Goodbye for now!

At Blinds.com, it's not just about window treatments, it's about you. Your style, your space, your way. Whether you DIY or want the pros to handle it all, you'll have the confidence of knowing it's done right. From free expert design help to our 100% satisfaction guarantee, everything we do is made to fit your life and your way.

Because at Blinds.com, the only thing we treat better than windows is you. Visit Blinds.com now for up to 50% off with minimum purchase, plus a professional measure at no cost. Rules and restrictions apply. This is a CBC Podcast.

Hey listeners, we have some news. Yeah, after seven seasons of covering Canadian history, we can say we covered everything. Yep, we did. And now that we have, we are stepping away and saying farewell. We've covered a lot over six seasons. Everything from the Bay Blanket. So these blankets were sought after. In fact, by the 1700s, 60% of all goods exchanged in the fur trade were blankets. Both the Europeans and indigenous people valued them because they could be used for everything.

into coats and lining for their boots. They would use them to seal doorways and windows when they didn't have enough wood or glass. People were buried in them and they were even used as like sails for boats. And because of all this, the blank... The blanket is held up as a symbol of colonial perseverance and survival. The company writes about the blanket like this. For over two centuries, the Hudson's Bay Point Blanket has been an iconic product in Canada and around the world.

It is enjoyed as much today as when it was first introduced into the fur trade in 1780. In fact, when you do a cursory glance at the history, you see the same words come up over and over. Iconic, Canadian, warmth, luxury. And hey, they are all those things. But some Indigenous communities say that the blanket brought smallpox and the disease brought devastation. We cover Jewish history in Montreal and how much food has to do with the way that we think of the city now.

It's interesting because I assume most Jewish people came to Canada after the Holocaust. I kind of thought that too and I... I think that's a common assumption. There were some who came over from the Holocaust, for sure. But there were also some who came over from Hungary in the 50s after a revolution there. Some Persian Jews from Iran, Iraq, North Africa.

spelled from places like Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria in the 80s and into the 90s. This was also when many Ethiopian Jewish folks came over. And now there are some Israeli Jews landing in Montreal. So it sounds like it's a really global affair. Totally.

And each group, you know, brought and brings their own distinct culture and foods with them. In a lot of ways, much of what people think of when they think of Jewish Montreal identity comes from the Ashkenazi people. Think about those Jewish foods that are iconic with the city, matzo ball soups. Smoked meat, bagels, those are very Eastern European Jewish foods. Oh my God, I'm so hungry already. Okay, let's get into this. Let's go with the food.

We took deep dives into a famous picture of a little boy from residential school. Of course they didn't care. He was really... a propaganda tool. And they knew no one would inquire about this boy. The people reading this report, government officials, were not going to go back to the school and go, we'd love to see this shining example of colonialism. You know, like they didn't really care either. So this terrible revelation opened up a whole set of other questions.

And I feel like the way you're looking at me right now, you already know the question that came up for me, don't you? I'm going to take a guess. Are these pictures even real? Because the longer you look at them, the more questions that they bring up for me. And like, why would we take...

the Department of Indian Affairs in the 1890s were for anything, you know, on anything factual. Exactly. We all look at this picture, and by we, I mean most of the public who's not used to deciphering historical photos. And we go, oh my gosh, that's so sad. Look, he's in the clothes that he probably arrived at school in. And then the school put him in these Western looking other clothes and that's terrible. But that's assuming he arrived at school looking like that.

And we ask questions like, what's the deal with blackface? The circus would come to town and then there would be like a Jim Crow character that would just like come out and appear. Right. And so that's how Canadians are first introduced to the minstrel show. But by the time you get into the 50s, the 1850s, I mean, I mean, everybody's it's.

it's no different it's you would see the same shows coming here it almost compare it to today it's like something's on broadway then it's off broadway and it tours it tours same idea in the 1850s onward. So as much as the tradition started in the US, it really became ingrained in Canadian culture. How so? Can you give me an example? Well, okay. So you might not know this one, but one could argue that we wouldn't have a national anthem if it wasn't for blackface.

This is a fun fact. I'm intrigued. Okay, so once there was a musician by the name of Calixa Lavallée. He was born in Quebec in the 1840s. And if you remember, Cheryl said that it was around then when minstrel shows and blackface became... became popular in Canada. Okay, for white people in the 1840s, blackface was like the reality TV of the time. Yeah, it was the equivalent of The Bachelor.

We also did a whole bunch of live shows, including the one where we tried to figure out why the rest of Canada hates Toronto. McDonald wanted it made known. He was not into this decision, so he made sure the Toronto papers printed what he thought. Hey guys, Johnny here. So you might have heard about this Ottawa becoming the capital news. You heard about this? Anybody hear about this? I just want to make it clear, I am not down for it at all.

Please still vote for me and please don't hurt me. Oh, and by the way, in the future when people are trying to tear down statues of me because I was the architect of the residential school system, just let them know I'd be okay with it. Batty old lanterns, eh? And that is exactly what happened. Exactly what he said verbatim. He said that. Yes, he did. So that was supposed to be the end of it, but...

People and politicians of the day were livid. Yeah, in fact, in a rare move for this time period, people rejected Queen Victoria's verdict. Torontonians made a decision. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! That's right. Toronto kept holding Parliament for four years. Yeah, the ego of... the city was large and we never really got over not being the capital. And although chosen in 1857, Ottawa did not hold its first session of parliament for another nine years.

And of course, we had to look at the history of Canadian snacks. Ketchup chips are Canadian, right? If they are, you can call me a proud Canadian. Canada's on point when it comes to chips. We have ketchup chips. We have all dressed, maple bacon, scallop potato, Canadian burger, whatever that is, smoking stampede. Oh my God.

Sorry, I just had to start having some chips. I like all of those. Fries and gravy, Swiss chalet sauce, poutine chips, sour cream and bacon, dill pickle, roast chicken, hickory sticks. Wait. Are those technically a chip, though? I'm going to say they are. Storm chips. What the hell are storm chips? Okay, so basically on the East Coast, when a storm is coming in, people will buy a bunch of chips so they can snack while they ride out a storm.

The term started a few years back in 2014 when Stephanie Dome, a CBC radio anchor, snapped a pic. So what do storm chips taste like? Like road salt and emergency candles? No, it's actually just like... Barbecue, salt and vinegar, dill pickle, and ketchup. So like a deconstructed all dress. I guess that would be a fancy way of saying it, yes.

And now we've covered a lot and we can officially announce we've covered it all. Yep, that's it. We did it. You're welcome. But as we wrap up, a reminder, when we started, we were just two random curious people trying to find out more about the place we live in. And so the power is now yours. If you're curious, if you still want to know more about this.

land that some now call Canada, do what we did. Ask elders. Go to the library. And most importantly, make sure there are at least three credible sources for the thing you're researching. That's very important. But this is truly a bittersweet moment. The good news is, is that there is a whole back catalog for you to check out. And yes, even in this last episode, the CBC is making us plug our back catalog.

Yes, check out the back catalog, and you can also find our first season pre-CBC on YouTube. Thank you again for listening. for your support, for your emails and letters and all the messages that we've been sent over the years. To all the teachers who use the show in your classrooms, thank you. And to all the students who had to listen to us in your classrooms, we're sorry.

The goal of this show was to not forget. So don't forget. Exactly. And thanks for listening and thanks for exploring Canada's hidden history with us. Bye. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.