Don Gillmor, Author at Legion Magazine

Beaver fever

Don Gillmor — Sat, 26 Apr 2025 13:10:18 +0000

The beaver became Canada’s national symbol on March 24, 1975, when the National Symbol of Canada Act received royal assent. Castor canadensis was already a de facto emblem, found on ancient totem poles, featured on the nation’s first postage stamp, issued in 1851, and appearing on various coats of arms (Manitoba’s, Alberta’s and Toronto’s, among …

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The Maple Leaf

Don Gillmor — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 19:40:01 +0000

Canada’s Maple Leaf flag, adopted in 1964 after decades of heated debate, replaced colonial symbols to unify the nation. Once controversial, it now proudly represents Canada’s identity on the global stage.

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The Charlottetown Conference

Don Gillmor — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 14:05:30 +0000

The 1864 Charlottetown Conference was initially designed to discuss a union of the three Maritime provinces. But delegates from the Province of Canada heard about the conference and decided to crash the party. The meeting brought together strange political bedfellows and fiercely opposing viewpoints in an effort to create a country. George Brown, a morally upright Liberal …

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War measures

Don Gillmor — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 17:57:14 +0000

The War Measures Act went into law on Aug. 4, 1914, allowing the cabinet to bypass the House of Commons and the Senate and to rule by decree in the event of “war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended.” It is the last word in this definition that caused the most problems. If cabinet perceived anyone …

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Tinker Tailor Soldier CSIS

Don Gillmor — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 18:00:53 +0000

The spy business is a complex, often dirty, game.

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Jacques Cartier finds Newfoundland

Don Gillmor — Wed, 01 May 2024 14:15:03 +0000

The early part of the race to the New World involved mainly the Spanish and the English, though England dropped out of the effort after John Cabot’s 1497 trip to Newfoundland. It was too preoccupied at home with religious strife, wars and domestic politics. The Spanish, meanwhile, had success in the southern hemisphere, claiming territory and bringing back …

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Tommy Prince

Don Gillmor — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 18:45:08 +0000

In 1968, Hollywood made a movie about the Devil’s Brigade, the name German soldiers gave to the elite Canada-U.S. First Special Service Force. Tommy Prince was part of that legendary unit, portrayed in the film as “Chief.” Born in a tent in Petersfield, in Manitoba’s Interlake region, Prince was from the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation and …

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Lights. Camera. Action?

Don Gillmor — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 14:32:42 +0000

Before Canadian-born movie director James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic) there was James Freer, Canada’s first filmmaker. Born in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, Freer moved to Manitoba in 1888, settling on a farm near Brandon, some 200 kilometres west of Winnipeg. He bought an Edison camera and projector and began making films. The Prairies were still relatively unpopulated …

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das Blutbad

Don Gillmor — Thu, 27 Jul 2023 19:32:59 +0000

The Battle of the Somme would become known as one of the bloodiest and most futile military campaigns in history. For two years, there had been a stalemate along the trenches of the Western Front, with both the Allies and Germans firmly dug in. The idea to launch a massive offensive to break the deadlock …

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The Queen’s own pirate

Don Gillmor — Thu, 18 May 2023 15:16:36 +0000

In the sixteenth century, Spain was the dominant force of global exploration; they had established colonies in the Caribbean, Mexico and as far north as Florida. The British, meanwhile, were reduced to claiming other nation’s explorers as their own (Italian Giovanni Caboto became John Cabot). London was content with itself and had little interest in …

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