“M.B. Williams and the Early Years of Parks Canada.”

A Century of Parks Canada, 1911–2011. Cover.

A Century of Parks Canada, 1911–2011. Cover.

University of Calgary Press

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

MacEachern, Alan. “M.B. Williams and the Early Years of Parks Canada.” In A Century of Parks Canada, 1911–2011, edited by Claire Campbell, 21–52. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2011.

Using as a basis M.B. Williams’ newly available archival papers and oral interview, and the guidebooks published under her name, this chapter will explore the 1911 to 1930 development of the Dominion Parks Branch, forerunner to Parks Canada. This period saw the parks system experience a phenomenally rapid maturity: it cultivated a loyal staff, a national and international reputation, a claim to permanent consideration, and most importantly—and unusual for a government agency—a coherent and well-accepted philosophy that would help constantly regenerate all of these other elements. (From the chapter)

CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Alan MacEachern and the University of Calgary Press.