LibGuides: Canadian History: Websites

History Websites

British Columbia Archives - holdings include: government documents and records; private historical manuscripts and papers; maps, charts and architectural plans; photographs; paintings, drawings and prints; audio and video tapes; film; newspapers; and publications with a strong emphasis on the social and political history of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.
British Columbia Digital History Collections - a searchable collection of archival documents, photographs, books, and artifacts from the University of British Columbia: includes a Japanese Canadian World War II photo collection and several fishing and forestry photo collections.
British Columbia: Untold History Digital Timeline
The Komagata Maru - In 1914 a ship of immigrants from the Punjab arrived in Vancouver's Burrard Inlet: the story of the ship's fate represents a pivotal incident in the history of Canada's immigration policies. This site contains both primary documents and images as well as secondary (interpretive) material.

BC Was Awesome - YouTube channel

Cities / Towns

Surrey's History - Covers the history of the area from the First Nations occupancy through the 1970s, including information about early settler families, schools, industry, and city government
Richmond's History - A brief history of the city. See also: Richmond City Archives
Langley Heritage Society - Brief descriptions of various historical sites in the city.
Chilliwack's Chinatowns: A Story of Diversity, Racism, and Arson - reveals the contributions of British Columbia’s early Chinese residents to Chilliwack’s collective memory.

First Nations / Metis

HÚY̓AT - Our Voices, Our Land; The Heiltsuk (also formerly known as the Bella Bella) are the descendants of Heiltsuk-speaking peoples of the Central Coast of British Columbia. Heiltsuk lives, learning, and history are intertwined with the lands and seas of their traditional territory.
The Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture - This website is the most comprehensive attempt to chronicle traditional Métis history and culture on the World Wide Web and contains a wealth of primary documents – oral history interviews, photographs and various archival documents – in visual, audio and video files.

Canada's official archive: spans the entire history of Canada, and comprises materials in all media. Some, but not all, are available online.

Indigenous Collections - SFU Archives
Digital Museum Canada - click on a project of interest and read the story
Amalgamated digital source of images, stories, and experiences shared by Canada’s museums and heritage organizations.
The Canadian Letters and Images Project
An online archive of the Canadian war experience, as told through the letters and images of Canadians.
Canadian Historical Association Booklets
Short introductory information on selected topics such as "The Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada", "Janey Canuck:Women in Canada 1919-1939", "Racial Discrimination in Canada: the Black Experience" and many others.
Immigration and Ethnicity in Canada Booklets
Short booklets outlining the history of various ethnic groups in Canada.
Canada's Military Heritage
Records include muster rolls, military service files, unit war diaries, medal registers, photographic collections, documentary art and posters, as well as published sources relating to Canada's military forces
Canadian National Digital Heritage Index
An index of digitized Canadian heritage collections located at Canadian universities and provincial and territorial libraries - contains several photograph collections

Nova Scotia Archives - A very large and well organized collection of archival documents, letters, and images. Search under "Virtual" for popular topics.
Maritime History Archive - Memorial University of Newfoundland
Peel's Prairie Provinces - Peel's Prairie Provinces is a resource dedicated to assisting scholars, students, and researchers of all types in their exploration of western Canadian history and the culture of the Canadian prairies.
Archives of Manitoba - The Keystone Archives Descriptive Database is the online guide to the archival holdings of the Archives of Manitoba.
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan - The Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan is the provincial agency responsible for acquiring, preserving and making available records of significance to the history of the Province of Saskatchewan.
Our Legacy - Material relating to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples, found in Saskatchewan cultural and heritage collections.
Alberta Digitization Project - hosted by the University of Calgary

1867 & all that - the history of Canada from 1830 - 1885

Cool Canadian History - Canada's most influential events

Today in Canadian History - relays a notable event that took place on each episode’s day of release.

Ugandan Asian Migration: Forced to Flee - podcasts about South Asians who had to flee Uganda in 1972

Witness to Yesterday - Produced by the Champlain Society

Don't believe everything you read. Ask some critical questions about every website:

Who

Is the author easily identified? - check for an "About us" link
Why should I trust what they say? - check author's reputation in Google
Are they credible? - look for relevant educational qualifications and professional experience

What

What type of information is provided? - personal opinions? research findings?
Does the author cite sources so that you can verify the info? - confirm in other sources
Are the sources scholarly? - see features of scholarly journals

Why

Is the author trying to sell something? - watch especially with .com websites
Does the author or organization have a political or ideological bias, and only present one point of view? - look them up on Google

When

How current is the information? - look for sites that are updated regularly; some areas can change rapidly, e.g. medicine, law

How