Canadian Heritage Minute comeback a jolt of nostalgia

Canada's history inspired Heritage Minutes are returning after a seven-year absence, with the premiere of the first of two new spots to air next week to celebrate the bicentennial of the War of 1812.

The CRB Foundation first began producing the 60-second short films in the 1990s. Later, the Historica-Dominion Institute, a charitable organization, continued to make the spots, which aired on TV and in movie theatres.

The Heritage Minutes commemorated historically significant moments such as Joe Shuster's creation of Superman, Nellie McClung's push for women's rights and John McCrae's penning of the war memorial poem In Flanders Fields.

The iconic commercials have also inspired parodies by comedian Rick Mercer, as well as by The Comedy Network, which satirized the shorts in what it called "Canadian Sacrilege Moments."