Journeys into '67: An Introduction & An Invitation

It has been described as an important year in Canada's existence - some say the most notable - that year of 1967.

It was the 100th anniversary of Confederation and the year of Expo '67. It was the year that Charles DeGaulle came to visit and uttered "Vive le Quebec Libre" from the steps of Montreal's City Hall. It was the year of Hippie  Culture and Culture Wars. It was the last year of hockey's six team era - a 50th season for the NHL that culminated in an all-Canadian final and the last Stanley Cup for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It is now 50 years later.

It promises to be a special, even if different, year for Canada as 150 years of Confederation are marked and celebrated.

There is no Expo this time, but the Leafs are on the rebound (A Stanley Cup is within realistic contemplation for the first time in a long time).

In the meantime, as Canadians look with pride this year (see our companion Journeys into Canada-150 Klusster), we also take a look back at 1967 - and what it all came to mean as a building block to the world we live in today.

Pierre Berton, the late and highly respected  author of Canadiana and Canadian history, and a well-known television personality and journalist (1920-2004) powerfully held that 1967 was "The Last Great Year", reasoning that the years following saw much of 1967's hopefulness disappear.

We'll leave that contention to historians and others analyzing culture and society to argue over and settle. We can say with some certainty that it was a special place and time for Canada.

So, we hope you will join in - whether reading about 1967 or adding narratives of your own.

Let's together Journey into'67.