, “Standing in the Doorway” is grounded in anti-Asian racism and anti-colonialism. Through oral histories, loaned artifacts, and family archives, the project team collaborated to create a website, travelling museum exhibit, and travelling school tour with educational resources to showcase this important history. Each team contributed their expertise, with Tribute to Early Chinese Immigrants Canada Foundation (TECI) members, community leaders, students, and educators of Chinese descent guiding the narrative.

Le centenaire de la sculpture à Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, 1923-2023
Société québécoise d'ethnologie
Quebec, Quebec

The village of Saint-Jean-Port-Joli has become well known in the field of wood carving thanks to the work of Médard Bourgault and his brothers, André and Jean-Julien. In 2023, the Société québécoise d’ethnologie (SQE) was formed to engage villagers and the municipality in a centenary celebration. Interviews with carvers, members of their families, and other stakeholders in the field were conducted to produce ten videos. The series was added to the Musée de la mémoire vivante's collections, and the Bourgaults were granted the official status of historical figures along with protection of the Médard-Bourgault estate. A grand celebration was held at the village cultural centre and a souvenir publication was produced.

Old Durham Road Black Pioneer Cemetery Monument Project
Old Durham Road Black Pioneer Cemetery Committee
Toronto, Ontario

The Old Durham Road Black Pioneer Cemetery (formerly the Old Durham Road Pioneer Cemetery) project was conceived and built as a means of sheltering rescued headstones, raising public awareness about a long-buried history, and honouring forgotten Black settlers in Grey County — particularly those who lived on the Old Durham Road in the former Artemesia Township (now the Municipality of Grey Highlands). After a tumultuous journey toward reclamation of the site and affirming its significance to the community, a completed monument now orients toward True North — a symbolic compass point guiding the way to freedom.

Voie libre, l'espace collectif du Musée !
Musée de la civilisation
Quebec, Quebec

Voie libre was inaugurated in 2023 by the Musée de la civilisation as a space that allows the community to express itself by taking part in activities and proposing new initiatives. Rather than an exhibition, Voie libre is a social innovation laboratory whose mission is to offer a welcoming space to develop people's logical, critical, and creative minds. It is a place where ideas circulate about exhibition themes; social, current, or other issues; and where ideas intersect (and sometimes collide), converging toward the development of critical thinking. Voie libre continues to evolve and transform through contact with those who take part.

Sointula's History and Memories
Sointula Museum and Historical Society
Sointula, British Columbia

The 40-minute documentary Sointula: History and Memories features community elders gathered to identify people and places in historic photos held in the Sointula Museum. Featuring a creative team comprised of community members, the project captures the elders’ vibrancy, memories, laughter, and deep roots reflected in utopian beginnings — a tribute to the tangible and intangible heritage of Malcolm Island (T’lat’lask̓udis, Malkosaari).

Colloque MTL 1849
Société du musée d'archéologie et d'histoire de Montréal, Pointe-à-Callière
Montreal, Quebec

Presented at Pointe-à-Callière, Montreal's city of archaeology and history, as well as at the Musée du Château Ramezay and the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours chapel, MTL 1849 commemorated 175 years since the fire of the parliament of Canada when Montreal was its capital (1844-1849). During the symposium, the fire was explored from angles at the crossroads of history, archaeology, sociology, and politics. Four organizations collaborated with Pointe-à-Callière to carry out this exceptional project: the Musée du Château Ramezay, the Site historique Marguerite-Bourgeoys, the Laboratoire d’histoire et de patrimoine de Montréal (UQAM) and the library of the National Assembly of Quebec. More than 600 people attended the symposium and corresponding cultural events.

1000 Voices, 1000 Stories
The Women's History Project
Ottawa, Ontario

“1000 Voices, 1000 Stories” is an oral history project rooted in the driving ambition to advance women’s and gender equality by promoting the roles, achievements, and contributions of women throughout Canadian history. Taking the form of a video podcast series, personal stories of leading feminists and activists from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s — as well as of academics specializing in the history of women in Canada — highlight nation-shaping gender and human rights causes. With an inclusive, intersectional, and inter-generational feminist perspective, the project aims to champion these histories for new generations.

Entre le passé et le présent : des histoires oubliées de Montréal
Je suis Montréal
Pierrefonds, Quebec

Entre le passé et le présent is an artistic and educational initiative aimed at promoting the history and identity of Montreal's Indigenous, Black, and Chinese communities, often marginalized in traditional historical narratives. Young BIPOCs artistically juxtaposed their own photos with archival photos of Montreal and exhibited them in the community. They then participated in a workshop carried out in collaboration with the Musée McCord-Stewart. Reflecting on forgotten stories of Montreal's BIPOC communities, original visual compositions representing a welcoming Montreal/Tiohtiá were created from the museum's collections. A showcase honouring this work was installed at the MEM – Centre des mémoires montréalaises. Activities in collaboration with the Kahnawake archival centre, Concordia University, and Chinatown were also enhanced thanks to the project.

Memories of Immigrant Communities
Brant Theatre Workshops
Brantford, Ontario

Combining arts and heritage, “Memories of Immigrant Communities” unites and celebrates Brantford's diverse communities and takes a deep dive into the immigrant experience of various ethnic groups. Successful cultural events and digital archiving involving Jewish, Italian, Chinese, Ukrainian, and Armenian communities — with plans to expand further — include live theatre, guided walking tours of the city, curated exhibits, music, and food. Strong community partnerships with Laurier University, Brant Historical Society, and the Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre have made this recurring project possible.

Récits de vies de nos aînés franco-yukonnais
Société d'histoire francophone du Yukon
Whitehorse, Yukon

This podcast project from the Société d'histoire francophone du Yukon (SHFY) highlights and makes accessible the life stories of francophones who arrived in the territory before 1982. The initiative made it possible to record and transcribe the memories of eleven Elders established in the Yukon, particularly during a lesser known period of the Yukon francophonie: the post-war period until the creation of the Association franco-yukonnaise in 1982. A group of volunteers provided training, conducted and transcribed the interviews, created the podcasts, and prepared the launch. As part of the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, the eleven podcasts were posted online to Podbean as well as the SHFY's website. Elders and the greater community were invited to listen to the episodes during a festive event.

STEAM of the Tipi/Thípi/Niitoy-yiss/Mîkowâhp (English/Lakota/Blackfoot/Cree) Workshop
IndigeSTEAM Society
Calgary, Alberta

This project provides a hands-on way to share and teach Two-Eyed Seeing for a variety audiences. With contributions and stories from Elders and Knowledge Keepers, workshops are delivered to Indigenous youth on the land, Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth in school classes, and as professional development. Building and strengthening community ties, combining aspects of Indigenous culture with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) provides a powerful way for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to learn about/from each other.

Nos récits, notre voie / Tsi niion kwarihò:ten
Portrait sonore
Montreal, Quebec

Nos récits, notre voie is an audio documentary-style journey that unfolds along eleven stations located in Montreal between the Lachine Canal and Mount Royal Park. The stations, each comprised of a pair of spherical bronze sculptures and a lectern, have sound components activated by scanning QR codes or downloading the Portrait sonore application. Inspired by Haudenosaunee prayer — “words above all else” — the journey highlights the meeting of Indigenous and non-Indigenous worlds.
 Numerous testimonies transmit readings of history, and at each stage there are historical interpretations, ancestral stories, and personal impressions from First Nations' and settler Europeans' perspectives.

The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act
Catherine Clement (independent community curator) with support from: The Chinese Canadian Museum; UBC History/INSTRCC; UBC Library; and the Chinese Canadian Military Museum
Sechelt, British Columbia

“The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act” was a landmark, multi-phased, national project designed to uncover and commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Canada’s Chinese Exclusion Act. Created by volunteer community historian Catherine Clement, the project embodied a “community-participatory” model to mark the centennial of this dark, but largely forgotten, period in Canadian history. The crowd-sourcing and digitization of hundreds of C.I. certificates (i.e., identity documents) culminated in a powerful online archive and travelling exhibition.

Bâtisseuses : 50 ans d'engagement des femmes du Centre-Sud
Écomusée du fier monde
Montreal, Quebec

The Comité social Centre-Sud and the Centre d’éducation et d’action des femmes de Montréal (CÉAF), two pioneering community organizations, each celebrated 50 years. To mark this double anniversary and celebrate the work of activist women from the Centre-Sud and beyond, the Écomusée du fier monde set up Bâtisseuses. This project involved commemorative activities as well as a large temporary exhibition that highlighted the history of the neighbourhood's women builders. It also called for the participation of women connected to both organizations. An original work which pays tribute to the women of the Centre-Sud was created, workshops were organized, and a commemorative publication was launched.

Voices of the Grain Trade
Friends of Grain Elevators
Thunder Bay, Ontario

A multi-year oral history project, “Voices of the Grain Trade” preserves the stories of Canadians involved in the international grain trade as reflected in the work done at terminal elevators on Thunder Bay's waterfront. The Friends of Grain Elevators (FOGE) saw the 125-year esteemed history of the terminal elevators slipping away and promptly started an interview program to capture and archive a diversity of experiences — from workers who handle, weigh, and inspect grain; to elevator designers and builders; to lake and ocean shipping employees; to marketing and company heads.

Histoire Saguenay
La Pulperie de Chicoutimi – Musée régional
Saguenay (Chicoutimi), Quebec

This project was carried out by six organizations brought together by the Table des musées et archives de Saguenay: La Pulperie de Chicoutimi – Musée régional; the Société historique du Saguenay; the Musée du Fjord; the Musée de la défense aérienne; the Centre d’histoire Arvida; and the Centre historique des Sœurs du Bon-Conseil. It was based on a virtual exhibition accompanied by a special issue of Saguenayensia magazine. A quiz linked to the virtual exhibition was developed jointly by all organizations and launched as part of Heritage Week in Saguenay. The city wishes to integrate the project into a school program for young Saguenay residents and is working to realize this initiative.

Broder ses racines
PAAL Partageons le monde
Montreal, Quebec

PAAL Partageons le monde carried out a project for citizens of the Ahuntsic and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhoods in Montreal in order to discover their history and reflect on the feeling of belonging. Artist and mediator Yaen Tijerina led six embroidery sessions using old photographs, and participants were immersed in local history with a visit from historians. A guided visit of the National Library and Archives of Quebec made participants consider the process of "putting down roots," as well as their personal relationships to the territory. At the end of the project, an exhibition was held in each neighbourhood to present the embroidered photographs and accompanying testimonies. These exhibitions took place in partnership with the Société d’histoire d’Ahuntsic and the Bibliothèque Benny.