|
About The Canadian Encyclopedia |
|
|
|
Story of TCE
Encyclopedia Staff
Partners
FAQ
The Homework Zone
The Historica-Dominion Institute
|
|
Story of the Canadian Encyclopedia
|
FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION
The great success of the first edition of The Canadian Encyclopedia has made this substantially expanded, updated, second edition possible. The response from Canadians to the 1985 edition was remarkable. If we had any doubts about the need for a reliable, comprehensive, readily accessible reference source about Canada, these doubts quickly vanished when the reviews appeared and the first edition virtually sold out in less than 3 months.
I would like to pay tribute again to some of the key people who were responsible for the evolution of the encyclopedia from a decade-long dream to a reality. All of the following made truly vital contributions: Frank McGuire, Harry Gunning, Bob Blair, Dianne Hall, Peter Lougheed, Mary LeMessurier, John S. O'Neill, Myer Horowitz, John Patrick Gillese, David Shaw, Sharon Burton, Jan Steckly, Barry Hicks and Peter Freeman. It would take many pages to simply list the names of all the key individuals who worked together for years to bring The Canadian Encyclopedia to publication. Some 5000 Canadians from the 10 provinces and the territories were involved over the 5-year period from the first editorial work to the final packaging and shipping of the first edition. The University of Alberta, from the beginning, has played a very significant role. The administration, academic staff and many others at the U of A have continually provided excellent support, co-operation, enthusiasm and encouragement.
The second edition has been 4 years in the making. Special thanks are due the Government of Alberta, Nova Corporation of Alberta, the Canada Council, the Department of Communications, the Canadian Studies Program of the Secretary of State, the Medical Research Council of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for valuable financial assistance to help support the research and editorial preparation, and the Bank of Montreal for providing the loan financing for the actual publication.
It is difficult to adequately describe and sufficiently praise the splendid efforts of our Editor in Chief, James Marsh. This encyclopedia is a lasting tribute to his abilities. The high editorial quality of the first edition was frequently praised by reviewers and this accomplishment was achieved in spite of enormous complexities and numerous unforeseen difficulties.
Special thanks for their efforts in relation to this second edition are due Tim Porteous, Kevin Hanson, Bob Young, David Durnan, Ian Cameron, Georgina Garner, Ronalds Printing, and particularly the encyclopedia staff: Sheila Birmingham, David Evans, Nancy Brown Foulds, Micaela Gates, Robyn Ross and Carol Woo and the many researchers who worked so hard to improve the encyclopedia and bring it up to date.
There will be no new edition of The Canadian Encyclopedia until 1992 at the earliest. We are now investigating the possibility of publishing an updated supplementary volume yearly or biennially. It is virtually certain that sometime in the 1990s the encyclopedia will be available via electronic means as well, perhaps with immediate updates, via your television set, home, school or office computer, telephone lines or on optical discs.
As I said in the Foreword to the first edition, our intent from the very beginning was to produce a first-class Canadian encyclopedia that would go on sale to the public at a low price so that Canadian families could afford to purchase the set for their own homes. From the thousands of generous letters we have received from across Canada it is clear that we achieved that goal and fulfilled our aspiration that Canada's new national encyclopedia would make an important contribution to our understanding of one another and to our pride in our country. For many years there has been discussion and debate about the so-called "Canadian identity." There is indeed a clearly definable "Canadian identity" and it is readily described in the pages of these 4 volumes.
Mel Hurtig
Publisher
Edmonton, Jan 1988
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
An encyclopedia must undergo revision if it is to remain current and if it is to hold its place as a reference point amid the rapid proliferation of knowledge. The second edition of The Canadian Encyclopedia is more than an "update." It is a continuation of the 5 years of intense activity that produced the first edition and reflects the many helpful comments that we have received since publication. We have taken the opportunity to increase the encyclopedia's coverage, its visual appeal, its accuracy and consistency, and its stylistic uniformity. In order to provide quicker access to information we have greatly expanded the index and have added more tables, cross-references and chronological guides. We have, naturally, taken account of recent events, but we have tried to maintain perspective on what is of lasting interest and significance. We were fortunate in having many of the results of the 1986 census and have incorporated them wherever possible, keeping in mind that statistics are only useful in context or in comparison. The present edition has been paged electronically, which allowed us to make changes right up to press time. Nevertheless, these volumes will go to press at least 6 months before they are distributed. They obviously cannot be as "up to date" as a daily newspaper; the value of a reference work is not in such currency. We have added over 500 new photographs, numerous new graphs and maps and 50 new pieces of original artwork.
Since the publication of the first edition, we have received thousands of helpful suggestions from readers all across Canada. Canadians not only know more about their country than is commonly acknowledged but also care greatly about the accuracy and fairness with which it is presented. We have added over 1700 new entries, making the list of articles more comprehensive, more regionally balanced, more interesting and more representative of men and women who have made important contributions. Nevertheless, we have guarded the objectivity and careful judgement on which the first edition was based and on which we hope to build a lasting acceptance.
We have researched thousands of questions raised by readers, and have made changes where appropriate. We have added words, phrases and paragraphs to clarify or to enrich with pertinent detail. We commissioned special reports from subject experts, read the text critically and sought help in verification from town clerks, company officials, government departments, librarians, sports organizations, university administrations and many others. Most of the authors were asked to reread their entries and provide us with updates and additional information.
Surveying the events of the past 3 years with a view to updating the encyclopedia has emphasized to us the dramatic changes that are taking place in our time. We have experienced major electoral upheavals and economic reversals. Political, sports, business and artistic careers have ended or begun. One of the longest-governing regimes of any Western nation fell as the Conservatives lost power in Ontario. A seeming Liberal hegemony at the federal level was broken as we went to press with the first edition. The Constitution, which was patriated in 1982, has undergone profound change as a result of the Meech Lake Accord, and court challenges based on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are radically altering the nature of our political culture. We sadly noted the deaths of such outstanding Canadians as E.L.M. Burns, Tommy Douglas, Claude Jutra, Margaret Laurence, Walter Gordon, Jacques Ferron, René Lévesque and Davidson Dunton. Another Canadian received the Nobel Prize and others were rumoured to be in the running as more Canadians gained world recognition. Important issues, such as free trade and tax reform, entered public debate. Mayor Jean Drapeau resigned, and Ben Johnson became the fastest man in the world.
For those of us who were involved in the intense pressures of delivering the first edition, the second edition has allowed us perspective to recognize what a grand co-operative venture the encyclopedia has been. We relied heavily on other large projects, such as the Dictionary of Canadian Biography and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, not only for their research, which was invaluable, but also for their expert advice, always generously given. We have continued to receive help and co-operation from the university community, particularly at the University of Alberta, and from many government departments and agencies, including Energy, Mines and Resources for maps and satellite images; the Directorate of History of the Department of National Defence; the Directorate of History of the Department of External Affairs; the Department of Communications; the Canada Council; Transport Canada; provincial archives across Canada; and many others. We are especially grateful to Statistics Canada, where Linda Wiebe, Lynn Brochu and others provided us with expert help. Joy Houston, Jim Burant and their staff at the National Archives of Canada have continued to help us mine their priceless store of images. No publishing project is more demanding on the production process than an encyclopedia, not only in sheer volume but also in the constant revision of proofs and pressure of time. We have benefited greatly from the commitment of all those who have helped produce these 4 volumes, particularly the staff of Printing Services, U of A. We have also enjoyed the consistent support of the library community. We benefited from the production of the French edition, under the direction of Louise Loiselle, in presenting a more complete representation of Québec. Above all, we wish to express our gratitude to the contributors who responded generously to innumerable queries raised about their entries; the encyclopedia remains their work and its standards are a tribute to their care.
A number of consultants and readers were closely associated with the staff in preparing the second edition, among whom special mention must be made of Carlotta Lemieux, whose scrupulous reading led to many improvements. Among those who acted as consultants or readers on particular subjects for the second edition are the following: Irving Abella, Anna Altmann, Alan Artibise, Michael Asch, Desmond H. Brown, Robert Fraser, Gerry Gall, David Goa, Piers Handling, Norman Hillmer, Roger C. Hutchinson, Susan Jackel, J.A. Kraulis, Daniel Latouche, Robert F. Legget, Paul-André Linteau, Martin Lynch, U.F. Matthews, Eric L. Mills, W.R. Morrison, Arthur Porter, Donald Phillipson, Alan Rayburn, Joan Powers Rickerd, Patricia Roy, N.W. Rutter, Pierre Savard, Stephen Scobie, Alan Seager, Michel Thériault, Dixon Thompson, Norman Ward and Bruce Wilkinson. Finally, special recognition must be made of the accomplishment of the staff of the first edition, particularly the senior editors, Adriana Davies, Patricia Finlay, Mary McDougall Maude, James Ogilvy and Rosemary Shipton; for this is a continuation of the work that they began.
James H. Marsh
Editor in Chief
Edmonton, Jan 1988
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| The story of the founding of Montreal is perhaps unique in history.... |
|
| Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ... |
|
|
| Evangelical Christian Church, often called the Christian Church (Christian Disciples), is a denomination stemming from ... |
|
|
| France was a colonial power in North America from the early 16th century, the age of great European discoveries and ... |
|
|
| Commencement of a transcontinental railway within 2 years and completion within 10 years were conditions of British ... |
|
|
| John Ware, cowboy, rancher (born near Georgetown, SC 1845; died near Brooks, Alta 13 Sept 1905). John Ware was born a ... |
|
|
| The repertoire of works composed in Canada in the traditions of Western art music goes back about 300 years; but by far ... |
|
|
| Sir John Alexander Macdonald, lawyer, businessman, politician, first prime minister of Canada (b at Glasgow, Scot 10 or ... |
|
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
| THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA |
|
| Mercure, Pierre. Composer, TV producer, bassoonist, administrator, b Montreal 21 Feb 1927, d in an accident near Avallon, France, 29 Jan 1966; premier prix harmony, counterpoint, deuxième prix bassoon (CMM) 1949. The ... |
|
|
