L. R. Wilson Institute for Canadian History

The Wilson Institute has as its mission the rethinking of Canadian History within a globalization framework. This perspective involves studying the ways in which Canadians have contributed to and been influenced by transnational or supranational phenomena such as international migration, Diaspora politics, religious movements, changing conceptions of human rights, gender and civil society, popular culture, epidemics, wars, and gloabl finance and trade, to take just a few examples.

Continuous engagement with the world across many fronts has been an important factor in the shaping the unique and changing culture of Canada. External influences have been selectively absorbed, resisted and domesticated. Canada and Canadians have in turn projected images of themselves and made distinctive contrubutions to this global social, political, economic and cultural exchange. Canada, if not born global, was reared between empires and certainly has become a global entity. The Wilson Institute intends to focus its research and teaching efforts at understanding the many cultural, technological, economic and social linkages that have an impact upon our internal relations and provide the channels through which Canadians interact with the world.

The Wilson Institute for Canadian History and the L.R. Wilson Chair in Canadian History are supported by a generous donation from the Chancellor, L.R. Red Wilson, and McMaster University.