Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "canadian-history"
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1. Little Bird (2023)
46 min | Drama
This six episode series chronicles the cruel treatment of indigenous children.
Stars: Darla Contois, Ellyn Jade, Alanna Bale, Osawa Muskwa
Votes: 991
2. Heritage Minutes (1991– )
1 min | Short, Drama, History
A series of short films illustrating interesting moments of Canadian history.
Stars: Aidan Devine, Katherine Trowell, Steve Cumyn, Denis Lacroix
Votes: 100
3. Beans (2020)
92 min | Drama
Based on true events, Tracey Deer's debut feature chronicles the 78-day standoff between two Mohawk communities and government forces in 1990 Quebec.
Director: Tracey Deer | Stars: Kiawentiio, Rainbow Dickerson, Violah Beauvais, Paulina Alexis
Votes: 1,065
4. The Twentieth Century (2019)
90 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Determined to become the leader of the Dominion of Canada, a young W.L. Mackenzie King rises to power.
Director: Matthew Rankin | Stars: Dan Beirne, Sarianne Cormier, Catherine St-Laurent, Mikhaïl Ahooja
Votes: 1,469
5. City of Gold (1957)
22 min | Documentary, Short, History
Author Pierre Berton tells the history of his hometown of Dawson City at its heyday during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Directors: Wolf Koenig, Colin Low | Star: Pierre Berton
Votes: 337
6. Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016)
120 min | Documentary, History
The history of Dawson City, the gold rush town that had a historical treasure of forgotten silent films buried in permafrost for decades until 1978.
Director: Bill Morrison | Stars: Michael Gates, Kathy Jones-Gates, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Frank Barrett
Votes: 2,153 | Gross: $0.13M
7. Revival69: The Concert That Rocked the World (2022)
97 min | Documentary, History, Music
When a young concert promoter launches a festival in 1969 to revive the Kings of Rock 'n' Roll, unimaginable events manifest the 11th hour arrival of John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band, triggering his decision to leave the Beatles.
Director: Ron Chapman | Stars: Alice Cooper, Geddy Lee, Rodney Bingenheimer, Daniel Richter
Votes: 148
8. Battle of the Brave (2004)
PG-13 | 143 min | Drama, History, Romance
In the mid-18th Century, as England and France battle over control of Canada, an epic romance between a peasant woman and a trapper unfurls.
Director: Jean Beaudin | Stars: Noémie Godin-Vigneau, David La Haye, Juliette Gosselin, Sébastien Huberdeau
Votes: 1,364
9. Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1990)
115 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Canadian surgeon Dr. Norman Bethune (Donald Sutherland) journeys 1,500 miles into China to reach Mao Zedong's eighth route Army in the Wu Tai mountains where he will build hospitals, ... See full summary »
Director: Phillip Borsos | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Helen Mirren, Helen Shaver, Colm Feore
Votes: 414
10. Hudson's Bay (1940)
Approved | 95 min | Adventure, History, Romance
Highly fictionalized early history of Canada. Trapper/explorer Radisson imagines an empire around Hudson's Bay. He befriends the Indians, fights the French, and convinces King Charles II to sponsor an expedition of conquest.
Director: Irving Pichel | Stars: Paul Muni, Gene Tierney, Laird Cregar, John Sutton
Votes: 497
11. The Campbells (1986–1990)
Adventure, Drama, Family
Doctor James Campbell, a widower, moves to Upper Canada with his three children. Taking place during the 1830s, the family and their community deal with both adventure and misfortune.
Stars: Malcolm Stoddard, Amber Lea Weston, Eric Richards, Cedric Smith
Votes: 91
12. Being Canadian (2015)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Comedy
What does it actually mean to be Canadian? This humorous documentary, featuring interviews with a who's-who of famous media related Canadians, hopes to find the answer.
Director: Robert Cohen | Stars: Robert Cohen, Kathy Griffin, Conan O'Brien, Dan Aykroyd
Votes: 990
13. February 15, 1839 (2001)
120 min | Drama, History
French Canadians face execution after a revolt against British bureaucrats in Quebec.
Director: Pierre Falardeau | Stars: Luc Picard, Sylvie Drapeau, Frédéric Gilles, Pierre Rivard
Votes: 851 | Gross: $0.25M
14. Empress of Ireland (2012)
70 min | Documentary, History
After his disappearance on May 29, 1914, the Empress of Ireland still arouses passionate curiosity of crowds. Shipwreck disaster (there are more than twelve thousand victims), this ... See full summary »
Director: Stephan Parent | Stars: Gabrielle Alicot, Marilyn Bali, Alexis Barbe, David Batani
Votes: 35
15. Canada: A People's History (2000–2001)
120 min | Documentary, History
A dramatized comprehensive survey of the history of Canada.
Stars: Maggie Huculak, Lorne Cardinal, Nigel Bennett, Graham Greene
Votes: 336
16. René Lévesque (2006)
Biography, Drama, History
The life and career of former journalist and politician René Lévesque, from 1958 to 1970.
Stars: Emmanuel Bilodeau, Pascale Bussières, Gilles Renaud, Roc Lafortune
Votes: 78
17. Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993)
119 min | Documentary
A film account about the military 1990 siege of a Native American reserve near Oka, Quebec, Canada and its causes.
Director: Alanis Obomsawin | Stars: Jack Burning, Herbie Barnes, Alanis Obomsawin, Ethel Blondin
Votes: 482
18. Merchants of the Wild (2019– )
22 min | Documentary
Following the journey of Indigenous participants traveling and surviving as their ancestors once did, learning history and culture from Elders and Knowledge Keepers.
Stars: Falen Johnson, Michela Carriere, Caleb Kinew Nini Musgrave
Votes: 24
19. The Stork Derby (2002 TV Movie)
110 min | Drama, History
The story of a bizarre bequest of a wealthy late Canadian lawyer: the woman who birthed the most children in the City of Toronto within a certain time period would inherit a fortune in the midst of the Great Depression.
Director: Mario Azzopardi | Stars: Megan Follows, Pascale Montpetit, Terry Simpson, Kyra Azzopardi
Votes: 83
20. One Dead Indian (2006 TV Movie)
120 min | Drama, History
Stoney Point Natives assemble at Ipperwash Provincial Park for what began as a peaceful protest.
Director: Tim Southam | Stars: Eric Schweig, Dakota House, Gabrielle Miller, Gordon Tootoosis
Votes: 139
21. The National Dream: Building the Impossible Railway (1974– )
Documentary, Drama, History
A dramatized documentary about the political and engineering struggle to build Canada's first trans-continental railway.
Stars: Pierre Berton, William Hutt, Gerard Parkes, Joseph Shaw
Votes: 67
22. Nations at War (2017–2022)
22 min | Documentary
The price of survival is war
Stars: David Lyle, Erika Stocker
Votes: 15
23. The Fruit Machine (2018)
81 min | Documentary
The homosexual witch-hunt of public servants and military personnel in Canada from the 1950s through the early 1990s and its effects on the people whose lives and careers were disrupted or destroyed by it.
Director: Sarah Fodey | Stars: Johanne Boutin, Andrew Currie-Beckstead, Julie Trudel, Michelle Douglas
Votes: 74
24. Québec: Duplessis et après... (1972)
121 min | Documentary, History
A documentary about Maurice Duplessis and the quebec nationalism which to new levels after the death of this Premier of the Province of Quebec. The director used the electoral campaigns of ... See full summary »
Director: Denys Arcand | Stars: Robin Spry, Gisèle Trépanier, Denys Arcand, Robert Bourassa
Votes: 53
25. Finding Mary March (1988)
100 min | Drama, History
A Newfoundland trapper, his daughter and a photographer journey to the grave of a Beothuk princess.
Director: Ken Pittman | Stars: Andrée Pelletier, Rick Boland, Tara Manuel, Yvon Joe
Votes: 15
26. Black Life: Untold Stories (I) (2023– )
Documentary, History
Interviews to narrate the long history of anti-black racism in Canada, including police brutality and the rise of hip-hop music.
Stars: Brian Obonna, Wes Williams, Jully Black, Sandy Hudson
Votes: 20
27. Action: The October Crisis of 1970 (1974)
87 min | Documentary, History
A historical account of the French-Canadian terrorist kidnapping incident and the Federal Govt.'s response by declaring martial-law.
Director: Robin Spry | Stars: Thor Bishopric, Pierre Bourgault, Réal Caouette, Claude Charron
Votes: 117
28. Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis (2007)
TV-14 | 92 min | Drama
Indigenous sovereignty stood at the forefront of political life in Oka, Quebec in the summer of 1990 when the Mohawk Nation was forced to stand their ground and protect their sacred land from being absorbed into a land development project.
Stars: Tantoo Cardinal, Kaniehtiio Horn, Gary Farmer, Eric Schweig
29. Expo 67 Mission Impossible (2017)
68 min | Documentary
This documentary let us to relive the challenge of the men behind the 1967 Universal Exposition in Montréal, Canada. By searching trough 80,000 archival documents at the national Archives, ... See full summary »
Directors: Michel Barbeau, Guylaine Maroist, Éric Ruel | Stars: Bill Bantey, Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien, Edward Churchill, Pierre de Bellefeuille
Votes: 30
30. John and the Missus (1987)
PG | 100 min | Biography, Drama
A small Canadian town is devasted when a local mine--the town's only source of income--is closed. One man incurs the wrath of the townsmen when he stubbornly refuses the small amount of settlement money offered by the government.
Director: Gordon Pinsent | Stars: Gordon Pinsent, Jackie Burroughs, Randy Follett, Jessica Steen
Votes: 113
31. The Greatest Canadian (2004– )
Documentary, Biography, History
After listing the top 50 Canadians voted as the greatest, 10 celebrities each state their case to the viewers why they should select their top 10 member is the greatest of all.
Stars: Sook-Yin Lee, Wendy Mesley, Callum Keith Rennie, Jim Carrey
Votes: 142
32. 1943: Operazione Husky (2014 TV Movie)
73 min | Documentary
A group of Canadians set out to retrace the footsteps of the 1st Canadian Division by marching through the hills and countryside of Sicily, commemorating each stage of the battle.
Director: Giuseppe Di Tacchio | Stars: Agatino Acireale, Sheridan Atkinson, Phil Curran, Antonio Giorgi
33. Wolfe; or, the Conquest of Quebec (1914)
Drama, History
General Wolfe, appointed commander of the expedition against Quebec, comes to bid his mother goodbye. Before sailing, the general calls upon his sweetheart, Katherine Lowther. She presents ... See full summary »
Director: Kenean Buel | Stars: Guy Coombs, Helen Lindroth, Alice Hollister, Jere Austin
34. Canada Vignettes: Captain Cook (1978)
1 min | Documentary, Animation, Short
The story of Captain James Cook's discovery of the west coast of Canada and the beginning of the sea otter trade.
Director: Barry Helmer
Votes: 29
35. The Ballad of Crowfoot (1969)
10 min | Documentary, Short, History
A musical telling of the life of the Blackfoot Chief and the betrayal and fall of his tribe with the White conquest of the Canadian West.
Director: Willie Dunn
Votes: 92
36. Toy Tiger (I) (2009)
98 min | Documentary
From 1972 to 1976, Nova Scotia's Art Hafey terrorized California boxing rings with his punching power and is forever remembered as one of the most deserving fighters not to receive a shot ... See full summary »
Director: Brad Little | Star: Art Hafey
Votes: 8
37. Canada Vignettes: Prairie Promise (1980)
1 min | Documentary, Short
Revealing a pioneer woman's first impression of life on the prairie.
Star: Elizabeth Leigh-Milne
38. The Romance of Transportation in Canada (1952)
12 min | Animation, Short, History
A humourous survey of the history of the development of transportation technology in Canada.
Director: Colin Low | Star: Guy Glover
Votes: 164
39. A Past, Denied: The Invisible History of Slavery in Canada
Documentary, History | Filming
Documentary film explores how a false sense of history-both taught in the classroom and repeated throughout our national historical narrative-impinges on the present. It examines how 200 ... See full summary »
40. Meet Beau Dick: Maker of Monsters (2017)
92 min | Documentary
Meet Beau Dick gives an intimate look into the life of one of Canada's greatest artists. Beau Dick worked within an ancient tradition and rose to the ranks of international success within the white cube world of contemporary art.
Directors: Natalie Boll, LaTiesha Fazakas | Stars: Bruce Alfred, Wayne Alfred, Eric Angus, Roy Arden
Votes: 28
41. 40 Years of One Night Stands (2008 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 60 min | Documentary
The story of a small dance club that would became one of the world's premiere dance companies and the oldest continuously running ballet company in North America.
Director: Jeffrey McKay | Star: Brent Carver
Votes: 8
42. Mulroney: The Opera (2011)
Comedy, Musical
Director: Larry Weinstein | Stars: Rick Miller, Stephanie Anne Mills, Colin Mochrie, Wayne Best
Votes: 30
43. Canadiana (2017– )
Documentary, History, Talk-Show
Canadiana is a web series on the hunt for the most incredible stories in Canadian history.
Stars: Adam Bunch, Hayden Finkelshtain, Josef Beeby, Nikolai Efimov
44. Canada Vignettes: Spence's Republic (1978)
1 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The humourous history of the short lived tiny Republic of Manitobah.
Director: Brad Caslor | Stars: Len Cariou, Cliff Gardner, Brian Richardson
Votes: 49
45. Mr. Emancipation: The Walter Perry Story (2020)
60 min | Documentary, History
The life and work of Walter Perry, an African-Canadian community leader in Windsor, Ontario best known for organizing an annual grand celebration of Emancipation Day.
Director: Preston Chase
46. Dead Reckoning: Champlain in America (2009 TV Movie)
56 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography
The animated story of the great explorer, and founder of Quebec, Samuel De Champlain.
Director: Marc Hall | Stars: Kathleen Fee, Brady Moffatt
Votes: 9
47. Le choix d'un peuple (1985)
100 min | Documentary, History
Director: Hugues Mignault | Stars: Robert Bourassa, Pierre Bourgault, Claude Charron, Jean Chrétien
48. Shashin: Through the Lens of History (2012)
21 min | Documentary, Short, Biography
A personal story in which the director tells of his interest in his old family photos from the 1920's and his search for information on his great-grandfather, a Japanese-Canadian ... See full summary »
Director: Brian Clement | Star: Brian Clement
49. Remember Africville (1991)
35 min | Documentary, Short, History
Director: Shelagh Mackenzie | Star: Delvina Bernard
Votes: 8
50. Foreign Domestics: The Right to Stay (2006)
48 min | Documentary
In 1980, six foreign domestics workers from the Philippines changed the immigration and labour laws in Canada forever.
Director: Anthony Valdez Domingo | Stars: Lloyd Axworthy, Coco Diaz, Katrina Domingo, Tammy Domingo