The Sixties In Canada

An extraordinary work that brings to life the events and trends of the '60s in Canada.

Rebellious youth, the Cold War, New Left radicalism, Pierre Trudeau, Red Power, Quebec's call for Revolution, Marshall McLuhan: these are just some of the major forces and figures that come to mind at the slightest mention of the 1960s in Canada. Focusing on the major movements and personalities of the time, as well as the lasting influence of the period, Canada's 1960s examines the legacy of this rebellious decade's impact on contemporary notions of Canadian identity. Bryan D. Palmer demonstrates how after massive postwar immigration, new political movements, and at times violent protest, Canada could no longer be viewed in the old ways. National identity, long rooted in notions of Canada as a white settler Dominion of the North, marked profoundly by its origins as part of the British Empire, had become unsettled. Concerned with how Canadians entered the Sixties relatively secure in their national identities, Palmer explores the forces that contributed to the post-1970 uncertainty about what it is to be Canadian. Tracing the significance of dissent and upheaval among youth, trade unionists, university students, Native peoples, and Quebecois, Palmer shows how the Sixties ended the entrenched, nineteenth-century notions of Canada. The irony of this rebellious era, however, was that while it promised so much in the way of change, it failed to provide a new understanding of Canadian national identity. A compelling and highly accessible work of interpretive history, Canada's 1960s is the book of the decade about an era many regard as the most turbulent and significant since the years of the Great Depression and World War II.

Although the 1960s are overwhelmingly associated with student radicalism and the New Left, most Canadians witnessed the decade's political, economic, and cultural turmoil from a different perspective. Debating Dissent dispels the myths and stereotypes associated with the 1960s by examining what this era's transformations meant to diverse groups of Canadians – and not only protestors, youth, or the white middle-class. With critical contributions from new and senior scholars, Debating Dissent integrates traditional conceptions of the 1960s as a 'time apart' within the broader framework of the 'long-sixties' and post-1945 Canada, and places Canada within a local, national, an international context. Cutting-edge essays in social, intellectual, and political history reflect a range of historical interpretation and explore such diverse topics as narcotics, the environment, education, workers, Aboriginal and Black activism, nationalism, Quebec, women, and bilingualism. Touching on the decade's biggest issues, from changing cultural norms to the role of the state, Debating Dissent critically examines ideas of generational change and the sixties.

Leading Canadian artists, curators, and art historians from Douglas Coupland to Paul Bourassa look at questions of design and national identity in the 1960s.

Those who didn't live through the Sixties wonder what the fuss was all about, while many of those who were there have wrestled with how to describe and define the period. While the ultimate meaning of the Sixties remains elusive, there is no doubt that they had an immense effect on Canadians - culturally, politically, and economically. The Sixties takes a multidisciplinary approach that includes history, architecture, art, political science, and journalism. Contributors examine a range of eclectic issues - from the intersection of Joyce Wieland's artwork with Pierre Trudeau's nationalism, to the debate over the changing skylines of Toronto and Montreal, to de Gaulle's famous 1967 "Vive le Québec libre!" speech - to provide a distinctly Canadian perspective on one of the liveliest and most debated periods in modern history. Four decades after Canada's own Expo 67 "summer of love," this timely book conjures up the images, sounds, and tastes of a decade that remains an indelible part of our twenty-first century experience. Contributors include Gretta Chambers (McGill), Christopher Dummitt (Trent), Olivier Courteaux (Ryerson), Frances Early (Mount Saint Vincent), Kristy Holmes (Queen's), Marcel Martel (York), Nicholas Olsberg (Canadian Centre for Architecture), Francine Vanlaethem (UQAM), and Krys Verrall (York)."

This book for students examines a child welfare policy in Canada that began in 1951 in which Indigenous children were taken from their homes and put into the care of non-Indigenous families. These children grew up without their birth families, cultural roots and language. Many tried to run away and some died in the attempt. The taking of the children became known as the Sixties Scoop. The term “Sixties Scoop” makes explicit reference to the 1960s, but the policies and practices started before the 1960s and lasted long after. Today, Indigenous children are over-represented in the Child Welfare System across Canada in shocking numbers. Indigenous communities got organized and fought back for their children. In 1985, the Kimelman Report was released, condemning the practice of adopting Indigenous children into non-Indigenous families and for taking so many children out of their communities. In the 1990s, lawsuits were filed against the governments who had supported taking the children. In 2018 and 2019, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba apologized for their roles in supporting the adoption programs. In 2020, the Canadian government agreed to a settlement for survivors of the Scoop. Through hundreds of photos and primary documents, readers will meet many survivors of the Scoop. They’ll also learn how Indigenous communities fought back to save their children and won, and how Indigenous communities across Canada are working towards healing today.

During the “long sixties,” baby boomers raised on democratic postwar ideals demanded a more egalitarian society for all. While a few became vocal leaders at universities across Canada, nearly 90% of Canada’s young people went straight to work after high school. There, they brought the anti-authoritarian spirit of the youth revolt to the labour movement. While university-based activists combined youth culture with a new brand of radicalism to form the New Left, young workers were pressing for wildcat strikes and defying their aging union leaders in a wave of renewed militancy. In Rebel Youth, Ian Milligan looks at these converging currents, demonstrating convincingly how they were part of a single youth phenomenon. With just short of seventy interviews complementing the extensive use of archival records from ten different cities, this book claims a central place for labour and class in the legacy of the Canadian sixties.

Highlights the important people and events of the 1960's, such as the politicians, the disasters, the entertainment, and the world events.