In 1885, ​more than 500 Torontonians headed to the Northwest to defend settler colonialism against a Métis resistance led by Louis Riel. In this episode, we wonder why a monument to these volunteers sits at Queen’s Park, why Toronto became so interested in the prairies in the mid-nineteenth century, and what role Toronto had in settler colonialism in the West. We reflect on how the power of Toronto has always been to project outward to places far away.

Some additional resources related to today’s topics:

• Ian Radforth, "Celebrating the Suppression of the North-West Resistance of 1885: The Toronto Press and the Militia Volunteers," Histoire sociale/Social History 47, no. 95 (2014): 601–39.
• Doug Owram, Promise of Eden: The Canadian Expansionist Movement and the Idea of the West, 1856–1900 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1980).
• J. M. S. Careless, Toronto to 1918: An Illustrated History (Toronto: Lorimer, 1984).
• Jean Teillet, The North-West is Our Mother: The Story of Louis Riel’s People, the Métis Nation (Toronto: Patrick Crean Editions/HarperCollins, 2019).
• Gerald Friesen, The Canadian Prairies: A History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984).

--

Listening T.O. History is created and hosted by Steve Penfold and Louis Reed-Wood. Our artwork was made by Nethkaria, our intro music was recorded by the National Promenade Band, and our outro music was created by Holizna. Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/listeningt.o.history) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/people/Listening-TO-History/61553456499160/) for additional content and announcements, and get in touch at listeningTOhistory[at]gmail.com!

In this episode, we discuss the career of one of history’s most famous Torontonians, William Lyon Mackenzie. Those of you who know your Canadian history have probably heard of Mackenzie; in the late 1830s he famously led a failed rebellion against the government of Upper Canada. Less well known about Mackenzie, though, is that just a few years before that rebellion he actually served as the city of Toronto’s first mayor.

So in this episode, we discuss not only Mackenzie himself, but also politics in Toronto’s early history. Why did the town of York incorporate as the city of Toronto in 1834, and what did it mean to do so? What were the major issues of the day in the city? And what were the priorities of Toronto’s first government? We discuss all this and more in this episode.

Some additional resources related to today’s topics:

• Paul Romney, "William Lyon Mackenzie as Mayor of Toronto," Canadian Historical Review 56, no. 4 (December 1975): 416–436.
• F.H. Armstrong, "William Lyon Mackenzie, First Mayor of Toronto: A Study of a Critic in Power," Canadian Historical Review 48, no. 4 (December 1967): 309–331.
• Mark Maloney, Toronto's Mayors: A History of the City's Leaders (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2023).
• Michel Ducharme, The Idea of Liberty in Canada during the Age of Atlantic Revolutions, 1776–1838 (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2014).

--

Listening T.O. History is created and hosted by Steve Penfold and Louis Reed-Wood. Our artwork was made by Nethkaria, our intro music was recorded by the National Promenade Band, and our outro music was created by Holizna. Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/listeningt.o.history) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/people/Listening-TO-History/61553456499160/) for additional content and announcements, and get in touch at listeningTOhistory[at]gmail.com!

In this episode, we discuss how the initial establishment of Toronto (at the time, York) was part of a British imperial project. We also look into how decision-makers inscribed Britishness on Toronto's landscape through naming practices. We also address how this dynamic continued (but in some ways changed) over time, and how it compares to elsewhere in Canada.

Some additional resources related to today’s topics:

• Eric Arthur, Toronto, No Mean City, 3rd ed., rev. by Stephen A. Otto, repr. with new essays by Christopher Hume, Catherine Nasmith, Susan Crean, and Mark Kingwell (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003)
• E. A. Cruikshank, The Correspondence of Lieut. Governor John Graves Simcoe, with Allied Documents Relating to His Administration of the Government of Upper Canada, 5 vols. (Toronto: Ontario Historical Society, 1923–31); digital copies are available at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001445013

--

Listening T.O. History is created and hosted by Steve Penfold and Louis Reed-Wood. Our artwork was made by Nethkaria, our intro music was recorded by the National Promenade Band, and our outro music was created by Holizna. Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/listeningt.o.history) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/people/Listening-TO-History/61553456499160/) for additional content and announcements, and get in touch at listeningTOhistory[at]gmail.com!