Chinese Canadian Life on the Railway
This resource from the Critical Thinking Consortium includes photographs taken during the building of the CPR, as well as some secondary sources on its construction.
Settling Western Canada
This database from Library and Archives Canada covers Land Grants of Western Canada from 1870 to 1930. It includes both background information, and primary sources such as maps. Note that some of the resources are only accessible on microfilm.
Women's Suffrage
Political cartoons ranging from the 1880s to 1950s, about women's suffrage in Canada.
100 Years of Loss - The Residential School System in Canada
Survivor stores, archival photographs, documents, and audio.
Note: we have the Edu-kit in the Teacher Resource Room.
The Nellie McClung Foundation
This archive has collected documents, photos, and quotes related to the history of Nellie McClung and the women's movement in Canada. See also their collected resources for educators (activities and lesson plan ideas).
Frontier Life
This digital collection of primary source documents helps us to understand existence on the edges of the anglophone world from 1650-1920. Discover various European and colonial frontier regions of North America, Africa, and Australasia through documents that reveal the lives of settlers and Indigenous peoples in these areas.
Clicking on the Document Type tab will reveal the variety of primary sources available to search.
Canadian Pamphlets and Broadsides
Provides access to the pre-1930 Canadian pamphlet and broadside holdings of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto.
Canada and the First World War
This exhibition at the Canadian War Museum includes Lesson Plans (with Primary and Secondary sources); First World War Photograph and Document Packages; Book Lists; and other recomended links.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook
From Fordham University, this sourcebook contains thousands of texts from the modern era. Choose the section you are most interested in from the list on the left side.
Abolitionist Newspapers of the 1850s
A digital collection of abolitionist newspapers. Includes the Provincial Freeman, True Royalist and Weekly Intelligencer, Voice of the Bondsman, and Voice of the Fugitive.
TVO Learn - Grade 8 History and Geography
TVO Learn is designed as a student resource, but can also be useful in the classroom. The grade 8 section includes learning activities (which will require instruction from an adult), as well as other resources for learning and prompts to apply what students have learned. Resources include videos and articles that may be useful for class instruction.
Childhood Denied: Indian Residential Schools and their Legacy
From the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, this resource includes videos, readings, and photographs.
Abolitionists of Ontario: Fugitives and Freemen
Packages about abolitionists in Ontario, includes handouts, activity sheets, assignment questions, and an answers sheet.
Resources on Treaties
Our list of Treaty resources can be found here.
Great Canadian political cartoons, 1820 to 1914 by 
Development of the Reserve System by
"Provides insight into life on First Nations reserves, how reserves are governed and the history of how these reserves were created." - Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Residential Schools by
"Discusses the history of residential schools, including why the government established them, how Indigenous children were treated, and the lasting impact on Indigenous cultures and traditions." - Provided by the publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Righting Canada's Wrongs - Residential Schools by
Canada's residential school system for aboriginal young people is now recognized as a grievous historic wrong committed against First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples. This book documents this subject in a format that will give all young people access to this painful part of Canadian history. In 1857, the Gradual Civilization Act was passed by the Legislature of the Province of Canada with the aim of assimilating First Nations people. In 1879, Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald commissioned the "Report on Industrial Schools for Indians and Half-Breeds." This report led to native residential schools across Canada. First Nations and Inuit children aged seven to fifteen years old were taken from their families, sometimes by force, and sent to residential schools where they were made to abandon their culture. They were dressed in uniforms, their hair was cut, they were forbidden to speak their native language, and they were often subjected to physical and psychological abuse. The schools were run by the churches and funded by the federal government. About 150,000 aboriginal children went to 130 residential schools across Canada. The last federally funded residential school closed in 1996 in Saskatchewan. The horrors that many children endured at residential schools did not go away. It took decades for people to speak out, but with the support of the Assembly of First Nations and Inuit organizations, former residential school students took the federal government and the churches to court. Their cases led to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the largest class-action settlement in Canadian history. In 2008, Prime Minister Harper formally apologized to former native residential school students for the atrocities they suffered and the role the government played in setting up the school system. The agreement included the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has since worked to document this experience and toward reconciliation. Through historical photographs, documents, and first-person narratives from First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people who survived residential schools, this book offers an account of the injustice of this period in Canadian history. It documents how this official racism was confronted and finally acknowledged.
Righting Canada's Wrongs: Africville by
The community of Africville was founded in the late 1800s when African Nova Scotians built homes on the Bedford Basin on the northern edge of Halifax. Africville grew to include a church, a school, and small businesses. At its peak, about 400 people lived there. The community was lively and vibrant, with a strong sense of culture and tradition. But the community had its problems. Racist attitudes prevented people from getting well-paying jobs in the city and the City of Halifax refused residents basic services such as running water, sewage disposal, and garbage collection. In the 1960s, in the name of urban renewal, the City of Halifax decided to demolish Africville, relocate its residents and use the land for industrial development. Residents strongly opposed this move, but their homes were bulldozed, and many had to move into public housing projects in other parts of the city. After years of pressure from former members of the community and their descendants, the City of Halifax finally apologized for the destruction of Africville and offered some compensation. A replica of the church was built on the site. But former residents and their descendants were refused compensation beyond what little was paid in the 1960s. Through historical photographs, documents, and first-person narratives, this book tells the story of Africville. It documents how the city destroyed Africville and much later apologized for it -- and how the spirit of the community lives on.
Righting Canada's Wrongs: the Chinese Head Tax and Anti-Chinese Immigration Policies in the Twentieth Century by
The first Chinese immigrants arrived in Canada in the mid-1800s searching for gold and a better life. They found jobs in forestry, mining, and other resource industries. But life in Canada was difficult and the immigrants had to face racism and cultural barriers. Thousands were recruited to work building the Canadian Pacific Railway. Once the railway was finished, Canadian governments and many Canadians wanted the Chinese to go away. The government took measures to stop immigration from China to Canada. Starting in 1885, the government imposed a Head Tax with the goal of stopping immigration from China. In 1923 a ban was imposed that lasted to 1947. Despite this hostility and racism, Chinese-Canadian citizens built lives for themselves and persisted in protesting official discrimination. In June 2006, Prime Minister Harper apologized to Chinese Canadians for the former racist policies of the Canadian government. Through historical photographs, documents, and first-person narratives from Chinese Canadians who experienced the Head Tax or who were children of Head Tax payers, this book offers a full account of the injustice of this period in Canadian history. It documents how this official racism was confronted and finally acknowledged.
Righting Canada's Wrongs: the Komagata Maru and Canada's Anti-Indian Immigration Policies in the Twentieth Century by
In 1914, Canada was a very British society with anti-Asian attitudes. Although Great Britain had declared that all people from India were officially British citizens and could live anywhere in the British Commonwealth, Canada refused to accept them. This racist policy was challenged by Gurdit Singh, a Sikh businessman, who chartered a ship, the Komagata Maru, and sailed to Vancouver with over 300 fellow Indians wishing to immigrate to Canada. They were turned back, tragically. Over the years, the Canadian government gradually changed its immigration policies, first allowing entry to wives and children of Indian immigrants and later to many more immigrants from India. The Indo-Canadian community has grown throughout Canada, especially in British Columbia. Many in the community continue to celebrate their Indian heritage which enriches Canadian culture.
Speaking our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation by
"Canada's relationship with its Indigenous people has suffered as a result of both the residential school system and the lack of understanding of the historical and current impact of those schools. Healing and repairing that relationship requires education, awareness, and increased understanding of the legacy and the impacts still being felt by survivors and their families. Guided by acclaimed Indigenous author Monique Gray Smith, readers will learn about the lives of Survivors and listen to allies who are putting the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into action." - Publisher's website
Grade 8 Canadian and World Studies
Nelson History 8
FC173 .C47 2017 new text
FC173 .C47 2017 teacher's guide new text
Online teaching centre: see the password page on our Education homepage.