Award Recipients

Elizabeth Freeman-Shaw and Sarah Murdoch introduce their first unit of Grade 10 history through the lens of Indigenous Issues in conjunction with the introduction and application of each of the six Historical Thinking concepts. 

Voices of the Valley, a museum exhibition developed by The Reach in collaboration with the MSA Museum Society aims to inspire visitors of all ages to explore the rich collections of historical objects, photographs, and archival materials that tell the story of the Abbotsford community through the eyes of individuals who have shaped it.

Merna Forster led the successful national campaign to have women depicted on Canadian money. Her campaign resulted in a petition of more than 73,000 names and a commitment from the prime minister to feature a woman from Canadian history on bank notes in 2018. 

The Governor General's History Award winning project, Avec les yeux d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, brings together three groups of Vaudreuil-Dorion citizens to breathe new life into the city’s old photos. 

Ms. Shergill’s project, entitled All My Relations, involved an inquiry into the historical and contemporary relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Students reflected on collective rights through an examination of treaty agreements and researched and analyzed significant events that have shaped both the past and present state of the relationship.

As part of a lesson called Shifting Commitments: Safety, Security and Sacrifice in a Changing World, Mr. Brumwell’s students use game technology to travel back to their high school during the Second World War. Learners are presented with primary source artifacts triggered through Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Quick Response (QR) codes on their mobile devices.

In Ms. Sadowsky’s classroom, her Native Studies class begins with one simple question: “Who is a Treaty person?” From this question, the entire course unveils as students relive Canadian history as part of a semester-long simulation.

A teacher at the Collège Notre-Dame de Sherbrooke, Mr. Yoland Bouchard has based his innovative pedagogy on a deep-seated desire to understand his students and to instill in them the essential historical knowledge and skills for understanding Canada's history. His musical approach – whereby the student discovers and analyzes songs in their respective historical contexts – allows adolescents to connect with their age-specific fields of interest.

Ms. Whitfield’s students took part in “Historical Thinking Missions,” where they conducted historical research and field work to learn about the history of Toronto’s St. John’s Ward. Students learned how to interpret and analyze historical photographs, fire insurance maps, tax assessment records, and census data.

Hill is best known for his masterpiece, The Book of Negroes, which has sold more than 700,000 copies, making it one of the most popular books in Canadian publishing history. The novel has been translated into French and adapted into a mini-series for television, giving its powerful message an even wider audience.