Matthew Hayday
@mhayday.bsky.social
University of Guelph Canadian History Professor and Department Chair, Chocolatier, Inexpert Gardener.
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
Please enjoy my cartoon for Thursday's Toronto Star
February 18, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Please enjoy my cartoon for Thursday's Toronto Star
I think the threshold is when they start advocating conscription or other policies deeply unpopular in Quebec.
February 18, 2026 at 9:52 PM
I think the threshold is when they start advocating conscription or other policies deeply unpopular in Quebec.
Folks who have had the delightful task of having to secure permissions for use of images in a Canadian academic book will appreciate my delight that I've now secured all the ones that I wanted for my biography of Joe Clark! I have some gems, going right back to his early childhood.
February 18, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Folks who have had the delightful task of having to secure permissions for use of images in a Canadian academic book will appreciate my delight that I've now secured all the ones that I wanted for my biography of Joe Clark! I have some gems, going right back to his early childhood.
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
Assistant Professor – History of Atlantic Canada. Deadline: March 13, 2026. #cdnhist cha-shc.ca/careers-and-...
February 18, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Assistant Professor – History of Atlantic Canada. Deadline: March 13, 2026. #cdnhist cha-shc.ca/careers-and-...
Oooh, I like that... and that could have additional utility to get me through the rest of my year as department chair too.
February 17, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Oooh, I like that... and that could have additional utility to get me through the rest of my year as department chair too.
That's great to hear! I'm always delighted to learn when my articles/books are being used in courses, and to hear what the students thought.
February 17, 2026 at 7:19 PM
That's great to hear! I'm always delighted to learn when my articles/books are being used in courses, and to hear what the students thought.
I've been asked to chair (and time-keep) two sessions at the @cndhistassoc.bsky.social conference in June. I'm now wondering where I can rent a bear costume in Charlottetown...
I propose to make universal the old policy of the Blackfriars conference at the American Shakespeare Center:
If you do not end your paper on time, you will be forced to exit, pursued by a bear. Literally, a bear will come take your paper from you.
If you do not end your paper on time, you will be forced to exit, pursued by a bear. Literally, a bear will come take your paper from you.
February 16, 2026 at 3:26 PM
I've been asked to chair (and time-keep) two sessions at the @cndhistassoc.bsky.social conference in June. I'm now wondering where I can rent a bear costume in Charlottetown...
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
Shaped entire generations
February 16, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Shaped entire generations
This feels like such a Gen-X moment. We bought all five seasons plus the movies on DVD as they were released. Then a few years ago we downloaded the remastered and enhanced version of the whole series on AppleTV for $40. And now it is coming out for free on YouTube.
February 15, 2026 at 4:13 PM
This feels like such a Gen-X moment. We bought all five seasons plus the movies on DVD as they were released. Then a few years ago we downloaded the remastered and enhanced version of the whole series on AppleTV for $40. And now it is coming out for free on YouTube.
Good piece by Saskatchewan historian Bill Waiser in the Globe today on how SK handled separatists in the 1980s.
Paywalled, but I believe in paying to support quality journalism. (I also support a publicly-funded CBC!)
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Paywalled, but I believe in paying to support quality journalism. (I also support a publicly-funded CBC!)
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: Saskatchewan shows Alberta how to handle a separatist threat seeking U.S. support
A short-lived campaign in the 1980s saw politicians try to foment support for a union with the United States
www.theglobeandmail.com
February 14, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Good piece by Saskatchewan historian Bill Waiser in the Globe today on how SK handled separatists in the 1980s.
Paywalled, but I believe in paying to support quality journalism. (I also support a publicly-funded CBC!)
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Paywalled, but I believe in paying to support quality journalism. (I also support a publicly-funded CBC!)
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
We're pleased to welcome Dorothy Wright-Wallace, a respected historian and community leader in Chatham-Kent known for her decades of work preserving local Black history, as the inaugural Visiting Elder in the Black Canadian Studies program at the University of Guelph! Learn more: uoguel.ph/aaqq0
February 12, 2026 at 8:11 PM
We're pleased to welcome Dorothy Wright-Wallace, a respected historian and community leader in Chatham-Kent known for her decades of work preserving local Black history, as the inaugural Visiting Elder in the Black Canadian Studies program at the University of Guelph! Learn more: uoguel.ph/aaqq0
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
The movies we watched as kids really did prepare us for growing up because it was like was 20 years of brilliant fantastical adventures and now we are at the “beloved magical horse dying a horrible death in an evil swamp” phase of things and it’s so hard to watch
February 12, 2026 at 1:53 PM
The movies we watched as kids really did prepare us for growing up because it was like was 20 years of brilliant fantastical adventures and now we are at the “beloved magical horse dying a horrible death in an evil swamp” phase of things and it’s so hard to watch
I was riding the TTC yesterday during a Toronto visit and saw all the new map signage. It made me sad to realize that there almost certainly would have been an Ontario Science Centre stop on the Eglinton Crosstown line, had Ford not closed it down.
February 8, 2026 at 12:59 PM
I was riding the TTC yesterday during a Toronto visit and saw all the new map signage. It made me sad to realize that there almost certainly would have been an Ontario Science Centre stop on the Eglinton Crosstown line, had Ford not closed it down.
Which academic Muppet are you?
For now, as department chair, Kermit, trying to maintain my sanity and keep the show going amidst chaos!
For now, as department chair, Kermit, trying to maintain my sanity and keep the show going amidst chaos!
February 7, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Which academic Muppet are you?
For now, as department chair, Kermit, trying to maintain my sanity and keep the show going amidst chaos!
For now, as department chair, Kermit, trying to maintain my sanity and keep the show going amidst chaos!
One of my favourite fun facts from my book on bilingualism is that the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages very explicitly decided in the 1980s not to have a seal (as in the aquatic mammal) as a key character in one of their children’s activity kits. For reasons!
February 7, 2026 at 2:41 PM
One of my favourite fun facts from my book on bilingualism is that the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages very explicitly decided in the 1980s not to have a seal (as in the aquatic mammal) as a key character in one of their children’s activity kits. For reasons!
Something I am often struck by in Toronto is that there is actually some very cool architecture - but you often have to look up, look waaaay up, to see it.
This is my view from the 41st floor of One King West.
This is my view from the 41st floor of One King West.
February 7, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Something I am often struck by in Toronto is that there is actually some very cool architecture - but you often have to look up, look waaaay up, to see it.
This is my view from the 41st floor of One King West.
This is my view from the 41st floor of One King West.
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
I think the big problem is that we’ve been taught that you’re supposed to somehow balance staying informed with being mentally stable right now, and I am here to tell you that’s wrong, you’re all supposed to be losing your goddamn minds right now, so good news everyone you’re doing great
February 4, 2026 at 2:04 PM
I think the big problem is that we’ve been taught that you’re supposed to somehow balance staying informed with being mentally stable right now, and I am here to tell you that’s wrong, you’re all supposed to be losing your goddamn minds right now, so good news everyone you’re doing great
Our washing machine broke during the pandemic, when all appliances were hard to get because of supply chains. But do you know what was available? Washing machines that didn't require specialized microchips! I regret nothing.
February 4, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Our washing machine broke during the pandemic, when all appliances were hard to get because of supply chains. But do you know what was available? Washing machines that didn't require specialized microchips! I regret nothing.
Well Historians, it’s Groundhog Day. And an eager crowd gathers in London, Ontario and on Bluesky to find out the answer to that all-important question: Will @alanmaceachern.bsky.social have a thematic post for us today? Or will there be eight more weeks to the semester?
February 2, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Well Historians, it’s Groundhog Day. And an eager crowd gathers in London, Ontario and on Bluesky to find out the answer to that all-important question: Will @alanmaceachern.bsky.social have a thematic post for us today? Or will there be eight more weeks to the semester?
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
Let's Get This Integrated In Classrooms Immediately To Help The Students!™️
January 31, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Let's Get This Integrated In Classrooms Immediately To Help The Students!™️
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
AI assist doing superb historical work....
January 31, 2026 at 12:29 PM
AI assist doing superb historical work....
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
Reposted by Matthew Hayday
Ugh this is gutting. Every Canadian's cool aunt. One of the best comedians from a country of comedians.
Yep. Confirmed. Shit.
variety.com/2026/tv/news...
variety.com/2026/tv/news...
January 30, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Ugh this is gutting. Every Canadian's cool aunt. One of the best comedians from a country of comedians.
This is what I think goes on inside the Oval Office these days...
January 30, 2026 at 12:34 PM
This is what I think goes on inside the Oval Office these days...