P.E.I. historian Ed MacDonald 'gobsmacked' to be named to the Order of Canada

CBC

December 28, 2023 at 3:36 p.m.·5 min read

'Nobody in my family ever would listen to a word I said because I was the kid, so to be named to the Order of Canada seems completely implausible, and yet it’s happened,' says P.E.I. historian and author Ed MacDonald. (Laura Meader/CBC - image credit)

P.E.I. historian Ed MacDonald is no stranger to getting calls from the office of the Governor General.

The one he received earlier this year was different, though. The person on the other end of the line was telling him that he was being made a member of the Order of Canada.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon announced 78 new appointments on Thursday, a list that includes activists, authors, artists, journalists, Indigenous leaders and other accomplished Canadians.

MacDonald, 66, is the only Prince Edward Islander to receive the honour this year.

"I occasionally hear from the office when they're checking a nominee to see whether or not anyone in the same area of work deserves the Order of Canada, so when I got a message from the office of the Governor General, I just presumed it was a reference check," he said.

"When they said no, this time the call was for me, I was gobsmacked."

Fredericton playwright Norman Foster, businessman Gerry Pond of Rothesay, and Moncton entrepreneur Wesley Armour are the new appointees from New Brunswick. Foster, Pond, and Armour will receive their insignia at a ceremony in Ottawa at a later date.

A close-up of an Order of Canada medallion hanging from a ribbon, showing the order's motto 'Desiderantes meliorem patriem,' Latin for 'they desire a better country.' (CBC)

The well-known UPEI professor and historian, often referred to as "Dr. Ed" by his students, grew up in Newport, P.E.I.

A voracious reader when he was young, MacDonald was studying for his undergraduate degree at UPEI in the 1970s when he began to think about history from a more local perspective.

"The history that I loved was knights and castles and battles and things that happened far away, and it wasn't until I was in university that I came to realize history was also a thing that happened right next door, that happened at home," he said.

"If there's a legacy to leave, it's not just the work itself, but a conviction that knowing our own past is important for us as a province."

I've never been interested in just being an academic speaking to other academics. — Ed MacDonald

After graduating from UPEI in 1978, MacDonald went on to complete a master's degree before earning a PhD from Queens University in 1984.

Over the course of his career, he has written, compiled, edited or co-edited 11 books and produced several dozen scholarly articles.

The citation from the Governor General's office says MacDonald's appointment to the Order of Canada is for "his leadership as a historian and scholar of Prince Edward Island, and for his mentorship of tomorrow's heritage conservationists."

'If there’s a legacy to leave, it’s not just the work itself, but a conviction that knowing our own past is important for us as a province,' says P.E.I. historian, author and Order of Canada appointee Ed MacDonald. (Laura Meader/CBC)

While he initially believed his focus as a UPEI professor would be on research and writing, he quickly fell in love with the teaching.

In the classroom and as a consultant on advisory committees, MacDonald continues to learn from those around him even today.

"I find myself one of the older people in the room and I find myself learning every day, thinking I'm there to teach and coming away learning," he said. "If the instructor isn't learning, they're not doing their job, and one of the places you learn is from the students."

He also takes pride in making history relatable, both to his students and Islanders in general.

Over the course of Ed MacDonald's career, he has written, compiled, edited or co-edited 11 books and produced several dozen scholarly articles. (Laura Meader/CBC)

"I've never been interested in just being an academic speaking to other academics." he said. "I wanted to make history something that we can share and communicate and matter to people like my mother, who was a schoolteacher who became a mother that loved to read. So if I've done that, then I'm happy."

'Their story is part of my story'

MacDonald said many of his students who come to P.E.I. from elsewhere are now interested in the province's history — and they're a part of that story, too.

"Our past is not just the Acadians and the Mi'kmaq and the Scots and the Irish and the English. It's also now folks from all around the world, some of whom have been here for over a century and who are our part of our story, and are now being valued," he said.

"History is an important tool for resurrecting a sense of their culture and their past. I'm not from those groups, and yet it's incumbent upon me to be part of their story, as their story is part of my story."

MacDonald is expected to travel to Ottawa to be inducted into the Order of Canada sometime in 2024.

In the meantime, he is continuing to teach as he works on several articles focused on the story of Prince Edward Island.

While he said it's "hard to believe" he's receiving the prestigious recognition, it's also "extremely humbling."

"I'm just a kid from out in the country in Newport, the youngest of a family of nine. Nobody in my family ever would listen to a word I said because I was the kid," he laughed.

"So to be named to the Order of Canada seems completely implausible, and yet it's happened."