Background
Sarty was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia before moving to Toronto in 1965.
Sarty was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia before moving to Toronto in 1965.
Going on to do graduate work, he earned a masters degree in history at Duke University, then returned to the University of Toronto where he received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1985 with a thesis entitled "Silent sentry: a military and political history of Canadian coast defence, 1860-1945".
Sarty entered the University of Toronto, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history. Prior to 2004, Sarty was an important researcher involved with the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. In 2004 Sarty was appointed to a teaching position as a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University.
In 2005, he was additionally named chairman of the Council for Canadian Security in the 21st Century, an association based in Calgary.
In 2007, he also became editor of The Northern Mariner, published by the Canadian Nautical Research Society in association with the North American Society for Oceanic History.