Speaker:  Lianne Harris

Topic:  Canada's Growing Pains

Life in Canada between 1885 and 1918—Canada’s ‘growing pains’—was one of excitement and upheaval.   It was anything but boring!  It was a time of intense social and economic pressure that created new conditions for change.  It ’s the time when we were ‘born ’ , and ‘grew up ’ to become what we are today. It ’s also when the world realized that we were Canadians, and not an appendage of England.  Ironically, it was at this time that John A. MacDonald conceived the idea of creating ‘Canada ’ because he was afraid the Americans were going to claim it for themselves!  So, yes, the timing for this presentation is good!

Presenter Lianne Harris reconstructs a 1-hour snapshot of life typical of the times and of personalities in ways familiar and unfamiliar to us; lives full of uncertainty, disappointment, joy and hope.  Like many new adventures, it wasn ’t easy—but it was worth it.