Maps and Dreams of Nationhood: A (Re)View of the Historical Atlas of Canada

Abstract

Faced with the task of reviewing the final volume of the Historical Atlas of Canada, historian Roger Hall found it 'very difficult' to fault a 'gigantic xS-year, $8. 5 million interdisciplinary enterprise' published in three volumes that was 'almost by definition admirable and worthy. '• Earlier volumes of the atlas, he noted, had been acclaimed for their 'undeniable beauty as ... specimen[s] ofboth the science of cartography and the art of bookmaking. '2 They sold well despite a $95 per volume price tag. Moreover, they were said to 'have contributed hugely toward helping Canadians understand their elusive identity (and in both official anguages).' At these 'lofty levels,' it seemed to the reviewer that the Historical Atlas of Canada was a 'fair candidate for a kind of scholarly sanctification.' Perhaps o. This massive project is audacious in scope and of indubitable significance. It begins with the Last Ice Sheets that covered most of the area of contemporary Canada between •8,ooo and m,ooo •c, and ends with an isodemographic map of the country in •96• that distorts the