9 Best Canadian History Books

Adam Shoalts tells the stories behind ten historical maps of what became Canada. He follows explorers and cartographers across centuries, examining the journeys, uncertainties, and geographical knowledge that gradually transformed European representations of the land.

A lively, opinionated history of Indigenous peoples in North America, this book looks at treaties, popular culture, law and land theft through sharp anecdotes and humour, asking how the stories settlers tell still shape policy and prejudice.

Pierre Berton reconstructs the Canadian assault on Vimy Ridge in 1917 through interviews and unpublished accounts. He examines the battle's preparation and fighting alongside the experiences of soldiers and its place in Canadian national memory.

Desmond Morton surveys Canada's past from its early peoples and European colonization through Confederation and later political and social change. His national narrative connects major events and competing interests, providing context for more specialized histories.

Will Ferguson introduces Canadian history with an irreverent account of Indigenous cultures, European settlement, and political development. This edition follows events into Paul Martin's minority government, using personalities and pivotal episodes to explain the country's changing identity.

David Hackett Fischer traces Samuel de Champlain's life as a navigator, explorer, and founder of New France. His biography examines Atlantic voyages, French court politics, and relationships with Indigenous nations while exploring Champlain's vision for a colony in North America.

James Daschuk examines disease, food supplies, and colonial policy in the Canadian Prairies. He traces how ecological changes and government decisions affected Indigenous communities and connects nineteenth-century dispossession with enduring inequalities in health and living conditions.

Richard Gwyn continues his biography of John A. Macdonald from Confederation in 1867 through the building of Canada. Political challenges and national development are interwoven with Macdonald’s family life, personal losses, and consequential decisions as prime minister.

Charlotte Gray explores Canadian identity through portraits of influential figures and the ideas they helped establish. Her account connects people such as George-Étienne Cartier, Emily Carr, Tommy Douglas, Margaret Atwood, and Elijah Harper with the country’s evolving history.