SALEM – Terry Copp found his niche studying Canadian military history, and through his storied career changed attitudes and perceptions about Canada’s involvement and contributions in the Second World War.
For his research, his scholarly writings, and his ability to bring history to life for students and the general public, the professor emeritus of history at Wilfrid Laurier University, and founder of the Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada, has been appointed as a member of the Order of Canada.
In a phone interview, Copp said he’s pleased, surprised and honoured to be included among such an illustrious group.
Governor General of Canada Mary Simon announced 83 new appointments to the Order of Canada on June 27, including one Companion, 16 Officers, two Honorary Officers and 64 Members. Two appointments are promotions within the Order.
“They called me in May but made the announcement June 27. So I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone but family,” Copp said in a phone interview. “It’s a curious procedure.”
Copp said the institution is still catching up from COVID lockdowns, so when the ceremony in Ottawa actually takes place is still up in the air. He expects it will be within the next year to 18 months.
As for specializing in Canadian military history, Copp said it was kind of by accident.
“I was working as a labour/social historian and was on sabbatical,” he said.
His mentor and good friend Robert Vogel at McGill University was also on sabbatical and the two brainstormed about finding a research project they could do together.
Vogel and his family escaped occupied Austria in 1935, and the Second World War was of great interest to him. So they decided to look at Canada’s contribution to the war.
Copp was to handle research on the Canadian military while Vogel dove into Germany and diplomats for his part in the project.
Together, Copp and Vogel published the groundbreaking Maple Leaf Route series which argued against the official, largely critical assessment of the Canadian Army in northwest Europe during the Second World War.
“I was starting from scratch,” Copp said. “I decided I needed to talk to veterans and see the battlefields. The actual terrain is a vital document to understanding war.”
He travelled to the Leopold Canal, in northern Belgium to better understand what Canada’s military was up against in that infamous 1944 battle.
“I could not see how mere mortals could cross that canal. It seemed beyond human possibility,” he said.
And so it was for many of the battlefields he visited for his research – seeing the places added to the impact, the story, and his own appreciation of what soldiers endured in war.
And it was the soldiers that really got to him, he said.
“I stumbled into a military history career and stuck with it because of the veterans,” he said. “Their stories had not been well told. That’s where I began.”
According to a biography on Wilfrid Laurier’s website, Copp opened the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies (now the Laurier Centre for the Study of Canada) in 1991 with professor Marc Kilgour as a place for academics to explore the Canadian military and peacekeeping.
He started an annual conference on the matter and also wrote the journal Canadian Military History, with contributions from Second World War vets.
And he created the Canadian Battlefields Foundation’s study tour program, which has taken hundreds of Canadian university students on historian-guided tours in Europe.
“It wasn’t simply my academic work,” Copp said. “There was public outreach too.”
It’s for all these reasons, and more, that Copp was selected to be a member of the Order of Canada.
“Terry Copp’s contributions to the study of Canadian history have placed him at the top of his field and provided Canadians a better understanding of the country’s role in significant historic events,” said Laurier president and vice-chancellor Deborah MacLatchy.
“The Order of Canada is certainly a well-deserved honour. Terry’s work has been critical in providing a deeper context for our history.”
Copp will be in good company when he does eventually cross the stage to receive his honour.
Also named to the Order of Canada are Stephen Poloz, president and CEO of Export Development Canada and then as governor of the Bank of Canada; Montreal singer-songwriter, actor, poet and ambassador for French-Canadian culture Daniel Lavoie, and the famous Avril Lavigne, who is being honoured for her punk-rock music, the Avril Lavigne Foundation and as a global ambassador for Special Olympics.
