Custom Tours & Other Services

New for 2022

Peoples’ History Walking Tours is constantly developing new tours and other services for the enjoyment and education of visitors and local residents alike. This season, we are preparing for a public lecture about the class struggle in Ottawa during 1919, asking why Ottawa’s workers did not mount a general strike like their counterparts in many other Canadian cities. In September 2022, Brian will be giving a public lecture on the topic for the Historical Society of Ottawa.

Custom Tours:

We urge you to inquire about custom tours. Got a special need or interest that is not covered by one of our existing tours? Do you want a radical take on the exhibits in the Canadian History Hall of the Museum of History? How about a radical take on the history of the military, Ottawa labour history, or some other topic? Maybe you need a radical history of Ottawa for an American audience. Contact us about your special interests and we will try to accommodate you.

Other services

Besides walking tours, we also provide popular educational services (e.g., talks, lectures and presentations). Brian McDougall has spoken about local history and current movements for social and climate justice for many kinds of audiences (academic, professional, historical, student, union and activist) around the city. Contact us for more information.

Among our past clients are the following groups and organizations:

  • Trade Unions: United Steelworkers Summer Program // Ottawa CUPE District Council // Industrial Workers of the World (Ottawa) // CUPE 4600
  • Educational Institutions: Bishop Strachan School (Toronto) // Learning in Retirement Program – Carleton University // Indiana University
  • Student Organizations: Ontario Public Interest Group – University of Ottawa // Delta Lambda Phi Social Fraternity // Graduate Student Association – Carleton University // OPIRG – Carleton
  • Professional and Academic Conferences: Committee on River Ice Processes and the Environment // International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences Inter-Congress // Ontario Heritage Conference // International Sustainability Transitions Conference // Smiths Falls Heritage Conference //
  • Other Organizations: Ottawa Public Library // Jane’s Walks Ottawa // Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ottawa // International Friendship Club (Puerto Vallarta) // Patented Medicine Prices Review Board // Workers History Museum // Ottawa Historical Society // Indigenous Services Canada // Transport Canada //

Special note: Impact of construction on our tours

There are two major construction projects that may impact our tours: the decade-long rehabilitation of two buildings on Parliament Hill (Centre and East Blocks), and the seven year clean-up of industrial contaminants on Victoria Island.

The Parliament Hill construction may require changes to our normal routes for two tours: An Unauthorized History of Parliament Hill and Indigenous Peoples and Colonialism. The work on Victoria Island requires changes to the original route for the Colonialism and Class Struggle in the Chaudière District tour.