A Podcast about Canadian
legends, lies & lore
Take a seat by the fire.
Fireside Canada is a storytelling and history podcast focused on the legends, lies and lore of Canada. If you like what you hear, please leave a rating and a review, and let others know.
Why a Canadian folklore podcast?
I believe that the best way to get to know a country and the people who live there is through its stories. Fireside Canada is about these stories.
There are a lot of podcasts about myths, legends and folklore from Europe, America, and around the world, but there’s nothing solely focused on Canada—a land with more than its fair share. I won’t tell you fairy tales, fables or yarns from classic mythology, but I will tell you stories about rum runners and pirates, strange monsters and paranormal encounters, liars, thieves, lost treasures, national myths, and Indigenous legends. Every episode, you’ll hear a story along with an analysis about that story’s potential meaning, history and cultural significance.
How can I support the show?
All of the research, writing and recording for Fireside Canada is done by just one person, as a labour of love in between a full time job, multiple gigs, and family life. If you’d like to help pay for the costs of the show, a donation through buymeacoffee.com/firesidecanada is greatly appreciated.
You can show your support by subscribing, giving the show a positive rating, and sharing it with others. You can also pass along words of encouragement on Twitter.
Who are you?
I’m David, a folklore researcher and writer with a passion for folklore, mythology and local history, and maybe just a smidge of bibliophilia. My studies have led me on a lore-finding road trip across the country and through the backwoods and ghost towns of BC in the company of local historians. I’ve spent the better part of a decade collecting and researching Canadian legends, and have made it my goal to celebrate and share this rich, fascinating and, sadly, often-overlooked folklore.
How do you define “Canadian”?
Canadian Folklore is a tricky subject to discuss. A lot of people I meet are surprised to hear that it’s even a thing, and then, before too long, they start trying to draw lines in the sand. Are legends from Quebec truly Canadian, or do they belong solely to French Canada? What about the stories found along the border, told in the US and Canada? Can we really say that those stories are Canadian stories? What about the stories of Indigenous people—the First Nations, the Inuit, the Métis—if I labelled their stories as “Canadian,” would that be suggesting some sort of ownership of those cultures? That their legends and stories, many of which predate colonization, let alone confederation, somehow belong to the nation of Canada? Like I said, it’s a tricky subject.
This podcast doesn’t exist to define or gate keep concepts of Canadiana. It exists to do one thing: to share my love of the stories—the legends and lore—that are told about and by the various groups of people who live within the geographical region most widely known as “Canada.” To do it right, it’s important for me to acknowledge and respect the origin of the stories I tell and the history, culture, and people behind them, and that’s doubly important when it comes to Indigenous stories.
When I began Fireside Canada, I knew I had to create some rules to follow when sharing the sacred stories, myths and legends of Indigenous people. Here they are:
- I will only share or retell Indigenous stories if the community that owns them has given me permission to do so, or if the story has already been widely disseminated through publications that have been authored or authorized by members of that community. In some cases, stories have grown beyond their originating culture to become geographical legends. I’ll do my best to recognize both their history and their present, and I’ll always provide my sources.
- I will seek to understand and honour the nature, the meaning, and the intention of a story, along with its historical and cultural context. I will not confuse or otherwise portray a sacred legend that is considered truth for a parable or folktale. I’ll endeavour to use words in their original language (I apologize ahead of time for my poor pronunciation).
- When one explores history, one will always encounter injustice. I won’t gloss over or downplay the dark parts of the past, nor will I dwell on them. I will occasionally quote antiquated, racist or otherwise inappropriate language, but only with the intention to provide context and aid in understanding, and I will always provide warning.
- This show is called Fireside Canada, and I use the words “Canada” and “Canadian” primarily in a geographic sense. When it comes to the stories I’m discussing, no identity or nationality is intended or implied. I considered calling the show “Fireside Northern Turtle Island,” but decided that would be confusing for a lot of people.
- I acknowledge that I won’t always get it right, and I won’t always be as thorough as I should be. I’m not a folklorist or a teacher—I’m just a regular guy who loves these kinds of stories, and I want to share them with others. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Though Canada is a multi-cultural country, much of our more popular, easier-to-find folklore comes from people of European descent. I’m eager to discover stories of Canada from other groups, especially those from Asian or South Asian cultures, but they’re exceptionally hard to come by. Sure, there are plenty of traditional stories from China, Japan, India and other countries, but I’m focused on stories originating in, and about, Canada and the people who call this place home. If you have any Canadian stories from these or other cultures, please send them along!