It isn't necessarily from the "people's" perspective but Desmond Morton's "A Short History of Canada" does give light to lesser known bits of Canadian history.

http://smile.amazon.com/Short-History-Canada-Sixth-Edition/dp/0771064802?sa-no-redirect=1

Full disclosure, I had him as a professor in university and grew fond of his work. He was Tommy Douglas' second hand man in the 60s - so he does have some 'lefty' cred, I suppose.

Just FYI historians do not consider APHOTUS to be a legitimate history book...you can search through threads on here to understand why.

"Canada, A People's History". Also a CBC series.