2007 Canada's History Forum

Welcome to the first National History Forum on Canadian History! Canada’s National History Society is delighted to have this opportunity to partner with TD Bank Financial Group and Carleton University to organize this unique gathering of historians, educators, and history advocates.

We are grateful to Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Michäelle Jean, Governor General of Canada for her presence today, and for encouraging us to broaden the Governor General’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History to invite other teachers and educators to explore ways to enhance how we learn and remember Canada’s past.

Don Newman Host, CBC Newsworld’s Politics Good afternoon, and welcome to Ottawa!

It seems appropriate that the first National Forum on Canadian History should happen here, on campus at Carleton University, alongside historic Rideau Canal, Canada’ newest UNESCO world heritage site.

The foresight and ingenuity of Colonel By and those who constructed the canal more than 150 years ago, led to Ottawa being designated as the capital of Canada. They may not have known then, what their work would ultimately lead to, but they had confidence and optimism that they were creating a new path that would carry them to a better, and more enriching future.

And so we too chart a new course today, perhaps one just as important for strengthening communications and exchange among Canadians today, as railroads and waterways were to those of Colonel By’s generation. We wish to extend a special word of welcome to the participants of the Teacher’s Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy, organized by the Library of Parliament. Your presence at today’s forum provides us with a truly national representation of today’s classroom teachers and we are very excited about the longer term relationship-building opportunities your involvement may provide