Canada's Odyssey

Peter H. Russell is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto.

"The political scientist Peter Russell…is known for his sensitive and searching work on Canada’s indigenous communities… "- Andrew Stark (The New York Review of Books, Vol. 65, no. 12) "Canada’s Odyssey is worth reading..."- Garth Stevenson (The Canadian Historical Review Vol 99:2: June 2018) "Peter Russell has been teaching Canadian constitutional politics since the 1950s at the University of Toronto and he has given us the benefit of a lifetime’s scholarship and engagement in this brilliant book. It is thoughtful, incisively written and as accessible an account as one will ever find about our country’s political and legal history. Many books are called ‘indispensable;’ this one certainly rates that description."- Bob Rae, Canada’s History, February-March, 2018 "The value of Canada’s Odyssey is that it requires very little of the reader in advance. It offers an open and accessible path and, although it may appear somewhat daunting (given its length of 500 pages), it is a very enjoyable and engaging read. In its writing style, the book manages to walk a line somewhere between academic and popular history, which is a challenging line for any author. The informality of its tone combined with the sheer scope and detail of the project serves to reach and hold the attention of a diverse set of readers. … [A]nyone looking for some way to mark Canada’s sesquicentennial would do well to read this book." - Joshua Nichols (Literary Review of Canada, July/August 2017) "In Canada’s Odyssey, Peter Russell shows a different configuration of conquest, cession, and constitutions…Historians should heed its message…"- Elizabeth Mancke (earlycanadianhistory.ca) "This is a monumental achievement – one that will undoubtedly influence the debate over the nature of Canada itself."- Nicole C. O'Byrne (earlycanadianhistory.ca) "Hopefully Russell’s work can serve as a reminder of how far historiography of politics and society in pre-Confederation Canada has come, but also, of how far it has to go."- Donald Fyson (earlycanadianhistory.ca) "Writing an odyssey is a colossal feat, which Peter Russell has indeed accomplished in Canada’s Odyssey. Russell’s most recent exploration into Canadian political history reflects his decades of experience with Canadian constitutionalism in a time when the multinational and multicultural nature of the Canadian project is propelling a necessary revision of [Canada’s] ‘myths of origin.’"- Tracie Lea Scott, Heriot-Watt University (British Journal of Canadian Studies)

• 1. IntroductionPart 1: The Founding Pillars2. The Incomplete Conquest of New France3. The Original Partnership With Indigenous Peoples4. English-Speaking People Become the MajorityPart 2: Trying to Complete the Conquests5. Three Wars and Betrayal of Our Indian Allies6. Rebellions and the Plan to Assimilate French CanadaPart 3: Confederation7. English Canada Gets a Dominion French Canada Gets a Province and Indigenous Peoples Get Left OutPart 4: Confederation to World War II8. The Colonization of Indigenous Canada9. The Provincialization of French Canada10. The Nationalization of English CanadaPart 5: Transformation of the Pillars11.Quebec Becomes Constitutionally Radical12.Aboriginal Peoples Get a Hearing13.English-Canada Becomes MulticulturalPart 6: Seeking a Constitutional Fix14. Patriation – Quebec’s Loss, Aboriginal Gains15. The End of Mega Constitutional Politics?16. The Three Pillars Continue Their Odyssey