Northwestern Ontario is a little-known region that has been central to Canada's prosperity. For many Canadians, the majestic landscape north of Lake Superior conjures up images of tourism, bears, and canoes. For others, it conjures up the phrase "hewers of wood and drawers of water." For almost everyone but its inhabitants, it represents a mythical notion of Canada that never truly existed in the past and certainly does not exist today.
In North of Superior, Michel Beaulieu and Chris Southcott explore the region's colourful history from the period before European contact through to the present. Along the way, they tell the stories of the native peoples who first lived there; the traders and adventurers who shaped the region through the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company; the politicians and workers who pushed through the CPR; the lumberjacks and miners who profited during the region's golden age; and the vibrant and diverse communities who make their home there today.
Northwestern Ontario has always symbolized wealth and adventure for Canadians. This fascinating popular history will interest anyone who wants to know more about a region that occupies an iconic place in Canada's past.
Introduction
Original Peoples to 1671
Traders and Adventurers, 1671-1821
The Sway from the Bay, 1821-1889
The Rise of New Ontario, 1889-1918
Radicals and Resource Developers: A Region on the Brink, 1919-1945
The Modern North, 1945-1985
Northwestern Ontario since the 1980s
Acknowledgements
Photographic Credits
Selected Bibliography
Index
"Save for odd references to places like Red Lake or Attawapiskat, for many of us the northwestern part of Ontario is an area of which we are barely aware...With this concise yet comprehensive volume, two Lakehead University professors attempt to fill the void in our understanding.
Like many a Lorimer published book, the work is neatly designed and fully illustrated."
- Chris & Pat Raible Ontario History Bulletin
"This fascinating popular history will appeal to anyone who wants to know more about a region that occupies a mythic place in Canada's past."
- Canada's History Magazine (formerly The Beaver)
MICHEL S. BEAULIEU is Assistant Professor and Northern Ontario specialist in the Department of History at Lakehead University.
CHRIS SOUTHCOTT is Professor of Sociology at Lakehead University and a Research Associate at Yukon College.
