The North Star: Canada and the Civil War Plots Against Lincoln

Please note that this event has been RESCHEDULED to Monday, October 30, 2023. The new location is Leacock 232, 855 Sherbrooke West, Montreal.

A book talk from Julian Sher about the unexpected ways Canadians were involved in every aspect of the American Civil War.

This event is free but registration is required. Register by clicking here.

Canadians take pride in being on the “good side” of the American Civil War, serving as a haven for 30,000 escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad. But dwelling in history's shadow is the much darker role Canada played in supporting the slave South and in fomenting the many plots against Lincoln. Julian Sher’s new book weaves together the different strands of several Canadians and a handful of Confederate agents in Canada as they all made their separate, fateful journeys into history.

Meticulously researched and richly illustrated, The North Star is a sweeping tale that makes long-ago events leap off the page with a relevance to the present day.

JULIAN SHER is an award-winning journalist and the author of seven books, including “Until You Are Dead”: The Wrongful Conviction of Steven Truscott and White Hoods: Canada's Ku Klux Klan. He co-authored two books on biker gangs, The Road to Hell and Angels of Death, and wrote two books on crimes against children, One Child at a Time and Somebody's Daughter. As an investigative reporter, he worked for the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail and was a senior producer of CBC's The Fifth Estate. He is active in protecting media freedoms, as a Senior Fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University's Centre for Free Expression and working with Journalists for Human Rights.

The lecture will be followed by a Q&A and reception.

This event will be livestreamed and recorded. View the livestream here.