Alan is a retired teacher whose interest in Canadian history has led him into various careers. During his 33 years as a teacher, he won the 1999 Governor General’s Award for Excellence in teaching Canadian History, the Marshall McLuhan Outstanding Teacher Award for Communication, and the Paul Harris Fellow Award. He is a prolific writer and has authored several books including Your Home On Native Land and Richard Bedford Bennett: The grinch who gave away a million for JackFruit Press.

He is a CBC radio columnist, a producer of historical ideas, and a supplier of period artifacts for the movie industry. One of his fans described the reasons for his success with students: “He made them laugh and he taught them history effortlessly, because he possesses an incredible talent for making Canadian history important to new Canadian children.”