Upcoming courses and events

June 20, 2026

502 Bathurst St. Toronto

The Leo Panitch School is thrilled to host renowned historian and author, Bryan Palmer, for a celebration of his three volume history of Canada, Capitalism, and Colonialism! 

This monumental work offers readers access to a clear-eyed understanding of Canada’s past, explaining how recently-acknowledged dark facts about our history are tied to the creation of a richly endowed, wealthy but very unequal first world country. 

When: Saturday June 20 – Doors open: 6:30pm
Where: College Street United Church, 502 Bathurst Street, Toronto ON
Cost: Free/Pay what you can

The evening will feature remarks from Bryan Palmer, as well as a panel of celebrated activists, organizers, and academics. 

Feel free to bring cash as discounted copies of the books as well as other reading material and merch will be available for purchase! 

Featuring the following panel…
Author – Bryan D. Palmer is the author of Revolutionary Teamsters: The Minneapolis Truckers’ Strikes of 1934 (Chicago: Haymarket, 2014), co-author of Toronto’s Poor: A Rebellious History (Between The Lines, 2016), and a past editor of the journal, Labour/Le Travail. He is Professor Emeritus, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario.

Chair – Deb Cowen is a Tkaronto-based geographer recognized for work exploring the intersections of circulation, settler colonial infrastructure, and political economy. Deb serves as a trustee of the Groundswell Community Justice Trust and an editor with Katherine McKittrick and Simone Browne of the Duke University Press book series Errantries.

George Elliott Clarke is a University of Toronto prof, and has taught at Duke and Harvard. He was Toronto’s 4th Poet Laureate  and Canada’s 7th Parliamentary Poet Laureate.  George has been awarded the Bellagio Centre Fellowship (US), the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellows Prize, the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry, and the Premiul Poesis (Romania). 

John Clarke was a longtime organizer with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) until 2018. He was the Packer Visitor in Social Justice and presently facilitates Fighting to Win, a course for union and community activists, with the support of the Leo Panitch school.

Russ Diabo is a highly respected policy analyst and advocate with decades of experience championing Indigenous rights and sovereignty in Canada. A member of the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation, Russ has specialized expertise in federal policies, legislation, and processes impacting First Nations, particularly in land and resource management.

The Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education emerged in 2023, at a moment when popular frustrations abound over inequality, the narrowing of democracy, the squandering of human potential, and the ever-clearer reality of impending environmental catastrophe. It’s in this context that we strive to provide radical, accessible, and practical educational programming for those seeking to better understand and address the crisis of our current times.

Poster image: Voyageurs at Dawn, by Frances Anne Hopkins, 1871 

Accessibility 
The venue for this event is wheelchair accessible and features multiple gender neutral washrooms. We ask that participants refrain from wearing perfume or other scented products. Please contact us with any accessibility concerns.

June 21, 2026

Toronto, ON

How and why did colonialism develop in the regions that became Canada? What role did capitalism play in the coming of colonialism? What effect did this have on indigenous peoples and in what was the role of anti-colonial struggle? 

What can the history of these and other resistance movements tell us about the possibility of a better future? How did class struggles that challenged capitalism develop? What was their relationship to indigenous opposition to colonialism?

In this introductory course, we will be engaging critically with these and many other aspects of colonialism and Canadian history. The history of colonialism and modern injustice against indigenous people is rightly a motivating issue for many. The structures and systems that led to such monumental injustices must be understood, especially by those who believe that a fundamentally better world is possible. So, too, is it crucial to understand the exploitation and oppression endured by working people as Canada became an advanced capitalist nation state. 

All are warmly invited to join us for this special 4-part series, led by renowned historian, author, and professor, Bryan Palmer. The course will be largely based on Palmer’s recent three volume series examining colonialism, capitalism, and the legacy of Canada’s past. For an overview of the series, please see this excellent interview with Palmer conducted by Adam King of the Maple. 

Each session will feature a lecture, followed by discussion and group exercises. No previous knowledge of the subject or formal education required! 

The Leo Panitch School was founded in 2023 and strives to provide radical, accessible, and practical socialist education. All programs are offered free or by donation in a non-academic setting. The school sees diverse participation from workers, activists, and community members from a variety of experiences and backgrounds.

When: Sunday afternoons at 2pm June 21, June 28, July 5, and July 12. 
Where: Downtown Toronto – Venue to be shared with registrants
Cost: Free – donations appreciated
How: Application required

 If you are interested in offerings outside of Toronto or done virtually, please get in touch with us. Feel free to reach us with any questions at info@leopanitchschool.ca. 

Bryan D. Palmer is the author of Revolutionary Teamsters: The Minneapolis Truckers’ Strikes of 1934 (Chicago: Haymarket, 2014), co-author of Toronto’s Poor: A Rebellious History (Between The Lines, 2016), and a past editor of the journal, Labour/Le Travail. He is Professor Emeritus, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario.

Image credit: Frances Anne Hopkins

Accessibility 
The venues for this course are wheelchair accessible via an elevator. We ask that participants refrain from wearing perfume or other scented products. Please contact us with any accessibility concerns.

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Course Outline:
Week 1 – Canada’s Origins 1500–1890
We will look at the period covered by the first volume of the series. How did colonialism develop in the regions that became Canada? In what ways did colonialism’s beginnings in the 1500-1800 years, as it sought capital and dominance over territories in a context of war pitting specific empires against one another, determine its relations with indigenous peoples?  What were the complexities of that relationship?

 What role did an advancing capitalism play in determining how resources were exploited and a more diverse economic development took place over the course of the 19th century. What impact did this have on the consolidation of the nation state in Confederation in 1867? How did such changes shift the ways in which indigenous peoples were regarded by powerful people and institutions? What was the relationship of class mobilizations that began to challenge capital in the 19^th century and anti-colonialist struggles. Why were the 1880s both a momentous and tragic decade?

Week 2 – The Making of Modern Canada 1890–1960
What were some of the common experiences of indigenous peoples in newly formed Canada? As the Canadian State solidified and the economy grew, what were the experiences of ordinary people?  Inequalities intensified as class differences solidified and Canada’s capitalist class became entrenched and extended its influence internationally.  

How did colonialism and capitalism structure and restructure Canada leading up to and after the two world wars? What role did indigenous struggles, francophone activism, change in the Canadian capitalist class, and the rise of the labour movement and escalating class struggle play in Canada’s development? How did Canada appear in the mid-century with respect to the hold capitalism and colonialism exercised over the country?

Week 3 – The Remaking of Modern Canada 1960–2025
What economic and political changes have led to the Canada we see today? What economic and social injustices were/are prevalent?  We will especially examine the role indigenous struggle over land, the labour movement, and feminist activism has played. What can these and other resistance movements tell us about the possibility of a better future? What was centrally important about the 1960s?

Week 4 – Challenges of Today and Openings for a Better Tomorrow
What does all of this mean for us today? What are some of the large questions posed for activists on the left as they address the history of Canada? How does the country’s development as a colonial and capitalist nation state make us think about interpretive frameworks such as “settler colonialism?” How does this history and its meanings inform socialists and those on the left about how they might struggle in ways that will effectively begin the protracted process of transforming society?