William Andrew "Bill" Waiser (born 1953) is a Canadian historian specializing in western and northern

Canadian history The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Canada were inhabited for millennia by ...

Career and honours

Waiser grew up in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

but developed an interest in western Canadian history visiting his grandparents'

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

homestead each summer. He went on to study history at

Trent University Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes.

under renowned Manitoba historian

W. L. Morton William Lewis Morton (13 December 1908 – 7 December 1980) was a Canadian historian who specialized in the development of the Canadian west. Along with Arthur R. M. Lower and Donald Creighton he is regarded as one of the dominant Canadian ...

. Waiser completed his graduate work at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and ultimately joined the Department of History there in 1984. He served as department head from 1995 to 1998. He was Yukon Historian for the Canadian Parks Service prior to his university appointment. He was named the university's Distinguished Researcher at the spring 2004 convocation and received the College of Arts and Science Teaching Excellence Award in 2003. He was awarded the

Saskatchewan Order of Merit The Saskatchewan Order of Merit (french: Ordre du Mérite de la Saskatchewan) is a civilian Award, honour for merit in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Instituted in 1985 by Lieutenant Governor of Saska ...

, the province's highest honour, in 2006, and elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

the following year. Bill retired in 2014 from the university. He was invested as a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 2018. In 2020, Waiser was honoured with a lifetime achievement award for Prairie history by the

Canadian Historical Association The Canadian Historical Association (CHA; French ''Société historique du Canada'', SHC) is a Canadian organization founded in 1922 for the purposes of promoting historical research and scholarship. It is a bilingual, not-for-profit, charitable ...

(CHA). Waiser's books have won numerous awards. ''All Hell Can't Stop Us: The On-to-Ottawa Trek and Regina Riot'' won the 2003 Saskatchewan Book Award (SBA) for non-fiction. His centennial history of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, ''Saskatchewan: A New History'', won the CHA's 2006 Clio Prize as the best book in Prairie History. ''A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan Before 1905'' won the 2016

Governor General's Literary Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for Non-Fiction as well as that year's SBA non-fiction award. He had previously been nominated for the award in 1997 for ''Loyal till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion'', co-written with Blair Stonechild.

Selected works

* ''In Search of Almighty Voice: Resistance and Reconciliation'' (Markham: Fifth House Publishers, 2020) * ''A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan Before 1905'' (Markham: Fifth House Publishers, 2016) * ''Tommy's Team: The People Behind the Douglas Years'', with Stuart Houston (Calgary: Fifth House Publishers, 2010) * ''Who Killed Jackie Bates? Murder and Mercy during the Great Depression'' (Calgary: Fifth House Publishers, 2008) * ''Saskatchewan: A New History'' (Calgary: Fifth House Publishers, 2005) * ''All Hell Can't Stop Us: The On-to-Ottawa Trek and Regina Riot'' (Calgary: Fifth House Publishers, 2003) * ''Loyal till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion'', with Blair Stonechild (Calgary: Fifth House Publishers, 1997) * ''Park Prisoners: The Untold Story of Western Canada's National Parks'' (Saskatoon: Fifth House Publishers, 1995) * ''Saskatchewan's Playground: A History of Prince Albert National Park'' (Saskatoon: Fifth House Publishers, 1989)

References

External links

*
Former website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waiser, Bill 1953 births 20th-century Canadian historians 21st-century Canadian historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers Living people Members of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit Trent University alumni University of Saskatchewan alumni Academic staff of the University of Saskatchewan Writers from Saskatchewan