CANADA 150 teacher guides

This program is suitable for secondary grades.
Over 12 weeks, The Canadian Press published a series of multimedia packages to mark 150 years since Confederation. Crafted by a team of some of CP’s best writers, photographers and designers, these instalments focus on turning points in Canadian history and their greater impact on the country’s identity. The packages are fully responsive and work on all platforms, including desktop, tablet and mobile.

​Canada’s national news agency, The Canadian Press, is pleased to partner with Toronto Star Classroom Connection on this Canada 150 project.

how to use this resource:

There are 12 topics covered in this series. Choose the topic(s) you would like to use in your class. Have students review the multi-media content at classroomconnection.ca/150. 

A teacher guide, with additional  discussion and research points for each topic, is provided below. 

HOCKEY

Tracing the roots of Canada’s love for hockey​Beginning with Paul Henderson’s iconic goal in the 1972 Summit Series, a rapid-fire look at the history of Canada’s beloved game.
TEACHER GUIDE

​Inventions & innovation

Canadian inventors have changed the world
​From the BlackBerry to the chocolate bar, from the Canadarm and the Caesar, products created by Canadians have changed the world.
TEACHER GUIDE

​CANADA’S HISTORY WITH THE OILSANDS

How oilsands changed Alberta and Canada forever
The oilsands industry is uniquely Canadian -- one that has fuelled both economic progress and environmental outrage.
TEACHER GUIDE

ON THE ROAD

‘Ribbon of Asphalt’ binds us all
“The Wawa Four” set out in 1951 on a 17-day walk to the Soo. At their destination, they were feted as heroes and extracted promises to complete the Trans-Canada highway.
TEACHER GUIDE

THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC

Our game-changing war at sea
How the Royal Canadian Navy’s enormous expansion during the Second World War turned a tiny flotilla into a 400-ship juggernaut.
TEACHER GUIDE

the CHARTER

Charter of Rights tops list of Canadian icons
The charter. Sunday shopping. Same-sex marriage. Medical assistance in dying. No legal restrictions on abortion. Those are just some of the momentous changes Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms has wrought since it was entrenched in the newly patriated Constitution on a rainy April day 35 years ago during a black-tie signing ceremony.
TEACHER GUIDE

​Conscription crisis and quebec nationalism

The legacy of the conscription crisis of WW1
The decision to begin a draft split the country deeply on linguistic lines: almost every francophone MP rejected it while nearly every anglophone MP supported it.
TEACHER GUIDE

WOMEN'S RIGHTS

The story of Canada’s first women’s shelter
How a Toronto women's shelter had to fight for everything they gained and laid the groundwork for the problem of domestic violence to be brought to light.
TEACHER GUIDE

​CONFEDERATION

The decline of East Coast affluence
Many Maritimers will pointedly trace the region's economic decline to a specific day: July 1, 1867. That day was the beginning of the end of the "Golden Age" for three wealthy, self-governing East Coast trading powerhouses whose sailing ships ruled the seas.
TEACHER GUIDE

CANADA AS A HOTBED FOR HUMOUR

SCTV was ‘Lightning in a bottle’ for Canadian comedy
A look at how “SCTV” helped Canada secured an international reputation as a fertile breeding ground for funnymen and women.
TEACHER GUIDE

A BITTER LEGACY

Many indigenous people see little reason to celebrate
​With the legacy of residential schools and modern-day marginalization, many indigenous people wonder if the Canada’s 150th birthday is worth celebrating at all.
TEACHER GUIDE

MULTICULTURALISM

Multiculturalism
​Canada's identity has been shaped by its people, from its original Indigenous inhabitants, to its earliest settlers, to the immigrants who have arrived from all over the planet — now representing more than 250 ethnic origins, from Afghan to Zulu — to build a new life in Canada. They brought elements of their cultures with them, through their food, their dress, their prayers and language, contributing to the identity of Canada as it evolved into the diverse society it is today. It is a story that, by virtue of our history and geography, is uniquely Canadian. It is a story that allows the four children of Sen. Paul Yuzyk and his wife, Mary, to celebrate their Ukrainian heritage and yet be proudly, unquestionably Canadian. It was not always written that way.
TEACHER GUIDE