The historian and educator Greg N. Fraser discusses his book Joseph William McKay: A Métis Business Leader in Colonial British Columbia (Heritage House, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Joseph William McKay: A Métis Business Leader in Colonial British Columbia by Greg N. Fraser (Heritage House, 2021). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Joseph William McKay

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

One of the more interesting figures in the history of British Columbia comes alive in a recent book by Greg N. Fraser, who joins me now. Mr. Fraser, a long-time educator, has written Joseph William McKay: A Métis Business Leader in Colonial British Columbia, a biography of a remarkable figure whose lifespan, 1829 to 1900, affords him the chance to get a front row seat to the exploration and development of what would become this province. McKay, at the age of 15 commences a career with the Hudson’s Bay Company, and eventually meets and works with James Douglas, who would become his mentor. At the age of twenty-three, he oversees the building of Nanaimo. In the Gold Rush years, he’s dispatched to Fort Kamloops and Fort Yale. He eventually becomes Chief Factor, the highest rank within the HBC. McKay is a unique life as within the context of the colonial system, he manages through personal skill and success to move through the company and maintain good relations. He advocates on behalf of Indigenous Peoples, and later becomes Federal Agent, for the federal government. McKay is not without his complexities, especially in light of a twenty-first century context, but it’s a notable life nonetheless. I’ll ask Greg about why McKay is somebody we should know about, and I’ll also get him to tell us what it was like to write this book. Greg Fraser taught Canadian, BC, and Indigenous history in the Vernon and Nanaimo school districts. He continued his career teaching at Okanagan University-College, and Vancouver Island University Elder College. This book is published by Heritage House. He joined me from Nanaimo earlier this week. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Greg Fraser; Mr. Fraser, good morning.

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