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An Interview with Lorne Calvert, Premier of Saskatchewan An Interview with Ralph Klein, Premier of Alberta Jennifer Brown Sarah Carter Winter / Hiver 2005 Claude Couture Gerald Friesen A NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING, David Hall LEARNING & COMMUNICATING THE HISTORY OF CANADA Lynda Haverstock Tamara Palmer Seiler Jean Teillet John Herd Thompson Stuart Wachowicz Bill Waiser Ian E. Wilson New Frontiers in our History: 100 Years of Alberta and Saskatchewan in Confederation The Past, Present and Future $5.95 on display until December 1st, 2005 disponible jusqu’au 1er décembre 2005 Winter 2005 Hiver 3 An Interview with Ralph Klein Premier of Alberta 4 An Interview with Lorne Calvert Premier of Saskatchewan 6 Our Home and Native What? By Lynda Haverstock 7 Looking West… Looking to the Future By Ian E. Wilson 11 Edmonton Public Schools Enhancement of History Project By Stuart Wachowicz 14 Writing Western Canadian History: A Call to the Imagination By Sarah Carter 18 The Tale of Two Different Futures: Saskatchewan in 1905 and 2005 By Bill Waiser 21 The Transition to Partisanship: Alberta Political Party Platforms, 1905 By David Hall 25 A Forest of Family Trees: Rupert’s Land Root in Western Canada By Jennifer Brown 28 No Comment (Almost): 200 Years of Observations on the Métis By Jean Teillet 32 Écoles francophones et gouvernance : Le cas albertain Par Claude Couture 38 Canadianizing the Myth of the West By John Herd Thompson 42 Multicultural Alberta: A Literary Perspective By Tamara Palmer Seiler 46 Peopling the Prairies By Gerald Friesen Canadian Issues is published by Thèmes canadiens est publié par Canadian Studies Program PAST & INTERIM PRESIDENT / ANCIEN PRÉSIDENT ET INTÉRIMAIRE Hector Mackenzie, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade FRENCH LANGUAGE SECRETARY / SECRÉTAIRE DE LANGUE FRANÇAISE Nicole Neatby, St-Mary’s University ENGLISH LANGUAGE SECRETARY / SECRÉTAIRE DE LANGUE ANGLAISE CITC is a quarterly publication of the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS). It is Minelle Mahtani, University of Toronto ATLANTIC PROVINCE REPRESENTATIVE / REPRÉSENTANTE DE L’ATLANTIQUE distributed free of charge to individual and institutional members of the Association. Penny Bryden, Mount Allison University CITC is a bilingual publication. All material prepared by the ACS is published in both QUEBEC REPRESENTATIVE / French and English. All other articles are published in the language in which they are REPRÉSENTANT DU QUÉBEC Christopher Manfredi, McGill University written. Opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and do not necessar- ONTARIO REPRESENTATIVE / REPRÉSENTANT DE L’ONTARIO ily reflect the opinion of the ACS. The Association for Canadian Studies is a volun- Chad Gaffield, University of Ottawa tary non-profit organization. It seeks to expand and disseminate knowledge about PRAIRIE PROVINCES AND NORTHWEST TERRITORIES REPRESENTATIVE / REPRÉSENTANT DES PRAIRIES ET DES TERRITOIRES DU NORD-OUEST Canada through teaching, research and publications. The ACS is a scholarly society Gerald Gall, University of Alberta and a member of the Humanities and Social Science Federation of Canada. The ACS BRITISH COLUMBIA AND YUKON REPRESENTATIVE / REPRÉSENTANT DE LA COLOMBIE-BRITANIQUE ET DU YUKON is also a founding member of the International Council for Canadian Studies. – CITC est une publication trimestrielle de l’Association d’études canadiennes (AEC). STUDENTS REPRESENTATIVE / REPRÉSENTANTE DES ÉTUDIANTS ET ÉTUDIANTES Carla Peck, University of British Columbia It est distribué gratuitement aux membres de l’Association. CITC est une publication EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ACS / DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL DE L’AEC bilingue. Tous les textes émanant de l’Association sont publiés en français et en Jack Jedwab anglais. Tous les autres textes sont publiés dans la langue d’origine. Les collaborateurs DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING AND ADMINISTRATION / DIRECTEUR DES PROGRAMMES ET ADMINISTRATION et collaboratrices de CITC sont entièrement responsables des idées et opinions James Ondrick exprimées dans leurs articles. L’Association d’études canadiennes est un organisme pan-canadien à but non lucratif dont l’objectif est de promouvoir l’enseignement, la recherche et les publications sur le Canada. L’AEC est une société savante, membre de la Fédération canadienne des sciences humaines et sociales. Elle est également mem- bre fondateur du Conseil international d’études canadiennes. CITC acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Studies Programme of the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canada Magazine Fund for this project. CITC bénéficie de l’appui financier du Gouvernement du Canada par le biais du Programme d’études canadiennes du ministère du Patrimoine canadien et Le Fonds du Canada pour les magazines pour ce projet. EDITOR / RÉDACTRICE EN CHEF Leah Hendry DESIGN / GRAPHISME Bang Marketing (514) 849-2264 – 1-888-942-BANG [email protected] ADVERTISING / PUBLICITÉ [email protected] LETTERS/LETTRES (514) 925-3096 Comments on this edition of Canadian Issues? DISTRIBUTION We want to hear from you. Disticor Direct 695 Westney Road South, Unit 14 Write to Canadian Issues – Letters, ACS, 1822A, rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Ajax Ontario L1S 6M9 Montréal (Québec) H3H 1E4. Or e-mail us at <[email protected]> CITC/ACS STREET ADDRESS / ADRESSE CIVIQUE CITC/AEC Your letters may be edited for length and clarity. 1822A, rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal (Québec) H3H 1E4 Tel / Tél. : (514) 925-3094 – Fax / Téléc. : (514) 925-3095 Des commentaires sur ce numéro ? E-mail / Courriel : [email protected] Écrivez-nous à Thèmes canadiens RUN OF 2,000 COPIES / TIRAGE DE 2 000 EXEMPLAIRES Lettres, AEC, 1822A, rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal (Québec) H3H 1E4. CANADIAN ISSUES / THÈMES CANADIENS (CITC) – ISSN 0318-8442 Ou par courriel au <[email protected]> Vos lettres peuvent être CONVENTION POSTE PUBLICATION, 41006541 modifiées pour des raisons éditoriales. AN INTERVIEW WITH RALPH KLEIN Premier of Alberta What do you remember from your schooling in history and how were you affected by it? I wasn’t the best student but I have always been interested in modern history. I was fascinated by airplanes when I was young, which led to a brief stint in the Canadian Air Force. I still enjoy learning about the history of aviation, and I find Alberta’s role in that history particularly interesting. I have a good friend who served as a pilot in World War II and who has been very involved in the preservation of Alberta’s aviation history and the role the province played in the war effort. His stories, and the stories of other veterans, are a valuable way for us all to experience history. What is the event or personality in Canadian history that most inspired you or what is your favorite history book? Alberta’s centennial has encouraged me, and all Albertans, to think about the people who built our province. It would be hard to choose just one story from Alberta’s history as a personal favorite. I’m inspired by the story of Alexander Decouteau, who was Alberta’s and Canada’s first Aboriginal police officer. The story of Premier John E. Brownlee going to Ottawa in 1929 to secure Alberta’s resource rights is also a highlight. This year, Alberta gave a special centennial medallion to everyone in the province 100 years of age and older. We plan on handing out some 500 medallions, and each of those pioneers has a fascinating and inspiring story to tell. In one way or another, they all helped to shape Alberta’s history. What kind of balance should there be between provincial and national history? Between Canadian history and world history? Given the reality that we forget what we are taught in school, what should students carry away from their history class? It’s important for young Albertans to understand and be proud of where they came from, but they also need to understand how their province fits into the bigger national and international picture. Many political and economic realities we face today are rooted in history. Once you understand that history, you can begin to make decisions about the future. Students may not remember specific dates and names from their history lessons, but I hope they carry away the ability to think critically about the events of history. It’s important to think past who, what, where and when to consider why things happened. From there, you can begin to think about how past mistakes can be avoided in the future. That’s a skill you learn when you study history. 3 AN INTERVIEW WITH LORNE CALVERT Premier of Saskatchewan 1) What do you remember from your schooling in history and how were you affected by it? The history teachers I had in elementary, high school and college who had a love of history infected their students with a similar love and understanding that history shapes and informs our future. 2) What is the event or personality in Canadian history that most inspired you or your favourite history book? I was most inspired by the Medicare battle of 1962 and then-Premier of Saskatchewan, Woodrow Lloyd. Clearly, our publicly funded health care system has transformed not only Saskatchewan, but the entire country. Truly, it has become one of Canada’s defining characteristics. While today we take it for granted, the idea of Medicare was far from universally popular in 1962. As Premier, Woodrow Lloyd was tasked to lead the province through a period of tremendous turmoil, and he did so with great courage and conviction in the face of vigorous opposition from physicians in the province, and others. There’s a well-known story about Lloyd giving a speech in front of hundreds of booing, anti-Medicare doctors in Regina in 1962, which is something few politicians have ever had to experience. There are stories about his children being threatened and his home vandalized. And of course there was the province-wide physicians’ strike.