I wish I was as positive to learn about Canada’s history when I was in school as I am today, (also got a Canadian History for Dummies book on the go). Seeing a commercial while watching This Hour Has 22 Minutes on CBC about a new mini series on how my country was formed got me excited, (enough to set the PVR anyways). Throughout each episode of Canada: The Story of Us, many well known Canadians introduce and comment on the current topic and sometimes their personal reaction to each story, (the commercial breaks included their stories from ancestry.ca). Might have been a clever advertising campaign to have played the final episode closer to Canada Day, the series ran March-May 2017. Some of the reenactments were slightly over dramatic, somewhat necessary due to the voice over but this isn’t a stage production where you have to over emphasize every action so folks in the back row can see you. A similar series (yet far more well received) was Canada: A People’s History (2000, 17 episodes) which was produced by the CBC (both French and English departments). I personally recommend The Greatest Canadian (2004) series because it was far more in depth for each story (detailing the “Top 10” Canadians) and the modern celebrities spoke on one each, (seeming more passionate about the one they had to present).

2017, G
1 Season (10 episodes)
Studio – Bristow Global Media

Links
IMDB – 5.7

Wikipedia

Spoilers
(please do not continue reading if you have not seen the show and do not want to read a spoiler)

I thought it was a great idea to have the mini series introduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Like former American President Barrack Obama and his exposure in the media, having a country’s leader in a program like this not only makes the show “cool” for young people to watch, but also legitimizes the series content. This series received some criticism due to the lack of First Nations content and not portraying the French in the same positive light as the English. It even encouraged the CBC to host live conversations online to discuss the topics that each episode was about. This series has been marketed as a history for a new generation, which may explain why some highlights are slightly off from the history books (Canada is only 150 years old eh?) and the reenactments were often glamorized (think low budget Game of Thrones with only a voice over). The series skips along from when Europeans first started visiting, the rise of economics (beavers, gold, and oil oh my), wars, and the challenges of a growing population. Shows like this inspire me to fact check, much like any historical film or one based on an actual person, and not because there isn’t facts in the program, but because it is inspiring to learn more about who did make our country great.