December 2017-January 2018

December 2017–January 2018

Features

Trains of Fame

Canada’s railways have been traversed by some noteworthy trains. Some were famous, others toiled in anonymity, even secrecy. by Kevin J. Holland

Beautiful Cities

The squalor of 19th-century cities prompted planners to come up with a novel solution: green space. by Paul Weinberg.

Metis Matriarchs

Lady Lougheed and Buckskin Mary were important community builders of Canada’s pioneer West. by Doris Jeanne MacKinnon

An Unnatural Calamity

The Halifax explosion of 1917 was the deadliest disaster in Canadian history. by Ken Cuthbertson

Collecting Memories

An 1876 questionnaire offers a glimpse of early settler life on Prince Edward Island. by Alan MacEachern and Edward MacDonald

On the cover

Canadian Pacific Railway Train No.3, the Vancouver Express, drawn by Locomotive No. 2638 circa 1920s in Calgary. Library and Archives Canada.

Departments

Editor’s Note

Getting back on track.

The Packet

The beaver bill. Cutting edge. The bank of Belcourt. Interpreting the treaties. Family connection. Remembering Grenfell. Kudos to magazine archives.

Currents

The Mounties get their due. Surviving Hurricane Hazel. Lynn Gehl recalls her family’s fight for its Indigenous rights. Northern Visions.

Trading Post

A child’s toy doll doubles as a carrier for tea.

Annual Book & Gift Guide

Our 14^th annual advertising section offers a wide selection of books for Canadian history lovers.

Books

Reviews: Homespun yarns. Liberty for some. More books: Plains bison wax and wane, prolific photographer, reporting on tragedy, Santa Claus parades, infamous bootlegger, athletic fighter pilot. Read them all

Christopher Moore

The Canada 150 controversy.

Destinations

Exploring Ottawa’s Laurier House.

Roots

Cellular sleuthing, part 3.

History Matters

Bidding a fond farewell to Governor General David Johnston and a warm welcome to his successor, Julie Payette.

Album

A Second World War-era photo illustrates Canada’s determination to defeat the Nazis. Read the story