2025 Conference Program

Dr. Michael Petrou joined the Canadian War Museum in 2022. His areas of research include veterans, oral history, war’s impact on society, Canadians in the Spanish Civil War, Canadians in the Special Operations Executive, and conflict journalism. He is currently the lead historian for In Their Own Voices, a Canadian War Museum oral history project that explores the experiences of Canadian veterans and their families, from the Second World War to the present day.

Ashlee Beattie is the Learning and Creative Development Specialist for the Canadian War Museum’s In Their Own Voices project.

Louise Skidmore, Head of Contemporary Conflict at the Imperial War Museum, London

Hannah Dailey, Senior Oral Historian at The National WWII Museum, New Orleans

Elizabeth Barrs, former U.S. Army officer, and oral history scholar who developed veterans studies programs at Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Montana

Howard Coombs, Associate Professor of History at the Royal Military College of Canada and Director of the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen’s University

Dr. Andrew Burtch has been the Historian, Post-1945 at the Canadian War Museum since 2006. He is the curator of Gallery 4: From the Cold War to the Present, which examines Canada’s response to conflicts from the beginning of the Cold War to the present day. His main areas of research include Cold War history, nuclear civil defence, United Nations peacekeeping missions, the Korean War, war and memory, and oral history.

Tyler Wentzell, lawyer, historian, and Commanding Officer of the 48th Highlanders of Canada

Enhance your research with expert strategies, resources, and tips for tracing military family histories.

Discover the power of storytelling through clay, and its value in shaping the post-service identity of Canadian Armed Forces veterans. Open to all conference participants.

Discover the power of personal storytelling and explore the impact of war through writing with the War Stories Society.

Relax, unwind and connect through creativity. Explore the art of quick-study painting with the Veterans Artist Collective.

Experience the Last Voices of the Second World War exhibition with an exclusive tour, led by Museum staff, offering deeper insights into its creation and themes. Then, explore the War Museum’s ongoing exhibitions with one of our program interpreters on the Highlights Tour, featuring iconic artifacts and stunning architecture. (Available in English and French)

Join a guided outdoor tour exploring the connection between architecture, landscape, war and regeneration. Afterward, enjoy free time to explore the Canadian War Museum’s exhibitions at your own pace, immersing yourself in its powerful stories and collections.  (Available in English and French)

Enjoy a unique museum experience at the Canadian Museum of History, including transportation to and from the venue. (Available in English and French)

Anouk Beauvais served as a Canadian Armed Forces combat engineer with a NATO-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002. She later worked as a psychological operations analyst in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from 2007–2008. After struggling to readjust to life in Canada, Beauvais took a leave in 2009–2010 to return to Afghanistan as a civilian aid worker. She left the military in 2010, continuing with aid organizations until 2015. Her Afghanistan service, though exhausting, sparked a lasting curiosity about the world.

Austin Douglas, a natural leader with a passion for collaboration, diversity, and fresh thinking, is a 20-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces and brings extensive experience from numerous operational deployments. As the director of government relations and business development at General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada, he leads the company’s Canadian growth strategy and manages key public and private sector accounts. Born and raised in Montréal, Austin is an alumnus of Canada’s Royal Military College and holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School.

To be confirmed

Dr. Michael Petrou joined the Canadian War Museum in 2022. His areas of research include veterans, oral history, war’s impact on society, Canadians in the Spanish Civil War, Canadians in the Special Operations Executive, and conflict journalism. He is currently the lead historian for In Their Own Voices, a Canadian War Museum oral history project that explores the experiences of Canadian veterans and their families, from the Second World War to the present day.

Danielle Teillet, Historian, Indigenous Military History, Canadian War Museum, and Red River Métis / settler from Winnipeg and citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation

Adam Jones, Canadian Armed Forces veteran and Carleton University student

Serge Durflinger, professor in the Department of History at the University of Ottawa

Stéphanie Bélanger, Associate Scientific Director of the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research

Étienne d’Anjou joined the Régiment de la Chaudière in 2007 and deployed to Afghanistan in 2012. After returning, he continued to serve until 2020. At the same time, he studied at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec, where he graduated in 2017. As an actor, he has appeared in several productions, earning a nomination for the Nikki Roy Award in 2020. Since then, he has also portrayed a reservist in Projet Monarques, a performance focusing on post-traumatic stress disorder among military personnel.

Benjamin Hertwig’s debut poetry collection, Slow War, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award and received the poetry prize at the Alberta Book Awards. His writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, and The Walrus, among others. He is a recipient of a National Magazine Award in Personal Journalism, and his debut novel, Juiceboxers, was released last fall. He has taught writing workshops for veterans, inmates, and students across Canada.

Jessica Lynn Wiebe draws from her lived military experience to create interdisciplinary work that centres on militarism, military life, and commemoration. This work is often gritty, in concept, materials, and approach. Wiebe’s work reveals the messiness and chaos that is war in hopes of encouraging dialogue on war and conflict. By listening to others’ lived experiences, we begin to know ourselves more deeply. Jessica was born and raised in Brandon, Manitoba on Treaty 2 Territory and currently practices in K’jipuktuk/Halifax.

Joel Watson, HBA, LLB, MA, former officer in both the Regular and Reserve Forces, former Director of Legal Services for the Minister of Veterans Affairs, and Vice-Chair of the Veterans Transition Advisory Council

Sarah Hogenbirk, independent researcher specializing in Canadian history, gender history, and war and society

Eric Brunt is a documentary filmmaker based in Montreal. Since 2018, he has interviewed over 500 of Canada’s last living Second World War veterans. His cross-country efforts led to the Eric Brunt Collection at the Canadian War Museum, a curated body of interviews that preserves their stories for future generations. Now directing his first feature-length film, Eric’s work explores memory, masculinity, and intergenerational silence through the lens of veterans’ lived experiences.

Tim Cook, CM, FRSC is the Chief Historian and Director of Research at the Canadian War Museum. He is the author and editor of 19 books. Cook is also editor of the UBC Press Canadian Military History series, a member of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board, and a frequent commentator in the media. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and the Order of Canada.

Dr. Kelly Norah Drukker is a Montreal-based oral historian, writer, and educator whose work focuses on the intersections between memory, oral history, Irish studies, creative writing, and place. She has presented her oral history projects at Concordia University, Ulster University, the University of Galway, Sydney Catholic University, and the University of Jyväskylä, among other venues. Her poetry collection, Small Fires (McGill-Queen’s University Press) won the A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry and the Concordia University First Book Prize, and was translated into French as Petits feux (Le lézard amoureux). Dr. Drukker holds a master’s degree in English Literature and Creative Writing and a doctorate in Humanities from Concordia University, where she is affiliated with the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling.

Anna Vigeland is a student in Concordia’s PhD Individualized Studies (INDI) program and a Scholar-in-Residence at the university’s Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling. Her research is driven by overlapping interests in oral history, performance histories, translation, memory, and interdisciplinary forms of creation. Her approach also draws on over 15 years working in circus and on a translation practice that is increasingly interwoven with her research and artistic projects. She is a graduate of the National Circus School of Montréal, the University of Massachusetts, and Concordia’s INDI MA program.