Revisiting Human Rights in Canadian History

Through insightful essays, Revisiting Human Rights in Canadian History challenges the national myths that celebrate Canada’s inclusivity, frame this country as a global human rights leader, and minimize persistent inequalities at home. Contributors to this volume critically examine how Canadian citizens and governments have historically understood and mobilized human rights, as well as who has fought for, benefitted from, and been excluded from them.

Spanning topics such as incarceration and criminalization, women’s rights, labour movements, Indigenous sovereignty, grassroots activism, immigration, and foreign policy, this collection reflects the diversity of research driving the rapidly developing field of human rights. Both a timely intervention and call to mobilize for social justice, Revisiting Human Rights in Canadian History offers a nuanced reassessment of Canada’s history and historiography of human rights.