The Making of Canada is a bold reimagining of Canada’s past, presenting the nation’s evolution through the stories of twenty diverse and fascinating individuals who at critical moments in time shaped its identity.

Moving beyond the familiar names of Champlain and Macdonald, historian Greg Koabel, creator of the popular Nations of Canada podcast, shines a spotlight on lesser-known figures such as William Weston, the risk-taking merchant who gambled on Atlantic exploration, and Shingwaukonse, the visionary Ojibwe chief who pioneered resource-sharing negotiations with Canada’s government.

From Indigenous leaders to Métis trailblazers and war heroes, Koabel interweaves personal lives with pivotal moments in Canada’s journey, demonstrating how individuals struggles, regional challenges, and cross-cultural exchanges built the foundations of a modern nation. This insightful and delightfully readable book dismantles the linear narrative of Canada’s history and reveals a more complex, diverse, and multi-faceted story, connecting Canada’s past with its present in surprising and thought-provoking ways.

Greg Koabel holds a PhD from Nottingham Trent University in the field of early modern English history, and has taught European history and European politics at the University of Regina. He currently produces history podcasts, including Early Stuart England, a narrative history of England in the first half of the seventeenth century, and the Nations of Canada, an ongoing history of Canada from its beginnings. Greg lives in Toronto, Ontario.

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