Participant Info

First Name
Kelsey
Last Name
Lonie
Country
Canada
State
Affiliation
Independent Scholar
Website URL
wlacanada.org
Keywords
Second World War, women, military, canada, saskatchewan, agriculture, women's land army
Availability
Media Contact
Additional Contact Information
PhD
MA

Personal Info

Photo
About Me

As a female writer, teacher, and military historian, I find myself driven by a pursuit to highlight the voices of women during the Second World War. My writing aims to resonate with the general public through storytelling, material culture, and photographs, enabling readers to insert themselves into the narrative and learn more about their own identity. 

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Education and an MA in Military History from the University of Regina. My MA research focused on the voices of rural women in Canada who worked under the auspices of a Dominion-Provincial Women’s Land Army during the Second World War. This research is featured in my upcoming book, A Vacation for Victory!, set to release in 2025 with McGill-Queen’s University Press. I am also the author of an historical fiction children’s book set to release through Heritage House in September 2025.

In addition to my writing career, I taught in the classroom for 8 years, and now work as a collections manager in a military museum. I am also the (civilian) Regimental Historian for the Royal Regina Rifles. My role in both positions enhances public awareness of the history of the Canadian military by engaging with soldiers, veterans, and their families, conducting oral history and research, instructing university students, and designing exhibit spaces, websites, and social media content.

In 2023, I received the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for my work in promoting history and education in Saskatchewan.

Recent Publications

Lonie, Kelsey, Corey Safinuk, Johnathon Zimmer, eds. Canada and the Challenges of Leadership: How Canadian Prime Ministers have Responded to Crises at Home and Abroad. University of Regina: Pressbooks. May 2023. 

Lonie, Kelsey. “Patriotism, Politics, and Parity: William Lyon Mackenzie King and the Death of the Small-Scale Farmer in the Prairie West, 1941-1946.” In Canada and the Challenges of Leadership:How Canadian Prime Ministers have Responded to Crises at Home and Abroad. University of Regina: Pressbooks. May 2023. 

Upcoming:

Lonie, Kelsey. A Vacation for Victory!: An Illustrated History of the Women’s Land Army in Canada. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2025.

Lonie, Kelsey. Whitey’s Journey: The True Story of a Four-Legged Soldier in the Canadian Army. Victoria: Heritage House, 2025.

Media Coverage
CBC, CTV, Global News, Degrees Magazine
Country Focus
Canada
Expertise by Geography
North America
Expertise by Chronology
20th century
Expertise by Topic
Capitalism, Children & Youth, Food History, Gender, Labor, Military, Public History, Women, World War II