Heritage Minutes, formerly known as Historica Minutes: History by the Minute, is a series of sixty-second short films, each illustrating an important moment in Canadian history. The Minutes integrate Canadian history, folklore and myths into dramatic storylines.[1][2][3] Like the Canada Vignettes of the 1970s, the Minutes themselves have become a part of Canadian culture and been the subject of academic studies as well as parody.[4]
The Minutes were first introduced on March 31, 1991, as part of a one-off history quiz show hosted by Wayne Rostad.[5] Originally distributed to schools,[2] they appeared frequently on Canadian television and in cinemas before movies and were later available online and on DVD.[4] "Radio minutes" have also been made.[6] From 1991 to 1995 fifty episodes were released. Then beginning in 2012 new Minutes were produced in the lead up to Canada's sesquicentennial (anniversary of Canadian Confederation), that included controversial themes in Canadian history, such as the Canadian Indian residential school system.
The thirteen original short films were broken up and run between shows on CBC Television and CTV Network. The continued broadcast of the Minutes and the production of new ones was pioneered by Charles Bronfman's CRB Foundation (subsequently The Historica Dominion Institute), Canada Post (with Bell Canada being a later sponsor) Power Broadcasting (the broadcasting arm of the Power Corporation of Canada), and the National Film Board.[5] They were devised, developed and largely narrated (as well as scripted) by noted Canadian broadcaster Patrick Watson, while the producer of the series was Robert Guy Scully.[5]
In 2009 "The Historica Foundation of Canada" merged with "The Dominion Institute" to become "The Historica-Dominion Institute" a national charitable organization.[7] In September 2013, the organization changed its name to "Historica Canada".[8] While the foundations have not paid networks to air Minutes, in the early years they have paid to have them run in cinema theaters across the country.[9] The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has ruled that Heritage Minutes are an "on-going dramatic series" thus each vignette counts as ninety-seconds of a station's Canadian content requirements.[10][11]
The first sets of Heritage Minutes were released in five segments between 1991 and 2000. A set of eight new Heritage Minutes, covering military moments in Canadian history, were released in 2005.[12] Then in 2012, two new "Heritage Minutes" were created on the War of 1812, in anticipation of the war's bicentenary.[13] Then in 2014 two Minutes were released on Sir John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier, that had been filmed in and around Toronto in September 2013.[11] To honour the centenary of the start of the First World War two "Minutes" were released; one on the Winnipeg Falcons in 2014 and one on Canadian Nursing Sisters in early 2015.[14][15] In September 2015, to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Terry Fox's run to conquer cancer, Historica released a "Minute" on Fox's inspirational run.[16] February 2016 saw the release of a "Minute" on Viola Desmond, a trailblazing black female entrepreneur from Halifax who spoke out against racial discrimination in Nova Scotia.[17] On the 21st of June, 2016, the 20th anniversary of National Aboriginal Day, Historica Canada released two new "Minutes." The first tells the story of Chanie "Charlie" Wenjack, whose death sparked the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in Canadian residential schools.[18] The second, Naskumituwin, highlights the making of Treaty 9 from the perspective of historical witness George Spence, an 18-year-old Cree hunter from Albany, James Bay.[19] On October 19, 2016, Historica Canada released another Heritage Minute that shows a story about an Inuit artist named Kenojuak Ashevak. It is also the first Heritage minute that is narrated on not just its official languages (English and French) but also a third language, where this Heritage Minute is narrated in Inuktitut.[20]
A 2012 Ipsos Reid poll of 3,900 Canadians selected the five most popular Minutes.[21] Tied for first place were the episodes on Jackie Robinson and the Halifax Explosion, followed by Jennie Kidd Trout, Winnie-the-Pooh and Laura Secord.[21]
Not all of the Heritage Minutes episodes have actually aired. 85 (later 86) of them are available for viewing online (as listed below); however, an episode on Canadian Peacekeepers in Cyprus, which was pulled from broadcast shortly after its 1991 release, was not made available online through Historica Canada until 2016.[5]
Episode | Released | Description |
---|---|---|
Peacemaker | 1992 | The formation of the Iroquois Confederacy presented by a First Nations grandfather explaining the significance of the Great Peace to his granddaughter.[22] |
Vikings | 1992 | L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland is settled by Norsemen (Vikings) around the year 1000 CE.[23] |
John Cabot | 1991 | Italian navigator and explorer John Cabot discovers the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.[24] |
Jacques Cartier | 1991 | French navigator and explorer Jacques Cartier misunderstands some Natives resulting in the name Canada.[25] |
Jean Nicolet | 1992 | French coureur des bois and explorer Jean Nicolet becomes the first European to reach Lake Michigan, but thinks it's the Pacific.[26] |
Governor Frontenac | 1992 | New France, under the leadership of French governor Louis de Buade de Frontenac, repels the British invasion at the Battle of Quebec (1690) (narration was later added to this Minute in order to clarify the story).[27] |
Syrup | 1997 | A First Nations family teaches early settlers how to make maple syrup.[28] |
Laura Secord | Canadian heroine Laura Secord aids the British in the War of 1812 with an overland trek to warn of an American military advance.[29] | |
Responsible Government | 1991 | Queen Victoria decides to grant Canada responsible government after the crushing of the Rebellions of 1837.[30] |
Baldwin & LaFontaine | 1992 | Lawyer and politician Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine build interlingual cooperation.[31] |
Orphans | 1991 | French Canadian families adopt Irish orphans in the 1850s while allowing them to keep their original names.[32] |
Underground Railroad | 1991 | An African American escapes to Canada along the Underground Railroad.[33] |
Etienne Parent | Journalist and government official Étienne Parent demands equality for French and English.[34] | |
Hart & Papineau | 1995 | The efforts of politician and lawyer Louis-Joseph Papineau give full equality of religion to Jews in Canada.[35] |
The Paris Crew | 1995 | The surprise victory of the Paris Crew, a group of unheralded Canadian rowers, at the 1867 World Championships.[36] |
Joseph Tyrrell | 1992 | Geologist and cartographer Joseph Tyrrell discovers a plethora of dinosaur bones in Alberta (see Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology).[37] |
Basketball | 1992 | Sports coach James Naismith's invention of Basketball is featured.[38] |
Joseph Casavant | 1992 | Joseph Casavant, world-renowned organ maker is featured.[39] |
Emily Carr | 1992 | The art of Emily Carr is featured.[40] |
Soddie | 1991 | Prairie settlers build a house of sod (see Addison Sod House).[41] |
Midwife | 1992 | A look at the importance of midwives in early Canada.[42] |
Saguenay Fire | 1992 | The 1870 fire in the Saguenay in featured.[43] |
Sandford Fleming | Engineer and inventor Sir Sandford Fleming develops the system of international standard time.[44] | |
Nitro | A young Chinese Canadian risks his life helping to build the Canadian Pacific Railway.[45] | |
Jennie Trout | 1991 | Jennie Trout becomes Canada's first woman doctor.[46] |
Rural Teacher | 1992 | Teacher Kate Henderson sways school trustees to embrace new methods, and the event is represented in the famous painting by Robert Harris, A Meeting of the School Trustees (see image at top).[47] |
Louis Riel | 1991 | The achievements and execution of political and spiritual leader Louis Riel are featured.[48] |
Sitting Bull | Native American Chief Sitting Bull seeks refuge in Canada (starring Graham Greene as Sitting Bull).[49] | |
Les Voltigeurs de Québec | The rehearsal for the first performance of O Canada.[50] | |
Grey Owl | Englishman Archie Belaney (played by Pierce Brosnan) rises to prominence as a notable author and lecturer after he took on the First Nations identity called Grey Owl.[51] | |
Frontier College | 1997 | Frontier College educates those away from the urban centres.[52] |
Sam Steele | 1993 | Major General and police official Sam Steele (portrayed by Alan Scarfe) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police bars an unruly American (portrayed by Don S. Davis) from entering the Yukon with pistols, despite being threatened at gunpoint.[53] |
Emily Murphy | 1992 | Women's rights activist, jurist, and author Emily Murphy's (played by Kate Nelligan) quest for equal rights for women.[54] |
Myrnam Hospital | 1995 | The town of Myrnam, Alberta forms a non-denominational hospital.[55] |
Agnes Macphail | 1992 | The first woman to be elected to the Canadian House of Commons Agnes Macphail fights for penal reform.[56] |
Marconi | Inventor Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signals in Newfoundland and is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.[57] | |
John McCrae | Author, artist and physician during World War I John McCrae pens In Flanders Fields (starring Colm Feore as McCrae).[58] | |
Halifax Explosion | 1991 | Train dispatcher Vince Coleman sacrifices his own life to save a train from the Halifax Explosion.[59] |
Vimy Ridge | 2005 | General Arthur Currie prepares his forces for the successful taking of Vimy Ridge in World War I.[60][12] |
Valour Road | Three men from Pine Street in Winnipeg win the Victoria Cross in World War I, and the street's name is changed to Valour Road in their honour.[61] | |
Winnie | The bear of Canadian soldier Harry Colebourn becomes the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.[62] | |
Nellie McClung | Feminist, politician, and social activist Nellie McClung demands the right to vote in Manitoba.[63] | |
Joseph-Armand Bombardier | Inventor Joseph-Armand Bombardier and the beginnings of his passion for engineering.[64] | |
J.S. Woodsworth | Author, lecturer and social activist J. S. Woodsworth convinces Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to introduce old age pensions.[65] | |
Superman | Comic book artist Joe Shuster, en route to visit his cousin, Frank Shuster, creates Superman.[66] | |
Water Pump | Canadian Mennonites devise sustainable agriculture practices that aid the Third World.[67] | |
La Bolduc | The story of how Mary Travers becomes a famed popular singer in Quebec.[68] | |
Bluenose | The ship Bluenose an important Canadian symbol in the 1930s wins its last race.[69] | |
Wilder Penfield | How Dr. Wilder Penfield makes important discoveries in neuroscience when a patient smells burnt toast as the initial signal for an epileptic seizure, during the Montreal procedure.[70] | |
Osborn of Hong Kong | 2005 | Sgt. Major John Robert Osborn sacrifices his life to protect his men from Japanese forces during the Battle of Hong Kong in World War II, and is posthumously granted the Victoria Cross.[71][12] |
Marion Orr | Female World War II pilot Marion Orr is featured.[72] | |
Mona Parsons | 2005 | Mona Parsons, a partisan World War II Allied agent in the Netherlands escapes execution and later imprisonment by the Nazis and meets her future husband who confirms her nationality to Canadian forces liberating the nation.[73][12] |
Juno Beach | 2005 | Broadcaster Johnny Lombardi entertains his comrades in the field during a respite of the World War II D-Day taking of Juno Beach by Canadian forces.[74][12] |
Andrew Mynarski | 2005 | Pilot officer Andrew Mynarski's attempt to free his friend from a bomber turret.[75][12] |
Tommy Prince | 2005 | A eulogy is given for Tommy Prince, Canada’s most-decorated Aboriginal war veteran.[76][12] |
Home from the Wars | 2005 | Returning World War II veterans successfully agitate for increasing housing assistance.[77][12] |
John Humphrey | Legal scholar, jurist, and human rights advocate John Humphrey drafts the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[78] | |
Jackie Robinson | Baseball player Jackie Robinson joins the Montreal Royals on October 23, 1945.[79] | |
Lucille Teasdale | Surgeon Lucille Teasdale devotes her life to helping the poor in Africa.[80] | |
Marshall McLuhan | Philosopher of communication theory Marshall McLuhan coins the phrases "the medium is the message" and "global village".[81] | |
Maurice Ruddick | Miner Maurice Ruddick recounts the 1958 Springhill mine disaster.[82] | |
Nat Taylor | How Nat Taylor invents the multiplex theater.[83] | |
Pauline Vanier | The achievements of professional diplomats Georges and Pauline Vanier are featured.[84] | |
Maurice "Rocket" Richard | Hockey player Maurice Richard scores five goals and three assists for eight points in a single game.[85] | |
Stratford | A look back at the beginning of the Stratford Festival of Canada.[86] | |
Jacques Plante | Jacques Plante becomes the first NHL player to wear a goaltender mask in regular play.[87] | |
Avro Arrow | The development of the Avro Arrow (this Heritage Minute was made using footage from the 1996 mini-series The Arrow).[88] | |
Paul Emile Borduas | The art of Paul-Émile Borduas and the Quiet Revolution are featured.[89] | |
Le Reseau | Engineer Thomas Wardrope Eadie develops the Trans Canada Microwave telecommunications network.[90] | |
Flags | Lawyer, judge, and politician John Matheson looks at candidates for Canada's new flag.[91] | |
Expo 67 | The planning of the Montreal International and Universal Exposition called Expo 67 is featured.[92] | |
Inukshuk | An Inuksuk a stone landmark or cairn is built on Baffin Island.[93] | |
Dextraze in the Congo | 2005 | Brigadier-General Jacques Dextraze resolves a hostage situation in the Congo with his UN Peacekeeping forces contingent.[94][12] |
Richard Pierpoint | Richard Pierpoint was a formerly enslaved Black Loyalist who, at age 68, enlisted black men to fight in the War of 1812. Captain Runchey's Company of Coloured Men fought in a number of battles in the Niagara region and were instrumental to the war effort.[95] | |
Queenston Heights | At the Battle of Queenston Heights (October 13, 1812) Mohawk Chief John Norton and 80 Grand River warriors surprised hundreds of advancing American soldiers and skirmished with them for hours until reinforcements arrived and the battle was won.[96] | |
Maple Leaf Gardens | Considered one of the "cathedrals" of ice hockey, the construction and history of the Maple Leaf Gardens is featured.[97] | |
Sir John A. Macdonald | The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, Sir John A. Macdonald was the first Prime Minister of Canada.[98] | |
Sir George-Étienne Cartier | George-Étienne Cartier was a dominant figure in the politics of Canada East (now Quebec) overseeing its entry into Confederation.[99] | |
Winnipeg Falcons | 2014 | The Winnipeg Falcons were a senior ice hockey team that fought through discrimination and stayed together even through the First World War, on their way to winning the gold medal for Canada at the 1920 Olympics. Narrated by George Stroumboulopoulos and an appearance by actor Jared Keeso. This was the first Heritage Minute segment to extend longer than one minute.[14] |
Nursing Sisters | 2015 | Nursing Sisters commemorates the service and sacrifice of women on the front lines of the First World War through the retelling of a real event from May 1918. It is the story of two of the nearly 3000 trained nurses who served overseas. Narrated by Molly Parker and starring Siobhan Williams.[15] |
Terry Fox | 2015 | Terry Fox inspires the nation with his Marathon of Hope, a cross-country run to raise money for cancer research.[100] |
Viola Desmond | 2016 | The story of Viola Desmond, an entrepreneur who challenged segregation in Nova Scotia in the 1940s.[101] |
Chanie Wenjack | 2016 | The story of Chanie "Charlie" Wenjack, whose death sparked the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in Canadian residential schools.[18] |
Naskumituwin (Treaty) | 2016 | The making of Treaty 9 from the perspective of historical witness George Spence, an 18-year-old Cree hunter from Albany, James Bay.[19] |
Kenojuak Ashevak | 2016 | The story of Kenojuak Ashevak, an Inuit artist and a founder member of Cape Dorset’s famed printmaking co-op.[102] |
Edmonton Grads | 2016 | The story of the Edmonton Grads, a powerhouse women's basketball team. World Champions for 17 years, the Grads dominated regionally, nationally, and internationally for 25 years beginning in 1915. Dr. James Naismith called them "the finest team to ever step out onto a floor."[103][104] |
"Boat People" Refugees | 2017 | A family escapes persecution in Vietnam, traveling by boat to a Malaysian refugee camp before finding a new home in Montreal (1980).[105] |
Kensington Market | In the first animated Heritage Minute new arrivals to Canada transform a single store as it passes from generation to generation and culture to culture. [106] | |
Lucy Maud Montgomery | The Story of Lucy Maud Montgomery, who become khown around the world as author of Anne of Green Gables and 19 other novels, is narated by The Right Hon. Adrienne Clarkson. [107] |