By Greg Scott History, as the old adage goes, is written by the victors. But now and then, the wind shifts, and a whisper from the past—half legend, half truth—becomes too loud to ignore. Such is the story of the Norse landings in North America, not in the Caribbean warmth that later drew Columbus, but…

Gary Mitchell of Victoria, Past President of British Columbia Historical Federation, passed away on 9 February 2026 in his 82nd year. He was born in Langley Township and raised on a strawberry farm. He earned a B.A. in History from UBC in 1976 and a Master of Archival Studies there in 1985. He enjoyed a…

By Greg Scott In the damp, dark woods of the Old Northwest—those deep woods that once breathed Shawnee prayers and the sounds of snapping muskets—rose a man unlike any other. He was called Tecumseh, meaning “Shooting Star,” and like a celestial body, he flashed brightly, burned brilliantly, and was gone too soon. His mission? Nothing…

Benedict Arnold’s Arduous Expedition to Quebec 1775: Visions and Realities By Barry Gough The battles of Lexington and Concord brought a military confrontation to a rapidly growing division between Americans and British. After the engagement at Bunker Hill on 17 June 1775  the dogs of war were let loose. General George Washington, the young commander-in-chief,…

By William Hardwick June 1812: The Edge of Empire By the time war was declared in June of 1812, the vast, wooded sprawl known as British North America was less a nation than a patchwork of loyalties sewn into the fringes of a crumbling empire. It was a territory claimed more by imperial ink than…

The Macdonald Question: Changing Interpretations of Canada’s First Prime Minister For generations, Sir John A. Macdonald stood unchallenged as the architect of Confederation, the unyielding force who willed a disparate collection of colonies into a nation. Schoolchildren were told of his vision, his determination, his genius for politics. His flaws—his drinking, his partisanship—were acknowledged with…

On July 1, 1867, a new nation was born, not through revolution, but through negotiation, diplomacy, and the pragmatic ambition of a handful of determined leaders. The British North America Act united the colonies of Canada (split into Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia into the Dominion of Canada, setting the foundation for…

By Tim Cook The Good Allies: A Masterful Account of Canada’s Wartime Transformation Review By Greg Scott Click to listen to Interview about THE GOOD ALLIES The Good Allies: A Masterful Account of Canada’s Wartime Transformation Review By Greg Scott Tim Cook’s The Good Allies is an enthralling examination of Canada’s pivotal role during the…