La Difference is a Canadian

Television in Canada

Television in Canada officially began with the opening of the nation's first television stations in Montreal and Toronto in 1952. As with most media in Canada, the television industry, and the television programming available in that country, are strongly influenced by the American media, perhaps...

 current affairs television miniseries which aired on CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

 in 1968.

Premise

This series, hosted by Peter Desbarats

Peter Desbarats

Peter Desbarats, OC is a Montreal, Quebec-born Canadian author, playwright and journalist. He is the former dean of journalism at the University of Western Ontario , a former commissioner in the Somalia Inquiry and a former Maclean-Hunter chair of Communications Ethics at Ryerson University in...

 and Richard Gwyn

Richard Gwyn

Richard John Philip Jermy Gwyn, is a Canadian civil servant, journalist and author.-Early life:Richard Gwyn was born on May 26, 1934, in Bury St. Edmunds, England, and was the second son to his parents Brigadier Philip Eustace Congreve Jermy-Gwyn, an Indian Army officer, and Elizabeth Edith...

, concerned cultural differences between English and French Canada, providing historical context for these distinctions. The production noted that history could be used to promote certain goals depending on its interpretation.

Scheduling

This half-hour series was broadcast Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. (Eastern) from 18 July to 19 September 1968.

Episodes

1. "The Conquest" examined the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
   Battle of the Plains of Abraham
   The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
   
    and its role in shaping modern conflict between English and French in Canada; Gwyn interviewed Françoise Loranger
   Françoise Loranger
   Françoise Loranger was a Canadian playwright, radio producer, theatrical writer and feminist. She was born in Saint-Hilaire.- Biography :...
   
   , author of Le chemin du roy which satirized Charles de Gaulle's controversial 1967 "Vive le Québec libre" statement
2. "Confederation: The Politics of Survival" portrayed two debates, one at the time of Canadian Confederation as re-enacted by actors, and another contemporary debate concerning the Canadian constitution featuring Quebec provincial legislative members Pierre Laporte
   Pierre Laporte
   Pierre Laporte was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician who was the Deputy Premier and Minister of Labour of the province of Quebec before being kidnapped and killed by members of the group Front de libération du Québec during the October Crisis. Mr...
   
    and Marcel Masse
   Marcel Masse
   Marcel Masse, is a Canadian politician. He served as a Quebec MLA, federal MP, federal cabinet minister. Despite being a federal Progressive Conservative, Masse was aligned with Quebec separatistism Marcel Masse, (born May 27, 1936) is a Canadian politician. He served as a Quebec MLA, federal...
   
   , and Ontario provincial members Bert Lawrence
   Bert Lawrence
   Albert Benjamin Rutter Lawrence MC was a Canadian politician and lawyer.-Education:Born in Calgary, Alberta, Lawrence grew up in Ottawa, Ontario and was educated at Ashbury College in Ottawa, Ontario and at Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario.-Career:During World War II,...
   
    and Tim Reid
3. "How the West Was Lost" considered the situation in western Canada, noting Manitoba's inclusion into Canadian Confederation, and the uprisings of Louis Riel
   Louis Riel
   Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
   
   
4. "St. George and the Lily", concerning how French Canadians view the Canadian Forces
   Canadian Forces
   The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
   
   
5. "You're A Good Man, Charles de Gaulle", focusing on de Gaulle's visit to Canada in 1967
6. "How Do You Say 'Hot Dog' In Quebec?", concerning American cultural effects on Quebec
7. "Patriots or Traitors", featuring the dilemma of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier
   Wilfrid Laurier
   Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
   
   as a francophone in a Canadian institution
8. "La Difference", a conclusion of the series, concerned with the academic work in developing English and French Canadian history