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Future History follows two passionate, and polar opposite, Anishinaabe (Ojibway) hosts as they venture into their community to gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous Knowledge and the movement of cultural revitalization. For generations, across North America, Indigenous People have been reeling from the devastating effects of colonialism that has left children, language, ceremony and culture at risk. But today, a movement of reclamation and revitalization is being led by Indigenous People who are harnessing Indigenous Knowledge as a way to shift the colonial paradigm and build a brighter future for the next generation. From Arts and Science to the Justice System, the resurgence of Indigenous Knowledge is stronger than ever. Future History is a journey of discovery through an Indigenous lens, a journey that will inspire and enlighten audiences of all ages.

Documentary | 1 season

Future History

In the summer of 2017, a group of Indigenous students and elders embarked on a six-week paddle trip down Canada’s longest river, in an effort to reconnect with Dene land and culture.

Documentary | 22 min

I Hold The Dehcho In My Heart (Sedze Tah Dehcho E’Toh)

CBC’s new documentary program gets to the heart of current affairs and social issues that matter to Canadians. With unique and often unexpected access, these stories will ignite discussions.

Current Affairs | 5 seasons

CBC Docs POV

Alanis Obomsawin’s film reveals how a Cree community in Manitoba has been enriched through the power of education.

Education | 97 min

Our People Will Be Healed

Wildlife expert Saba Douglas-Hamilton and family move to the romantic Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya to run a safari lodge for the first time.

This Wild Life

Ten celebrated Canadians each get ten minutes on stage to share an idea that will help you boycott what you thought! From comedians, to authors to entrepreneurs these ten minute talks will inspire you to rise above your old way of thinking on life’s biggest topics and embrace a new perspective that will lead you to a greater success and happiness!

Reality | 1 season

Top Ten Event

We Are Canada celebrates the future of Canada by profiling the next generation of change-makers, who are shaping the future of those around them.

We Are Canada

You Can’t Ask asks the misunderstood, judged, or stigmatised people in society, the questions you've always wanted to know the answers to. It's about breaking down stereotypes and offering genuine insight into the lives of people who live with labels.

Documentary | 2 seasons

You Can't Ask That

Twelve remarkable Canadian kids showcase their smarts through exciting challenges across six categories: physical, musical, social, linguistic, logical, and visual smarts. Hosted by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.

Canada's Smartest Person Junior

Canada's Smartest Person is a whole new way of looking at SMART. Four participants are challenged with various tasks that will redefine what it means to be smart based on multiple intelligence theory.

Canada's Smartest Person

A series about breaking down stereotypes and offering insight into the lives of people who live with labels, giving an unmediated platform to some of the most misunderstood people.

You Can't Ask That (OZ)

Samuel L. Jackson, along with a team of investigative journalists and divers, uncovers the hidden history of the transatlantic slave trade.

Enslaved

Join us as we honour the resilience of residential school Survivors, and the journey of Truth and Reconciliation that lies ahead.

Documentary | 88 min

Every Child Matters: Reconciliation Through Education

It's the most famous whisper in American history. President Bush learns of the 9/11 attacks while sitting in front of 16 schoolchildren. This is the untold story of those kids. Today they are in their mid-20s and offer a fascinating window into post 9/11 America.

Documentary | 78 min

9/11 Kids

After the closure of schools across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one family looks to close out the school year with a bang, turning their home and the surrounding forest into an educational wonderland.

Documentary | 21 min

Pandemic Elementary

Based on Gerry Dee's real-life experiences as a teacher before he moved to comedy full-time, MR. D is the story of a charming under-qualified teacher, trying to fake his way through a teaching job.

Comedy | 8 seasons

Mr. D

At a time when nuclear tensions once again run high, The Hole in Reservoir Hill revisits a decommissioned nuclear bunker buried deep beneath North Bay, Ontario - and introduces some of the people who know its secrets. Though trees and woodland now cover the scars on Reservoir Hill, the bunker’s legacy lives on. Digging just below the surface, we discover the psyche of a town and the hole left behind by its former concealed nucleus. Through a cast of local characters, we reveal the bunker’s lasting psychological imprint on those who were witness to its workings - and the unlikely renewed relevance to those who weren’t. For those who lived and worked in the facility, it’s a decaying source of nostalgia. To others, it’s a mystery, an enigmatic entity - a relic. Decades after closing, the bunker still captures the imagination of those who live nearby, both young and old. Juxtaposing Cold War culture with today’s spectre of nuclear warfare, the film is a reflection on the impacts and lessons of a lost time; a time we so brazenly thought to be ancient history...until now.

Documentary | 13 min

The Hole in Reservoir Hill

A young Canadian poet with Chinese and Persian parents travels to Iran to perform at a poetry festival.

Animation | 88 min

Window Horses

High school students today have to balance heavy workloads at school with increasing pressure to succeed. Fourth Period Burnout pools the creative energies of three youth - Juliette (16), Daniel (18) and Theresa (15) - and their mentor, Madison Thomas, to create a short documentary about their day-to-day experiences with stress and burnout. Juliette dances five days a week while working towards becoming an actor and pushing herself to do well in school. Daniel is a high school senior with a goal of going into film studies. He's a bit nervous about university. Theresa is a first-generation Canadian whose parents immigrated from the Philippines. She feels the pressure to do well in school, but also loves the arts and just hanging out with her friends. The idea for the documentary took shape when director Madison Thomas started teaching in an after-school program for creative teens in Winnipeg. “When one student shared her weekly school, homework, extra-curricular and part-time work schedule with me, I was floored by how much was being expected of this 16 year-old,” says Thomas. Fourth Period Burnout features the collaborative voice of the students alongside artistic recreations of the situations that hint at the emotional and psychological states of youth heading towards a burnout from being overworked at school. Through their work, the voices of the teen creators encourage other youth to practise self-care and not put so much pressure on themselves. With behind-the-scenes footage documenting the writing process and the narrative components that the students bring to life, the documentary explores how high school students are overworked and some of the ways they can manage their stress.

Documentary | 15 min

Fourth Period Burnout

“Never say never, because you never know where you’re going to end up next.” Iman knows this sentiment all too well. 
Born with a “silver spoon in her mouth,” Iman never imagined she would have spent the past ten years as a sex worker in Toronto. But after coming out to her family as a transgender woman, she found it was her only way to survive. During her decade on the streets, Iman noticed a glaring lack of social services for “girls like her.”  Seeing transgender women suffer inspired Iman to change her life. One Leg In, One Leg Out follows Iman as she takes the initial steps towards pursuing a new career as a social worker. But after meeting with a college advisor, she realizes the program requirements, time commitment and financial obligations are very different from the lifestyle she has grown accustomed to. Following Iman in her day-to-day, One Leg In, One Leg Out shows the humanity and challenges within sex work, focusing on the tension between the need to survive and the desire for change.

One Leg In, One Leg Out

It’s not your average book club. A group of inmates at Toronto South Detention Centre are studying Secret Path, Gord Downie and Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel about Chanie Wenjack. Chanie was a young Anishinaabe boy who died while running away from residential school in 1966 - simply because he wanted to go home. Many themes in Chanie’s story resonate with these inmates: isolation, identity, fear, anger, the desire for freedom. Secret Path: Freedom to Speak captures a discussion within the walls of the jail and reveals how Chanie's story has had a profound impact on each of these incarcerated individuals. 
The book club program is a creation of the Toronto Public Library and Literal Change, a Toronto- based non-profit that runs reading groups and literacy programs for Ontario’s incarcerated population. In 2011, the Correctional Service of Canada estimated that two-thirds of federal inmates do not have the basic level of literacy required to function in modern society. Through this program, inmates are taught reading and writing skills to help them achieve their educational and career goals when they reintegrate back into society. In addition, more than twenty-five percent of federal inmates are of Indigenous descent, despite making up only about four per cent of the total Canadian population.

Documentary | 1 episode

The Secret Path: Freedom to Speak

Gord Downie's Secret Path tells the story of Chanie Wenjack, a young boy who died trying to get home from residential school in 1966. It's been taught in classrooms across Canada this year. Daisy and Pearl Wenjack, Chanie's sisters, visit a school in Toronto where the children have a special surprise for the family.

Documentary | 10 min

The Secret Path: In the Classroom

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