About this season
Heritage Minutes, also known officially as Historica Minutes: History by the Minute, are a series of sixty-second short films, each illustrating an important moment in Canadian history. They appear frequently on Canadian television and in cinemas before movies and are now also sold on DVD. The Minutes were first introduced on March 31, 1991 as part of a one-off heavily-promoted history quiz show hosted by Rex Murphy. The thirteen original short films were broken up and run between shows on CBC Television and CTV Network. The continued broadcast of the Minutes and the production of new ones was pioneered by Charles Bronfman's CRB Foundation, Canada Post Power Broadcasting, and the National Film Board. They were devised, developed and largely narrated by noted Canadian broadcaster Patrick Watson, while the producer of the series was Robert Guy Scully. In 2009 Historica merged with The Dominion Institute to become The Historica-Dominion Institute. While the foundations have not paid networks to air Minutes, they have made them freely available, and in the early years paid to have them run in cinemas across the country. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has ruled that Heritage Minutes are an "on-going dramatic series" thus each minute counts as ninety-seconds of a station's Canadian content requirements.
Episodes (25)
1. Hart & Papineau
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
The efforts of politician and lawyer Louis-Joseph Papineau give full equality of religion to Jews in Canada.
2. Paul Émile Borduas
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
The art of Paul-Émile Borduas and the Quiet Revolution are featured.
3. Pauline Vanier
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Professional diplomats Georges and Pauline Vanier fight Canadian immigration policy in an attempt to help refugees fleeing Europe in the Second World War.
4. Water Pump
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Canadian Mennonites devise sustainable agriculture practices that aid the Third World.
5. Flags
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Lawyer, judge, and politician John Matheson looks at candidates for Canada's new flag.
6. Sitting Bull
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Native American Chief Sitting Bull seeks refuge in Canada.
7. John Cabot
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Italian navigator and explorer John Cabot discovers the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and runs "aground" on a bounty of fish.
8. Winnie
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
The bear of Canadian soldier Harry Colebourn becomes the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.
9. Myrnam Hospital
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
The town of Myrnam, Alberta forms a non-denominational hospital.
10. Bluenose
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
The Bluenose, a ship out of Halifax and an important Canadian symbol in the 1930s, wins its last race.
11. John McCrae
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Author, artist and physician during World War I John McCrae pens In Flanders Fields.
12. The Paris Crew
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
The surprise victory of the Paris Crew, a group of unheralded Canadian rowers, at the 1867 World Championships.
13. Grey Owl
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Englishman Archie Belaney (played by Pierce Brosnan) rises to prominence as a notable author and lecturer after he took on the First Nations identity called Grey Owl. Adapted from the film of the same name.
14. Nat Taylor
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
How Nat Taylor invents the multiplex theater.
15. J. S. Woodsworth
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Author, lecturer and social activist J. S. Woodsworth convinces Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to introduce old age pensions.
16. Maurice "Rocket" Richard
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
December 28, 1944 was moving day for 23 year old Maurice Richard. All day he hefted furniture - including a piano - into his new house. That night he scored 5 goals and 3 assists setting an NHL record
17. Avro Arrow
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
The development of the Avro Arrow (this Heritage Minute was produced based on the 1996 mini-series "The Arrow").
18. Syrup
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
A First Nations family teaches early settlers how to make maple syrup.
19. Marion Orr
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
The story of female World War II pilot, Marion Orr.
20. Expo '67
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
The planning of the Montreal International and Universal Exposition called Expo 67 is featured.
21. John Humphrey
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Legal scholar, jurist, and human rights advocate John Humphrey drafts the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
22. Jackie Robinson
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Baseball player, Jackie Robinson joins the Montreal Royals on October 23, 1946.
23. Stratford
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
A look back at the beginning of the Stratford Festival of Canada.
24. Frontier College
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Frontier College educates those away from the urban centres.
25. Lucille Teasdale
Aired 22 May 1995 • 1 min
Surgeon Lucille Teasdale devotes her life to helping the poor in Africa.