1920's and 1930's timeline.

The federal government introduced prohibition in 1918. Prohibition forbids the transportation and import of liquor across Canada. These bans were campaigned by women´s groups such as the Women's Christain Temperance. They said that the grain was needed to feed civilians and soldiers. When prohibition was introduced crime rates went up because people were drinking alcohol and sneaking it across the borders, now a crime. People would buy illegal liquor from bootleggers called ¨bootleg booze¨.

It is not known for sure where the Spanish Flu came from but it spread when the soldiers returned home from war. Many people who got the flu had a weakened immune system and also got pneumonia. Many people died from pneumonia because there were no medications such as penicillin and sulpha drugs. Communities tried to stop the spread of the pandemic by quarantining. 50,000 Canadians died during the epidemic which was 10,000 fewer people than died in the war.

In Winnipeg, worker unrest came to a critical point so people started to go on strike, asking for three things: decent wages, an eight-hour workday and the right to bargain collectively for better working conditions. Cities such as Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal went on sympathy strikes to support Winnipeg. Most key services, industries, stores and factories were shut down or closed. The strike helped to join the different working classes across the country. Bloody Saturday was a violent day.

Canada wanted the aboriginals to give up their culture and be a part of the Canadian one. The aboriginals were sent to reserves and any children between the age of 7-15 were forced to go to residential schools. The kids were taken from their families and homes, were beaten, and had their culture stripped away. The first residential school to open was in the 1870s and the last residential school closed in 1996. The estimated number of children murdered at residential schools is over 6,000.

The radio was a popular invention in the 1920s. The radio was an easy way to communicate ideas and information to people as well as a way to provide entertainment. It was also an easy way to get people to connect and make the country feel smaller. Most families had a radio in their living room and was a form of entertainment that they would enjoy together.

Jazz spread north from New Orleans in the United States, due to performers like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. The Charleston was the decade's most popular dance. Its fast and wild pace quickly became popular among the younger generation. Members of the Boston City Council attempted to ban the Charleston, but it was unstoppable. It became a symbol of the booming jazz age. Jazz music was also performed at places such as speakeasies which made it pretty popular.

Insulin is used in the treatment of diabetes. Dr. Fredrick Banting first discovered insulin in 1922 at the University of Toronto. He had a medical practice in London, Ontario which gave him time to think about diabetes and the hormone called ¨insulin¨. He researched insulin and how to isolate it with the help from J.B. Collip. In late 1922 they were able to use it on humans and saw amazing results. Dr. Fredrik Banting won the Nobel prize award in 1923 for the discovery.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by the Canadian parliament in 1923 and prohibited any Chinese person except for students, merchants, and diplomats to enter Canada. This act was cancelled in 1947. Between 1923 and 1947 there were only 8 Chinese accepted into Canada. Chinese people weren't allowed to vote and had to pay a head tax.

Talkies were films with sound. With the arrival of talking movies, there was a lot of excitement, anticipation, and even anxiety. Some famous actors and actresses were Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo and Mary Pickford. There were more than 900 movie theatres across Canada by the end of the decade. Popular entertainment for many kids and adults was Hollywood films. Canada and Hollywood had a major influence on each other in the film industry.

The Persons Case highlighted the inequity women faced. Emily Murphy was the first female judge in 1916. A male lawyer questioned her competence to judge because in the perspective of the law women were not ¨persons¨. The Supreme Court ruled in 1928 that women were not qualified for election to the Canadian Senate. The ¨Famous Five¨ decided to take the case to the British Privy Council. After about three months of thought, they determined that the word ¨persons¨ referred to both men and women.

The Great Depression was a time when millions of Canadians were unemployed, hungry, and often homeless as a result of the social and economic shock. Causes of the Great Depression were overproduction and over-expansion (products not selling), Canada's reliance on a few primary products such as wheat, fish, minerals, pulp and paper, Canada depending on the USA for 65% of their imports, high tariffs which killed international trade, too much credit buying, and too much credit buying of stocks.

Relief was when the government provided emergency financial help to some unemployed people in order to keep them from going hungry. There were also relief camps that homeless men would go to in the wilderness and work hard to earn money.

Black Tuesday was the day that the stock market crashed because of too much credit buying of stocks. People would buy stocks at a low price and sell them when the stock got high and they would make a fortune. On October 29, 1929 stock prices fell more than 50% leaving people angry and without money.

A Benet Buggy was a car with no engine, windows or framework that was pulled by a horse. They were created because many people couldn't afford the price of gas. Parts of the car were taken off so it was easier for the horse to pull. The Bennet Buggy was given its name as a reminder that R.B. Bennet was the Prime Minister when the crash happened.

Prime Minister Mackenzie King stated in 1930 that the provinces were in charge of their own social welfare. He stated that any province that did not have a liberal government would not receive a "five-cent piece." The Conservative party used King's speech against him, portraying him as unfit to lead the Canadian government. King's political mistake helped the Conservatives greatly, as they easily won the election of 1930, taking control of the Canadian government.

On to Ottawa Trek was when men had had enough of the relief camps in British Columbia and held onto trains to get to Ottawa to protest for minimum wages and a genuine system of social and unemployment insurance. The trekkers were stopped in Regina because Prime Minister Bennet said they were disobeying the law. This broke out in a riot and a police officer was killed.