Discover Library and Archives Canada

The hammering of the last spike into the Canadian Pacific Railway expanded access to the nation immeasurably, physically and symbolically connecting it from coast to coast. While seen as a victory in the dominant narrative of Canada, it served as a catalyst for the mass displacement of Indigenous peoples and the exploitation and even death of labourers involved in the construction

In this episode of Treasures Revealed we follow the journey of a rare document which is considered to be the first publication in English entirely about Canada, with the help of Senior Special Collections Librarian Meaghan Scanlon. Once carelessly discarded, this broadside is later discovered in an unrelated publication, miraculously preserved.

Did you know that 22% or roughly one in five Canadians under the age of 34 either hadn’t heard about the Holocaust, or were unsure if they had heard about the Holocaust? In this episode, Michael Kent delves into the significance of Raczyński’s Note, a Second World War publication regarded as the first official communication with the Western Hemisphere about the atrocities of t

In this episode we speak with Steve Moore about the most successful silent film in Canadian history, Back to God’s Country – a lusty tale of jealousy, murder and betrayal starring trailblazer Nell Shipman, Canada’s first female director. Tune in to discover why the restoration of this film received international accolades and how it projected a light on the action heroine who

In this episode we speak with Krista Cooke about the curious absence of pregnant women in photos from the birth of photography in the 19th century up to the Second World War. Tune in to learn why the photo of Anna Jorosz Krista chose as her treasure is so remarkable! *re-edited version of previous release*

In celebration of National Parks Day we have partnered with our friends at Parks Canada and have featured an episode from their wonderful new history and archaeology podcast ReCollections, in our feed. Through the remarkable lives of Madam Ruby Scott and her employees, we'll hear about Dawson's Gold Rush heyday and the boom/bust cycle of both the mining and sex work industries. At

Robert Hood was only 24 in 1821, when he participated in the 1st of the infamous Franklin Expeditions. Hood was to take navigational, geographical and meteorological observations, and to make drawings of the land and of various objects of natural history. Unfortunately, Hood would not live to see his paintings published in Franklin’s account. In this episode LAC Archivist Shane M

In the 9th episode of Treasures Revealed, LAC Curator Forrest Pass unravels the mystery of a Masonic tracing board dating back to the early 1800s.

In this episode of Treasures Revealed, Indigenous Research Archivist Elizabeth Montour relies on knowledge and instinct to decipher the story of a Kanienhkenha:ka woman she observes in a 19th century watercolour. As Elizabeth examines the painting, she imagines what life might have been like for her ancestors living in her home of Kahnawake, in a time of great transition.

In the 7th episode of Treasures Revealed we speak with Senior Archivist Christine Barrass about an extraordinary scroll, or Sefer Torah, that is part of the Shearith Israel synagogue collection held at LAC. This scroll is a document hand-written in Hebrew by a scribe and measures approximately 35 metres in length when fully unrolled. The Sefer Torah is considered to be the most val