In honour of #FathersDay, here is a thread about the fathers of our Canadian Prime Ministers!
23. Pierre Trudeau (Justin Trudeau)
Pierre was Canada's 13th prime minister from 1968-1979 & 1980-1984.
Pierre & Justin are the only father and son to serve as PM of Canada.
22. Joseph Harris Harper (Stephen Harper)
Joseph Harper was an accountant for Imperial Oil. He had an avid interest in military history & meticulously researched military insignia for his 1992 book Old Colours Never Die.
21. Paul Martin Sr (Paul Martin Jr.)
One of Canada's most influential politicians, Paul Martin Sr. was a member of Parliament from 1935 to 1968. He served as a cabinet minister for three prime ministers & was heavily influential in the creation of Universal Healthcare.
20. Wellie Chretien (Jean Chretien)
Jean's father was a major influence on him. While the family grew up poor, he wanted his children to escape the working-class life. He made Jean read the dictionary as a young boy. He was also a lifelong Liberal.
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19. George Thomas Campbell (Kim Campbell)
Kim's father was born in Scotland and worked as a barrister. He had served with the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada during the Second World War.
After Kim's mother left when Kim was 12, George raised Kim & her sister.
No picture found.
18. Benedict Martin Mulroney (Brian Mulroney)
Benedict Mulroney worked as a paper mill electrician in Baie-Comeau, Quebec. He often worked overtime & also ran a repair business to earn extra money for his children to attend university.
17. Leonard Hugh Turner (John Turner)
Leonard, an English journalist, unfortunately died of a botched operation when John was still a toddler. Frank Ross, the future Lt. Governor of British Columbia, became John's stepfather in 1945 when John was 16.
16. Charles Clark (Joe Clark)
Charles was a newspaper publisher in High River, Alberta, where he established the High River Times. The newspaper still exists. Joe (pictured here as a baby) worked at his dad's newspaper in several capacities.
15. Charles-Emile Trudeau (Pierre Trudeau)
Charles-Emile worked as a lawyer and then grew a fortune by building gas stations around the Montreal area & starting the Automobile Owners' Association.
He died suddenly of pneumonia in 1935 when he was 47.
14. Edwin Pearson (Lester B. Pearson)
Edwin was a Methodist, and later United Church, minister. He later became the minister at the Aurora Methodist Church. Edwin is standing to the right. Lester's grandfather Marmaduke, also a minister, is seated.
13. William Thomas Diefenbaker (John Diefenbaker)
The son of German immigrants, William Diefenbaker worked as a teacher and had a deep interest in history and politics. Out of the 28 students in his 1903 class, four, including his son, served in Parliament.
12. Jean-Baptiste-Moise Saint-Laurent (Louis St. Laurent)
Jean was a prominent person in the village of Compton, Quebec and his home was a social centre. He owned a store in the community, ran for the Quebec Legislature in 1894 & was a staunch Liberal.
11. Henry John Bennett (R.B. Bennett)
Henry was a shipbuilder in New Brunswick, but his business did not do well and the family was often short on money. He also attempted to work as a blacksmith, merchant and farmer. He also tried to develop a gypsum mine.
10. John King (William Lyon Mackenzie King)
John was a lawyer who had a struggling practice in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. Despite barely making ends meet, he employed servants and tutors in the home. King described his father as providing a happy home.
9. Joseph Meighen (Arthur Meighen)
Joseph owned a dairy farm near St. Mary's, Ontario and Arthur said his father instilled in him the value of an education & the importance of habits of industry and thrift.
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8. Andrew Borden (Sir Robert Borden)
Andrew was a farmer. He was called by his son, a man of good ability and excellent judgement, who was calm and philosophical. He added he lacked energy & had no aptitude for affairs.
No picture found.
7. Carolus Laurier (Sir Wilfrid Laurier)
Carolus was bilingual and dynamic. He instilled in Wilfrid an interest in politics from an early age. He had several hobbies including astronomy & mathematics. He also served as mayor of the community and a local inventor.
6. Charles Tupper Sr. (Sir Charles Tupper)
Charles was the co-pastor of a Baptist Church in Amherst, Nova Scotia. He was also an accomplished Biblical scholar and wrote two books on Biblical Scriptures.
No picture found.
5. John Bowell (Sir Mackenzie Bowell)
John emigrated to Canada with his family when Mackenzie was 10. He worked as a cabinet maker and taught that trade to his son.
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4. John Sparrow Thompson (Sir John Sparrow David Thompson)
John made his son recite poetry at school ceremonies and meetings of the Halifax Mechanics' Institute in order to overcome his shyness. He also taught his son shorthand.
No picture found.
3. Joseph Abbott (Sir John Abbott)
Joseph was a prominent Anglican missionary and he wrote two books, one about emigrating to Canada and another that was his memoirs.
His great-great grandson was Christopher Plummer.
2. Alexander Mackenzie Sr. (Alexander Mackenzie)
Alexander was a carpenter and ship's joiner who moved frequently for work during the Napoleonic Wars. He died suddenly when his son was only 13, forcing Alexander to end his education to support the family.
No picture found.
1. Hugh Macdonald (Sir John A. Macdonald)
Hugh was an unsuccessful merchant in Glasgow, forcing a move to Upper Canada when John was a child. Hugh then operated a series of businesses in Upper Canada & became the magistrate for Midland District.
No picture found.
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At the border of Manitoba, Ontario and Minnesota, there is a little "blip".
It rises up above the 49th Parallel, giving the two provinces and one state access to Lake of the Woods.
But why does it exist? What created the Northwest Angle?
Let's learn more! 👇
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The Northwest Angle is farther north than any part of the Contiguous United States.
The area covers 197 square kilometres, and it all comes down to treaties negotiated between the United Kingdom and the United States centuries ago.
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In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed by the UK and USA. This treaty recognized American independence and created an agreement on the border between the USA and British North America from the Atlantic to the Mississippi.
If you grew up in the 1990s in Canada, there is a chance you played Crosscountry Canada in school.
This was a game that required you to travel Canada via semi-truck, learning about the nation you live in.
So, let's learn more about this nostalgic game!
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The game was published by Didatech Software (Ingenuity Works), based out of Vancouver. It allowed users to drive an 18-wheeler truck to pick up commodities and deliver them to cities.
Users chose the route, eat, sleep, fill up with gas and try to make the most money.
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Crosscountry Canada was actually the second in the series. The first was Crosscountry USA released in 1985. The next year, Crosscountry Canada was released for the Apple II. It was later ported to DOS in 1991.
If not for Canada, American football would look very different.
It all began on May 14-15, 1874 when the McGill Redman took on the Harvard Crimson in Boston in a two game series.
The series would change American football history forever.
Let's learn more 👇🏈
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In 1873, Harvard, which played the Boston game, challenged McGill University to a two-game series.
The Boston game had different rules including not allowing a pass unless a player was pursued, there was less tackling and limited running. A round ball was also used.
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When McGill and Harvard played their first game on May 14, 1874, it was under Boston Rules and Harvard won 3-0.
On May 15, 1874, the second game was played using the rugby rules that McGill practiced.
It ended in a 0-0 tie in front of 500 attendees at the game.
Just off the coast of Newfoundland, there are two small islands: Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
They are not part of Canada, but are a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France.
So, why are those two islands not part of Canada? Let's learn more!
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For centuries before European arrival, the Beothuk and Mi'kmaq people visited the islands.
In 1536, Jacques Cartier arrived and claimed the islands for Francis I, King of France.
It was not until 1670 that the islands became permanently inhabited by Europeans.
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In the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, France ceded the islands to Britain.
Half a century later in 1763, the Treaty of Paris saw France cede New France to Britain. Under the treaty, those two islands off Newfoundland's coast were returned to France.
Western Canada is in a heatwave right now. Where I am, it is 33 C until Thursday.
Air conditioners are going to be running a lot during the coming days, but how did settlers a century or more ago stay cool?
Let's explore how to beat the heat settler-style!
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Out in the prairie, settlers who just arrived typically built sod houses.
These unique houses, called soddies, were relatively cool in the summer. While not so great when it rained, they offered a respite from the heat of the prairie.
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Clothes were also made of natural fibres like cotton, which was much cooler in the hot weather.
Some houses were built so that the front door and back door created a cool air conduit through the house when opened.
Every so often, the idea of Guaranteed Basic Income comes up as a political topic in Canada.
In the 1970s, Manitoba conducted the Manitoba Basic Annual Income Experiment to see the social impact of a guaranteed income.
This is the story of Mincome 👇💵
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The Mincome project was funded jointly by Manitoba's NDP government under Edward Schreyer and the federal Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau.
It officially launched via a news release on Feb. 22, 1974.
The test areas were primarily Winnipeg and Dauphin.
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In Winnipeg and Dauphin, lower-income households were randomly allocated into seven treatment groups and a control group.
In the treatment groups, families received an income guarantee or minimum cash benefit according to family size.