In addition to the 17 hours each of French and English documentary, the program was accompanied by a two-volume book set, which used many of the archival images researchers had collected for the series; a CD recording of the series’ original score; and a still-existing website addressed primarily to school children as an accompanying resource to the VHS and DVD versions of the series, which are themselves, according to the CBC, found in 80 percent of Canadian classrooms. These accompanying elements have in their own ways been as successful as the broadcast of the series itself, inasmuch as they made a significant impact on the national culture in Canada, with the book set, for example, achieving best-seller status, and—arguably due to the judgment of many historians as to the relative soundness of the version of history presented by the series, notwithstanding the numerous dissenting voices—with the educational and entertainment value of the production spurring strong sales of the VHS and DVD packages.

The chief problem posed by historical documentary, selection and omission, was especially acute for the producers of Canada: A People’s History because of the enormity of a subject called “the history of Canada.” Acknowledging this problem from the beginning of the undertaking, the series producers made much of their efforts toward inclusivity, especially as the historical treatment of Canada’s native peoples, women, and ethnic minorities was concerned, and it was the issue of historical “accuracy,” filtered through the lens of an inclusive “people’s history,” that dominated the significant discourse, both academic and in the popular press, that surrounded the series.

The history of Canada is presented in the series through means of reenactment; heavy reliance on archival images, including maps, drawings, paintings, photographs, and moving images; and narration and dialogue drawn only from words documented to have been written or spoken by actual historical figures—that is, without any “talking head” interviews or mediated commentary on the events, words, and images presented. While the narrative of the history presented is organized chronologically, a thematic organizational structure meant that there are temporal overlaps from episode to episode, whereby, for example, episode six, “The Pathfinders,” covering the period 1670 to 1850, is concerned with the exploration of the continent, while episode seven, “Rebellion and Reform,” covers the overlapping period 1815 to 1850 and is concerned with governance in the colonies of British North America, and especially with the rebellions that lead eventually to colonial self-rule.

Typical of historical surveys, the more distant past receives less attention than more contemporary events; thus, “When the World Began,” the first episode, covers by far the largest swath of time (from the prehistory period, beginning about 15,000 B.C., up until European contact with the aboriginal peoples) while subsequent episodes generally cover much smaller time periods, with the last episode, “In an Uncertain World,” covering a mere 14 years, 1976 to 1990.

The series pays significant attention to those historical moments generally held to have been formative for the nation, including the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the west to British Columbia and Canada’s participation in World War I, with the nation’s disproportionately high casualties seen as indicative of the maturation of the new country into a full participant in world affairs. Other important historical events, such as the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and the conscription crisis of World War II, also receive due treatment, and some of the nation’s more shameful moments are also aired, such as the virulent racism and anti-Semitism that has in fected the nation.

The high profile of the series at the time of its original broadcast, and even the very fact of its existence on such a grand scale, can perhaps be attributed to an increasing sense of popular nationalism, especially as felt and expressed by young people, during the period. Canadian popular music and advertising of the period can be seen as examples of surging national pride, of which the grand production and broadcast of Canada: A People’s History was a part.

Mark Starowicz, the series’ executive producer, was a well-known figure in Canadian broadcasting and was the creator of a handful of very successful programs for the CBC including the innovative current-affairs radio program “As It Happens” and the popular and successful reorganization of the CBC television news into two connected parts, The National, the nightly newscast, and The Journal, a current-affairs segment that followed the newscast with interviews and/or news documentaries. Starowicz’s reputation as a successful broadcast innovator and his devotion to the project was probably a contributing factor of the CBC management’s decision to risk such a huge undertaking.