John W. Dafoe Prize

The prize is given annually by the J. W. Dafoe Foundation of Winnipeg for writing that contribues to the understanding of Canada and its place in the world. It commemorates long-time newspaper editor John W. Dafoe.

Year

Winner

2024

Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast
by John Vaillant

2023

Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation
by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii)

2022

Seen But Not Seen: Influential Canadians and the First Nations from the 1840s to Today
by Donald B. Smith

2021

The Company: The Rise and Fall of the Hudson’s Bay Empire
by Stephen R. Bown

2020

The Good Fight: Marcel Cadieux and Canadian Diplomacy
by Brendan Kelly

2019

Power, Politics, and Principles: Mackenzie King and Labour, 1935-1948
by Taylor Hollander

2018

Vimy: The Battle and the Legend
by Tim Cook

2017

Lock, Stock, and Icebergs: A History of Canada’s Arctic Maritime Sovereignty
by Adam Lajeunesse

2016

Middle Kingdom, Middle Power: What Canadians Need to Know About China in the 21st Century
by David Mulroney

2015

Worth Dying For: Canada’s Mission to Train Police in the World’s Failing States
by Terry Gould

2014

The Longer I’m Prime Minister: Stephen Harper and Canada, 2006
by Paul Wells

2013

Let the Eastern Bastards Freeze in the Dark: The West Versus the Rest Since Confederation
by Mary Janigan

2012

Nation Maker: Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times
by Richard J. Gwyn

2011

Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America
by Shelagh D. Grant

2010

Newfoundland and Labrador: A History
by Sean T. Cadigan

2009

Lord Selkirk: A Life
by J. M. Bumsted

2008

At The Sharp End: Canadians Fighting the Great War, 1914-1916
by Tim Cook

2007

Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau
by John English

2006

Loss of Faith: How the Air India Bombers Got Away With Murder
by Kim Bolan

2005

The Ghosts of Medak Pocket: The Story of Canada’s Secret War
by Carol Off

2004

Brian Dickson: A Judge’s Journey
by Robert J. Sharpe and Kent Roach

2003

The Lawmakers: Judicial Power and the Shaping of Canadian Federalism
by John T. Saywell

2002

A Good and Wise Measure: The Search for the Canadian-American Boundary, 1783-1842
by Francis M. Carroll

2001

Memoirs of a Very Civil Servant: Mackenzie King to Pierre Trudeau
by Gordon Robertson

2000

J. B. McLachlan: A Biography
by David Frank

1999

Fool’s Gold: The Making of a Global Market Fraud
by Brian Hutchinson

1998

Death So Noble: Memory, Meaning and the First World War
by Jonathon Vance

1997

Shingwauk’s Vision: A History of Residential Schools in Canada
by James R. Miller

1996

Rogue Tory: The Life and Legend of John G. Diefenbaker
by Denis Smith

1995

Trudeau and Our Times: Volume 2
by Christina McCall and Stephen Clarkson

1994

The Generals: The Canadian Army’s Senior Commanders in the Second World War
by J. L. Granatstein

1993

The Worldly Years: The Life of Lester Pearson, Volume 2
by John English

1992

Duff Pattullo of British Columbia
by Robin Anthony Fisher

1991

Rome in Canada: The Vatican and Canadian Affairs in the Late Victorian Age
by Roberto Perin

1990

Unauthorized Action: Mountbatten and Dieppe
by Brian Loring Villa

1989

Diplomacy of Fear: Canada and the Cold War, 1941-1948
by Denis Smith

1988

Land, Settlement, and Politics on Eighteenth-Century Prince Edward Island
by J. M. Bumsted

1987

Frank Underhill, Intellectual Provocateur
by R. Douglas Francis

1986

Clifford Sifton: The Lonely Eminence, 1901-1929
by D. J. Hall

1985

No prize awarded

1984

Tug of War
by W. Denis Whitaker and Shelagh Whitaker

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: John Wesley Dafoe (1866-1944)

Sources:

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 12 June 2024