Nathan Tidridge, MSM

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​Nathan Tidridge is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and was one of six Ontarians presented with a Diamond Jubilee Medal by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Nathan has also been awarded the Premier’s Award for Teaching Excellence (Teacher of the Year),  Charles Baillie Award for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching , the Sharon Enkin Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education, the national 2013 Canadian Royal Heritage Award, and the Flamborough-Glanbrook Nation Builder's Award. In 2015, the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper presented Nathan with one of fifty specially created flags in recognition of his “tremendous contributions to our great country.” In 2017 Nathan was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by Governor General Julie Payette.
Nathan Tidridge has dedicated himself to promoting the role of the Crown in our country’s history.
​Through his work, he has taught a new generation of students about Canadian politics, our constitutional monarchy and civics.
He has also deepened our understanding of the complex relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Crown,
thereby bringing attention to the important issue of reconciliation.

Meritorious Service Decorations (civilian division) Citation 
 Nathan has authored six books exploring the Crown in Canada, including its relationships with Indigenous Peoples, as well as Canadian identity and local history. His book, Canada's Constitutional Monarchy, was celebrated by His Honour The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, at Queen's Park's vice-regal suite on November 28th, 2011. Nathan's next book, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent: Father of the Canadian Crown, was launched by the Honourable H. Frank Lewis, Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, Professor Thomas H.B. Symons, Catherine Hennessey, Islanders and those from away. Nathan's fourth book, The Queen at the Council Fire: The Treaty of Niagara, Reconciliation and the Dignified Crown in Canada, was launched by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in 2015. Speaking for the museum, Curator Armando Perla commented that the book was "a must read for all Canadians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous." The event was attended by members of the Indigenous community, including the Treaty Commissioner of Manitoba. In 2018 Nathan authored a chapter ("Decolonizing the Crown in Canada: Restoring the Queen at the Council Fire") in The Canadian Kingdom which was launched by the Lieutenant Governors of Saskatchewan, Ontario and British Columbia. 
​From 2010-2013 Nathan lobbied the Ontario Ministry of Education to correct serious errors in the curricula surrounding the province's approach to Civics. His article, entitled Why Ontario shouldn’t ditch high school civics classes, published in Maclean's Magazine, contributed to the government's decision to retain the course. 

Nathan has been involved with a number of committees including the Magna Carta Canada Education Committee (2015), the Flamborough Grant of Arms Committee (2009-2011), and the Chapel Royal Committee at Massey College (2015 - present) . Nathan currently serves on the Board of the Ontario Heritage Trust (2015-present), the National Advisory Council of the Princes Charities Canada, and the Board of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada at Massey College.

Nathan lives in Waterdown, Ontario, with his wife Christine and daughters Sophie, Elyse and Maya.

    Contact Nathan

Previous Speaking Engagements, Media Appearances, and published articles :

 

  • ​The Agenda with Steve Paikin, "Trouble with Civics" 
  • The Agenda with Steve Paikin, Guest Blogger
  • The Arts & Letters Club of Toronto
  • BBC Canada
  • The Bookmark, Charlottetown
  • Canadian Museum for Human Rights - Official Launch of The Queen at the Council Fire: The Treaty of Niagara, Reconciliation and the Dignified Crown in Canada
  • Canadian Royal Heritage Awards Dinner
  • CBC Aboriginal - Opinion piece was the lead story for CBC Aboriginal the week of June 7th, 2015.
  • The Corporation of the County of Prince Edward, Museums 
  • CPAC - Goldhawk Live
  • Facing History Canada, The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education​, 2016
  • First Story Toronto
  • 570 News - The Eric Drozd Show
  • Flamborough Review
  • Glanbrook Heritage Society
  • Globe and Mail
  • Government House, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
  • Government House, Victoria, British Columbia
  • Government House, Manitoba
  • Grimsby Historical Society
  • Hamilton Public Library - Waterdown Branch
  • Head-of-the-Lake Historical Society (Hamilton)
  • Historical Gathering of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation
  • The Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem in Canada
  • Institute for Canadian Citizenship (Canadian Citizenship Ceremony at Fort York, Toronto)
  • LawNow Magazine - Magna Carta: A Guide for Educators
  • Leaside Branch of the Toronto Public Library
  • Maclean's Magazine - "Why it's time to define the Crown's role with First Nations."
  • MacNab Circle - 215th birthday of Sir Allan Napier MacNab
  • Magna Carta Canada
  • "Meet us at the Head of the Lake" 2013 Dominion AGM of the United Empire Loyalists
  • Milton Historical Society
  • One Book One Burlington: Books & Letters Event Celebrating the Life of Richard Wagamese (Panelist) 
  • Ontario History and Social Sciences Teachers' Association (OHASSTA) Workshop Presenter
  • Parle Fort: Fort York, Toronto
  • Pickwick Books, Waterdown
  • Probus Club of Flamborough
  • Probus Club of Grimsby
  • Rotary Club of Grimsby
  • Rotary Club of Waterdown
  • Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Associate Officers Dinner
  • Royal Ontario Museum Walkers
  • Ruthvan National Historic Site
  • Square Off, CHCH Television
  • St. George's Benevolent Society of Hamilton
  • Stoney Creek Historical Society
  • South Grey Museum, 2016 Speaker Series ("First Nations, Reconciliation and the Crown")
  • Toronto Hunt Club (Royal Commonwealth Society - Toronto Branch)
  • TVO - TeachOntario
  • The Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, Elder's Council
  • United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada - Grand River Branch (40th Anniversary Dinner)
  • United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada - Hamilton Branch
  • University of Toronto (Scarborough Campus), regular guest lecturer with the Hon. David C. Onley's "The Vice Regal Office in Canada" course.
  • Vice-Regal Suite, Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
  • The Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society
  • Wilfrid Laurier University
  • Woodland Cultural Centre, Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation
  • Women's Canadian Club of Canada
  • York Regency Society, Toronto's First Post Office

Conferences

  • 7th Annual Historical Gathering and Cultural Series Showcasing the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation (Lecture: The Crown and Reconciliation), Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation (February 15th, 2017)
  • 8th Annual Historical Gathering and Cultural Series Showcasing the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation (Lecture: The Souharissen Natural Area: Restoring Indigenous Voice in Suburbia), Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation (February 14th, 2018)
  • ALOC/Government of Ontario Educational 2016 Conference (Lecture: "The Crown as a Conduit of Reconciliation"), Association of Law Officers of the Crown (November 9th, 2016)
  • Canadian Association of School System Administrators 2016 Conference (Lecture: "Creating a Culture of Caring Around Reconciliation as a Non-Indigenous Teacher"), Canadian Association of System Administrators (July 9th, 2016)
  • Celebrating Resilience - Moving Forward (Speaker), Champions for Change Indigenous Education Conference, Six Nations Polytechnic (November 3rd, 2016)
  • Community Lecture Series - What is Reconciliation? (Opening Lecture: "The Crown as a Conduit of Reconciliation"), Friends and Neighbours of the Woodland Cultural Centre & Wilfrid Laurier University (October 19th, 2016)
  • The Crown in Canada: A Diamond Jubilee Assessment Conference (Discussant), Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina (October 28th, 2012)
  • The Crown in the 21st Century: Deference or Drift? (Panelist with "Aboriginal Peoples and the Honour of the Crown: The Implications for Canada Today"), Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada (January 16th, 2016)
  • Sask LEADS Annual Conference (Presentation: Teaching as Treaty: What a school board should know about teaching Indigenous Studies as a non-Indigenous Instructor), League of Educational Administrators, Directors and Superintendents (March 6th, 2017)
  • 2017 Sources of Knowledge Forum: Accounting for the Past, Envisioning the Future: a Seven Generations–Based Framework for the Bruce Peninsula (Presentation: Decolonizing the Crown in Canada), Sources of Knowledge Forum (May 6th, 2017)
  • Welcome Reception of The Canadian History of Education Association's 19th Biennial Conference: Teaching Nation?: Histories of Education and the Politics of Commemoration (Member of feature panel "The Politics of Commemoration"), Canadian History of Education Association (October 27th, 2016)

Writing about the Crown and Indigenous Issues

Letter to the Editor "It's a Canadian Monarchy, not UK" -  Hamilton Spectator, 2009

Op Ed piece on the role of the Crown in Canada - Hamilton Spectator, July 2010

This Jubilee day is also a sad anniversary: George VI was a good king and important to Canada - Hamilton Spectator, Feb 6th, 2012

Prince Edward Augustus: Father of the Canadian Crown - Prince Arthur Herald, June 29th, 2013

Guest Blog: Honourable Effort at Queen's Park - The Agenda with Steve Paikin, September 16th, 2013

The Royal and Viceregal Fort at York - Fife and Drum (The Newsletter of The Friends of Fort York and Garrison Common), Oct 2013

Once a weapon, education is now key to reconciliation - Op-Ed for CBC Aboriginal, June 7th, 2015

​Magna Carta: A Guide for Educators - LawNow Magazine, November 4th, 2015

The key role of The Queen and her representatives in Reconciliation - The Public Policy & Governance Review, University of Toronto - March 19th, 2016

Why It's Time to Define the Crown's Role With First Nations - Maclean's Magazine, June 21st, 2016

​Ontario may ditch high school civics classes. That's a mistake - Maclean's Magazine, November 1st, 2016
​
It’s time to embrace the ‘Mother of Confederation’ - Maclean's Magazine, March 28th, 2017