Not a Simpler Time: Rural Families and the Making of a Canadian Economy, 1700-1870

Drawing on his recent essay collection, Not a Simpler Time, McCalla makes the case for rural complexity.

Although the great majority of Canadians lived in rural communities until the early 1900s, rural life has often been dismissed as marginal to the country’s economic development. In this presentation, which draws from his new collection of essays Not a Simpler Time: Essays on Canadian Rural and Economic History (MQUP 2026), McCalla challenges this view. He argues that the strategies, skills, and work of rural families were the backbone of the economy. In making this case, he illustrates how established narratives can constrain new approaches to the past.

Highlighting the complexities of rural economies in early Canada, the growth of the colonies that joined Confederation in 1867 is shown to have relied far more on agriculture than on natural resources – a reality overlooked by proponents of the enduring staples thesis. Building on this argument revises old stories: neither the timing nor the character of Ontario’s economic growth stemmed from natural resources; the emergence of a new economic core in the colonies contradicts the perception that they were essentially an imperial periphery; and the First World War did not, in fact, transform the economy as often imagined. Most of all, a close look at the worlds of rural families reveals the complexities of lives that have often been imagined as “simple.”

Day/Time: Thursday, October 15, 3:30–5:00 pm EST.

Location:

• In-person: MacKinnon Building, Rm 132, University of Guelph
• Online: Register for the link

Questions: contact Dr. Rebecca Beausaert or Dr. Ben Bradley.