The location and its terrain have shaped Canada’s history, like the history of any other country. How have Canada’s natural resources and beauty shaped and influenced Canadian history?

Henry Pellet, the builder of Casa Loma, was known as “Henry the Plunger.” Why was he called by this name? What did it reveal about his personality?

What is the literal translation of the term Casa Loma? What was unique or special about the construction of Casa Loma?

Discuss the architecture of Casa Loma. Why was the design so unique? How does Canadian history appear in the structure? What are the European influences? How important was E.J. Lennox in the makeup of the city and its classic profiles?

How did Casa Loma become a tourist attraction? How great a tourist attraction is it?

How were great fortunes of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries made. How are these success stories a product of their times or were they a matter of being “at the right place at the right time?"

How is nutrition different from today? Consider the growing and gathering of food, what was grown, how it was kept fresh, incidence of  contamination and spoilage, use of curing techniques and development of freezing and cold storage.

Extended Activities

Design a figure to guard over your “castle” such as the ones that overlooked and protected Casa Loma.

Design your own castle. How would your castle reflect your tastes and lifestyles? What would your castle have that would make it uniquely yours?  (From AandE)

What systems and procedures would you use to keep food fresh?

How would you cool or freeze foods?

How is wine kept at it optimum quality and how is it that bad wine can be good?

Should power generation and sales be under private or public ownership? How important is it for the strength of the economy?

Was it dangerous for a private individual to have a regiment under personal control?

How much control should there be on the management of business and the trading of stocks and operations of the stock market?

What different varieties of horses are there and what are their strengths and particular qualities?

What role did horses play before the wide use of the internal combustion engine to power transportation and how was that transformation carried out? How did society change?

What is the role of royalty in Canada and how has that changed over the years?