A Million Words Later: Translating the Canadian Encyclopedia
We began our collaboration with Historica Canada in 2023, and since then, our team has translated more than one million words into French. In the translation industry, words are our unit of measurement—but when working with Historica Canada’s content, that metric quickly feels inadequate.
Each article opens a window into a larger universe—stories of people, places, and ideas that shape Canada’s identity. Translating these materials is both a privilege and a responsibility: an opportunity to learn, and to help share these stories with French-speaking audiences while preserving the nuance, intent, and cultural depth behind every piece.
We recently had the opportunity to speak with Erin James-Abra, Managing Editor at Historica Canada, to learn more about the organization, the stories it helps preserve, and its experience partnering with wintranslation.
Thank you Erin James-Abra for telling us more about Historica and your experince with us.
Q.: Can you tell us a bit about your journey and your role at Historica Canada? What originally drew you to this kind of work, and what continues to inspire the content you create today?
Erin: I began working for Historica Canada in 2013 as The Canadian Encyclopedia’s nature and geography editor. Roughly ten years later I assumed the role of managing editor for the publication. I was drawn to working for the encyclopedia out of a genuine love for my country and the stories that inform who we are as Canadians. Canada is so vast and the people within it so diverse that there will never be any shortage of stories to tell.
Q.: Historica Canada’s materials span a wide range of topics—from natural heritage to influential Canadian figures. What makes a story “important” or worth telling in today’s context?
Erin: At The Canadian Encyclopedia we have a list of “criteria for inclusion” that we consult when considering a topic for our pages. Most important is that the topic or story can have a Canadian perspective applied to it. For example, while the War in Afghanistan wasn’t fought on Canadian soil, telling the story of the Canadian Armed Forces’ particpation in that conflict is important to our audience. Similarly, a topic need not be necessarily known on a national scale for us to inculde it; stories of regional importance, like specific neighbourhoods or community spaces, also warrant our attention.
Q.: From your perspective, how does offering content in French change or expand the way audiences engage with these stories?
Erin: I think that language is one way of understanding a culture. To read about the explorations of, for example, Samuel de Champlain, in the language he wrote and spoke in adds a level of nuance that wouldn’t be present if we only presented his story in English.
I think that language is one way of understanding a culture.
Q.: How has your experience been working with our translation team since the beginning of our collaboration?
Erin: Genuinely wonderful. Your team is responsive to feedback, efficient and easy to work with.
Q.: What does a successful translation partnership look like from your perspective?
Erin: Our team of editors produces an extremely high volume of material over the course of the year. With that in mind, a successful translation partnership needs to be efficient, well-organized and communicative. Hugo, our project manager at wintranslation, provides all of these things. Of the hundreds of translations I’ve sent to him, not one has been lost in the back and forth between us. If anything, he helps me keeps track of things on my end!
Your team is responsive to feedback, efficient and easy to work with.