Laura Neilson Bonikowsky
Laura Neilson Bonikowsky is an Alberta writer.
Laura Neilson Bonikowsky's Latest Posts
Get outta town: A traveller’s Top 10
Where it began… Two thousand years ago, the Romans, having developed paved roads and the idea of the holiday, were the earliest leisure travellers. Emperor Augustus had suppressed piracy in the Mediterranean region, making it possible to travel in relative safety. Roman emperors, scholars and the wealthy visited historic sites such as the Parthenon and […]
Canada and the birth of NATO
On April 4, 1949, Canada and 11 other countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C., to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), its mandate to “safeguard the freedom and security of member countries through political and military means.” After the Second World War, Canada had a strong economy and new confidence. It […]
Expanding security to meet growing threats
In October 2014, two soldiers, one in uniform, were the target of a hit-and-run near St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec; Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was killed. The driver fled and was shot to death by police following a high-speed chase. Two days later, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo as Mr. Cirillo stood on duty at the National […]
The day the circuses came to town
When the steamship Queen Victoria sailed into Charlottetown Harbour on Sept. 1, 1864, she was the last to arrive at the party, bringing the delegation from the Province of Canada to one of the most significant events in Canada’s history. One would expect that the ship’s arrival would have been cause for a certain amount […]
Coming to Canada: An overview of immigration history
In Statistics Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey, the ethnic origin most often selected by respondents was Canadian, reported by more than 10.5 million people. It was followed by English, French, Scottish, Irish and German. Canada is often called a land of immigrants. And it is true that all Canadians are either from somewhere else, or […]
The Arctic, country by country
Our eight-country primer takes you to each of the council’s member states and offers a breakdown of their Arctic territory, interests and claims. By Laura Neilson Bonikowsky CANADA Area: 9,984,670 sq km Population: 34,476,688 (2012) Canada’s frigid Arctic is definitely something to get hot and bothered about. It makes up more than 40 percent […]
Canada’s first Olympic gold-medalist
On the official Olympic Games website, there are two records concerning George Orton at the Paris Olympics in 1900. The records show he won a bronze medal in the 400-metre men’s hurdles and a gold medal in the 3000-metre steeplechase. The records note his country as Canada, making George Orton the first Canadian to win […]
Yonge Street: Governor Simcoe’s military road
By Laura Neilson Bonikowsky I have ascertained by a Route hitherto unknown but to some Indian Hunters, that there is an easy Portage between York and the Waters which fall into Lake Huron of not more than thirty miles in extent…. and hope to compleat (sic) the Military Street or Road the ensuing Autumn.” ~ […]
The big Pig War
The boundary between Canada and the United States was a matter of dispute between 1783 and 1872, when the issue was arbitrated by German Emperor Wilhelm I. The last portion of the boundary had been ambiguously determined by the Oregon Treaty of 1846, which extended the 49th parallel “to the middle of the channel which […]
Win, lose or draw? Mythology of the War of 1812
Two hundred years after the War of 1812 began, the war, and the question of who won, remains lodged in the Canadian tendency toward cultural mythologizing. The war was fought between Great Britain and the United States and involved Upper and Lower Canada (today Ontario and the southern portion of Quebec, respectively) and many First […]
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