The English lyrics to “O Canada” have changed numerous times to keep pace with current fashion, most recently to insert the gender-neutral line “In all of us command.” Meanwhile, the French lyrics – including the ancient-sounding “As is thy arm ready to wield the sword, so also is it ready to carry the cross” – have remained fixed since 1880. This discrepancy in the treatment of the heritage of English and French Canada is not limited to the national anthem. Looking into the federal government’s recent cancellation of four significant figures from Canada’s past, historian Larry Ostola investigates the dubious double standard being wielded by Ottawa’s history censors.

In normal times, it would be a relatively simple matter to agree on clear and factual information about the people, places and events that shaped our country’s history. But these are not normal times. In our angry and judgmental woke world, the past must be repeatedly condemned, if not erased altogether. The latest example of this skewed and politicized process comes from the federal government’s ongoing review of the plaques and official designations that commemorate Canada’s most important historical figures and sites. Taking a close look at some of the giants from our past, historian Larry Ostola considers this latest threat to Canada’s collective memory and how his discipline has been led astray by “presentism.”

History was once a collection of facts, relics and other evidence organized in ways that illuminated our past and explained our present. And museums were where we kept much of that history safe, accessible and easily enjoyed. But that’s so yesterday. Today, Canada’s museums are accused – often by their own staff and leaders – of perpetrating “Euro-centric ableist narratives of patriarchy, exploitation, colonization and heteronormativity” and must therefore be comprehensively dismantled. Larry Ostola examines the mysterious disappearance of Toronto’s popular Fort York Guard, a long-time tourist attraction, as museums across the country descend into identity politics madness.