I once debated somebody at UVic about Indigenous slavery on the West Coast. They hit me with the line, "It was different. We treated them almost like family." It was like listening to a guide on a Georgia plantation tour, minus the charming Southern drawl.

Slavery in North America was widely practiced by first peoples and reflected an indigenous culture in which owning slaves signalled high status. For more from our latest study, visit: bit.ly/40KQKFg

Over 64 percent of all the slaves held by Europeans in New France from the mid-17th century to 1834 (when slavery was fully abolished in the British Empire) were indigenous; 34.5 percent were African. From our latest study: bit.ly/40KQKFg

Before the transatlantic slave trade, in pre-colonization North America alone there were at least 39 distinct slave societies. In fact, it took until near the turn of the 20th century to finally stamp out indigenous slave-trading in British Columbia. See our latest study:

All legal slavery was pre-Confederation. From our latest study: bit.ly/40KQKFg

Slavery is a grave evil in which every part of the globe, at some point or another, has shamefully partaken. Our latest study shows how many people were removed from Africa and transported to other parts of the world from 1514-1866: bit.ly/40KQKFg

Canada was ahead of the curve when it came to abolishing slavery. Lieutenant-Governor John Graves-Simcoe passed the first piece of anti-slavery legislation in the British Empire in 1793. Ten years later, Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Colborne remarked to visiting black Americans:

Canada was a haven for many black people subject to slavery, and in later years, racist laws, in the US. Mary Ann Shadd is a testament to the difference between the two countries – Canada being far ahead of the US when it came to civil rights for black people.

Benjamin Drew was an abolitionist from the United States who travelled Canada interviewing former slaves. See what Drew wrote of the prospects for blacks in Canada in 1856:

The story of John Gyles makes for grim reading. He was one of the first to document incidence of slavery in Canada. John, along with his family, was enslaved by Maliseet natives in New Brunswick in 1689. Read our latest study, "Slavery in Canada: The facts rarely told" here:

False notions and bad ideas can be recycled forever. That's the unfortunate reality of human history, as observed by philosopher Karl Popper.

Your Friday art break: Van Gogh Painting Sunflowers, 1888, Paul Gauguin. Text from WikiArt: "Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh had an early friendship, which blossomed into an invitation to Arles, France, where van Gogh wanted Gauguin to stay with him and create an art colony.

Canadians should be aware of The Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, which aims to renew a civil, common-sense approach to public discourse and public policy in Canada.. Here's a 2min intro video from the founder Mark Milke: youtube.com/watch?v=hZe0IQ…

Sigh. The right to protest does not = a right to shut down roads and access to events. And yes that was my position on a certain truck protest in Ottawa, as well as environmental and indigenous protests that block access. And take off the masks and take responsibilty for what you

Our newest Senior Fellow and former Saskatchewan Justice Minister, the Hon. Bronwyn Eyre, writes why it's critical for our courts to avoid indulging in policymaking as opposed to more narrowly interpreting laws and constitutional precedents. Read more here:

Why did 50 Mohawks volunteer for the Anglo-Egyptian expedition in 1884 to relieve Gordon at Khartoum? The degradation of colonial and imperial history into a zero-sum, Indigenous versus Colonizer narrative is unhelpful, untruthful, and poisonous. indigo.ca/en-ca/mohawks-…

Join us at the historic Grand theatre in Calgary on September 25th for a thought-provoking debate featuring world-renowned physicist Lawrence M. Krauss, Ph.D. and acclaimed Free Press journalist Rupa Subramanya. Tickets are available on our website: aristotlefoundation.org/events/lawrenc…

Private property isn't just a legal matter; it's a cornerstone of individual rights, prosperity, and part of Canada's tradition of peace, order and good government. Aristotle Foundation Senior Fellow Caroline Elliot is in today's National Post on a B.C. Supreme Court decision

The problem with conspiracy theorists who posit “grand” conspiracies involving thousands of people secretly getting away with a nefarious deed, is that they are unaware of a contradiction in their assumptions: The “cabal” they imagine is both subhuman and superhuman at the same