P.E.I. historian Ed MacDonald 'gobsmacked' to be named to the Order of Canada

P.E.I. historian Ed MacDonald is no stranger to getting calls from the office of the Governor General.  

The one he received earlier this year was different, though. The person on the other end of the line was telling him that he was being made a member of the Order of Canada. 

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon announced 78 new appointments on Thursday, a list that includes activists, authors, artists, journalists, Indigenous leaders and other accomplished Canadians.

MacDonald, 66, is the only Prince Edward Islander to receive the honour this year.

"I occasionally hear from the office when they're checking a nominee to see whether or not anyone in the same area of work deserves the Order of Canada, so when I got a message from the office of the Governor General, I just presumed it was a reference check," he said. 

"When they said no, this time the call was for me, I was gobsmacked." 

The well-known UPEI professor and historian, often referred to as "Dr. Ed" by his students, grew up in Newport, P.E.I.

A voracious reader when he was young, MacDonald was studying for his undergraduate degree at UPEI in the 1970s when he began to think about history from a more local perspective. 

"The history that I loved was knights and castles and battles and things that happened far away, and it wasn't until I was in university that I came to realize history was also a thing that happened right next door, that happened at home," he said.  

"If there's a legacy to leave, it's not just the work itself, but a conviction that knowing our own past is important for us as a province." 

After graduating from UPEI in 1978, MacDonald went on to complete a master's degree before earning a PhD from Queens University in 1984.  

Over the course of his career, he has written, compiled, edited or co-edited 11 books and produced several dozen scholarly articles. 

The citation from the Governor General's office says MacDonald's appointment to the Order of Canada is for "his leadership as a historian and scholar of Prince Edward Island, and for his mentorship of tomorrow's heritage conservationists."

While he initially believed his focus as a UPEI professor would be on research and writing, he quickly fell in love with the teaching.