- government, First Peoples governance, political institutions, and ideologies:
Sample topics:
- forms of government and decision-making models (e.g., parliamentary democracy, constitutional monarchy, consensus, autocracy, republic, monarchy, democracy, theocracy)
- consensus-based governance (e.g., Nunavut) and First Peoples self-governance models (e.g., Sechelt, Nisga'a, Tsawwassen)
- models for classifying political and economic ideologies (e.g., linear left/right; two-dimensional, such as political compass)
- ideologies (e.g., socialism, communism, capitalism, fascism, liberalism, conservatism, environmentalism, libertarianism, authoritarianism, feminism)
- levels and branches of government:
- local, regional, territorial, provincial, federal
- executive, legislative, judicial
- Indian Act:
- Crown- and federal government–imposed governance structures on First Peoples communities (e.g., band councils)
- title, treaties, and land claims (e.g., Nisga'a Treaty, Haida Gwaii Strategic Land Use Decision, Tsilhqot'in decision)
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- elections and electoral systems:
- election campaigns
- minority and majority governments
- proposals for electoral reform and alternative election systems
- environmental, political, and economic policies:
Sample topics:
- environmental issues, including climate change, renewable energy, overconsumption, water quality, food security, conservation
- stakeholders (e.g., First Peoples; industry and corporate leaders; local citizens; grassroots movements; special interest groups, including environmental organizations)
- other considerations in policy development, including cultural, societal, spiritual, land use, environmental
- social welfare programs (e.g., health care, education, basic income)
- national programs and projects:
- national climate strategy, including carbon pricing and ending of coal-fired electricity generation
- stimulus programs, infrastructure projects
- trade agreements:
- NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement)
- Trans-Pacific Partnership
- Canadian autonomy:
-
Sample topics:
- Canada and Britain (e.g., World War I; Statute of Westminster; Constitution Act, 1982)
- Canada and the United States (e.g., free trade, bilateral defence, Montreal Protocol on acid rain)
- Canada and the world (e.g., League of Nations, World War II, United Nations, Paris Climate Agreement)
- Canada (treaties with First Peoples, Quebec sovereignty movements)
- Canadian identities:
Sample topics:
- First Peoples identities (e.g., status, non-status, First Nations, Métis, Inuit)
- Francophone identities (e.g., Franco-Ontarian, Acadian, Quebecois, Métis, bilingual)
- immigration and multiculturalism:
- immigration and refugee policies and practices
- bilingualism and biculturalism (Official Languages Act)
- multiculturalism policy (Canadian Multiculturalism Act)
- cultural identities of subsequent generations (e.g., second-generation Japanese Canadian versus Canadian of Japanese descent
versus Canadian)
- manifestations or representations :
- First Peoples arts, traditions, languages
- place-based identities and sense of belonging (e.g., Haida Gwaii versus Queen Charlotte Islands; “up North” and “back East”;
affinity for ocean air, wide-open spaces; spiritual ancestors) - media and art (e.g., CBC radio and television, Group of Seven, National Film Board, Canadian content)
- scientific and technological innovations (e.g., snowmobile, insulin)
- sports and international sporting events (e.g., hockey, Olympics)
- discriminatory policies and injustices in Canada and the world, including residential schools, the head tax, the Komagata Maru incident, and internments:
Sample topics:
- women’s rights:
- women’s suffrage, the Persons Case
- the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (RCSW)
- contraceptives and abortion
- sexism
- LGBT2Q+:
- same-sex marriage
- decriminalization of homosexuality
- LGBT2Q+ civil liberties
- sexism
- national or ethnic discrimination:
- Chinese Immigration Act
- World War I internments (e.g., nationals of German, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires, including ethnic Ukrainians)
- Denial of Jewish immigrants in interwar years
- World War II internments (e.g., Japanese, Italian, German)
- Indian Act (e.g., residential schools, voting rights, reserves and pass system, Sixties Scoop, and the White Paper)
- Africville
- political discrimination:
- persecution, detention, and expulsion of suspected agitators
- discrimination on intellectual and physical grounds:
- employment and inclusion rights
- institutionalization
- forced sterilizations
- advocacy for human rights, including findings and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission:
-
Sample topics:
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission report and calls to action (e.g., access to elders and First Peoples healing practices for First Peoples patients; appropriate commemoration ceremonies and burial markers for children who died at residential schools)
- human rights tribunals
- Canadian Bill of Rights and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Supreme Court challenges
- international declarations (e.g., UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child; UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)
- anti-racism education and actions
- First Peoples protest and advocacy movements (e.g., National Indian Brotherhood, Oka Crisis, Idle No More)
- other protest and advocacy movements (e.g., Pride, women’s liberation, inclusion)
- redress movements for historic wrongs (e.g., Japanese-Canadian Legacy Project, Truth and Reconciliation)
- federal and provincial apologies (e.g., apology for Chinese Head Tax and Chinese Exclusion Act; Chinese Historical Wrongs Consultation Final Report and Recommendations regarding head tax and discriminatory treatment of Chinese immigrants; apologies for internments, residential schools, Komagata Maru)
- domestic conflicts and co-operation:
Sample topics:
- Canadian constitutional issues:
- global armed conflicts and Canada’s role in them (e.g., World War II, Korea, Suez, Cyprus, Gulf War, Somalia, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Syria)
- non-participation in global armed conflicts (e.g., Chanak Crisis, Vietnam War, Iraq War)
- involvement in international organizations and agreements, including League of Nations, United Nations, La Francophonie, Commonwealth, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Group of Seven (G7), NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), WTO (World Trade Organization), Paris Climate Agreement, Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Agreement, Ottawa Treaty
- Meech Lake Accord
- Charlottetown Accord
- Calgary Declaration
- Quebec sovereignty:
- Quiet Revolution
- October Crisis
- Parti Québécois
- Bloc Québécois
- Bill 101
- 1980 and 1995 referenda
- First Peoples actions:
- involvement in Meech Lake Accord
- Oka Crisis, Gustafsen Lake Standoff, Ipperwash Crisis, Shannon’s Dream (Attawapiskat)
- Idle No More
- national and regional First Peoples organizations:
- National Indian Brotherhood
- Assembly of First Nations
- international conflicts and co-operation:
-
support of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)