If Canada has John A. MacDonald and the United States has George Washington, then British Columbia has James Douglas. "I think almost every historian in British Columbia believes if there had been no James Douglas, there would be no British Columbia," said historian Jean Barman, author of the pre-eminent book on general B.C. "It's just 25 years between when the first non-Indigenous people — apart from some people in the fur trade — came into this territory, and British Columbia became a province," Barman said. "If he wasn't here, I honestly think there would have been no British Columbia because he pulls the strings." You cannot tell the story of British Columbia without James Douglas, but how you tell his story matters a great deal.

Source: CBC News August 01, 2020 12:56 UTC