Interview with Jonathan Giles

Canada's History

This interview is part of a special series of the Teaching Canada's History podcast where we spoke with the finalists for the 2022 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching. Students seek to understand the complex legacies arising from the points of view of the Fathers of Confederation by creating a scripted dialogue between two figures of that time. Starting with a discussion on the removal of the statues of John A. Macdonald, students dig into the dominance of the Orange Order in 19th century Canadian politics and interrogate the commonalities in the treatment of Irish migrants and Métis peoples. This assists students to explain what spurred both Irish Fenians and the Métis to strike violently against the dominant political order of the Confederation era. To learn more about the Governor General's History Awards or to nominate a teacher in your community, visit CanadasHistory.ca/Awards.