In this article for a special eastern issue, Conrad sets about answering the LRC editor’s question, “Is history an albatross around the Maritimes’ neck?” In order to properly address the question, she begins by defining the difference between the “Maritimes” and “Atlantic Canada” (the latter term includes Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island). Her thesis that “Atlantic Canadians are no more hobbled by the past than other Canadians” is well argued through an examination of stereotypes that non-Atlantic Canadians tend to hold toward people from that region. She then analyzes the socio-economic and political development (progress and challenges) of the region on its own as well as in its relation to the rest of Canada. She concludes: “The future of the past in Atlantic Canada, you ask? It does not look very promising, but the future of the future has potential.”