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ARCHIVED - Framing Canada:
A Photographic Memory

Archived Content

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Essays

Nation Building

Gallery - Official Histories

National archives contain both written and visual documents that illustrate the official history of a nation; as such, archives aim to preserve their cultures' institutional memories. However, when we review a country's official past, to whom and to what should we assign the most prominent place? Included in this group of photos are images commemorating large-scale historical events, political achievements and famous Canadian personalities. These are just some of the mainstream actors and events of Canada's official history; we might ask ourselves who else has been important in shaping the nation's past.

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Photograph of ten men at a table in the Parliament Buildings. Two men are shaking hands over an open document, Ottawa, 1948

Delegations from Newfoundland and Canada signing the agreement that admitted Newfoundland to Confederation
Ottawa, Ontario, December 1948
Photographer: A.J. Walsh
PA-133280
Source

Photograph of John A. Macdonald, Canada West, 1856

John A. Macdonald, later elected Canada's first prime minister
[Canada West], 1856
Photographer: unknown
C-006512
Source

Photograph of the delegates to the Charlottetown Conference in front of Province House, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, 1864

Conference at Charlottetown
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, September 1, 1864
Photographer: G.P. Roberts
C-000733
Source

Photograph of Sir Sandford Fleming and his family at a sledding party, circa 1885

Sir Sandford Fleming and family at a sledding party
Unknown location, ca. 1885
Photographer: William James Topley
C-085803
Source

Photograph, entitled QUEEN OF THE ICE, of a young woman in a skirt, sweater and skates, holding a hockey stick, 1903

"Queen of the Ice"
Unknown location, 1903
Photographer: William Elisha Maw
C-014921
Source

Photograph of a crowd of people watching a swearing-in ceremony at an outdoor location, Edmonton, Alberta, 1905

George Bulyea, Alberta's first lieutenant governor, being sworn in at the province's inauguration
Edmonton, Alberta, September 1, 1905
Photographer: G.D. Clark
PA-029060
Source

Agnes MacPhail
Unknown location, May 15, 1934
Photographer: Yousuf Karsh
PA-165870
Source

Photograph of six Iroquois Chiefs from the Six Nations Reserve reading Wampum belts, unknown location, September 14, 1871

Six Nations Iroquois Chiefs reading wampum belts
Unknown location, September 14, 1871
Photographer: unknown
C-085137
Source