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In March 1918, the Canadian government enforced a prohibition policy across the country. Pressure from groups such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union and influence from the actions of provincial governments pushed the federal government to introduce the policy. However, secret production of liquor and smuggling became increasingly common. Prohibition was eventually dropped, Prince Edward Island being the last province to drop the policy in 1948.
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The war stricken people of Canada had to face another threat at home in 1918: the Spanish Flu. First detected in Spain in May 1918, it is said that returning soldiers brought the flu to Canadian soil. Public places were closed down and even total quarrantine was enforced in some municipalities. The federal government established a Department of Health to cope with it. By the end of the epidemic, fifty thousand Canadians died from the Spanish Flu.
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On May 1st, 1919, the Buildng and Metal Trades Councils in Winnipeg voted to go on strike. They demanded better wages (at least 85 cents a day), an eight-hour work day and better working conditions. Workers from all industries in Winnipeg soon walked off the job and showed their support. Tensions continued to grow, and on June 21st, also known as Bloody Saturday, violence erupted. One man was killed, thirty were injured, and hundreds were arrested. In the days that followed, the strke ended.
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Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, dreamed of producing a car that would be affordable to everyone. To make this dream come true, he introduced an assembly line into his factories. The assembly line ran from one end of a factory to another. Each worker was in charge of one part of the car manufacturing as the car rolled along, greatly reducing costs. The assembly line changed the world in means of manufacturing and business.
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The Group of Seven held their first public exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario in May 2010, much to the horror of critics. Influenced by the Impressionists, the Group of Seven was a group of seven Canadian artists (occasionally accompanied by friends from the artistic community) that set out to paint the wilderness of Canada in a new way. Their first exhibiition did not behold good reviews, arguably because critics were not used to their style of painting.
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The famous sports broadcaster Foster Hewitt called his first hockey game on February 16th, 1923. He was positioned in a "soundproof box beside the rink" and broadcasted straight from there. The game took place between Kitchener and Toronto and was the first radio broadcast of a hockey game in history. Hewitt continued to broadcast for many years, with his trademark exclamation, "He shoots, he scores!"
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On this day, Canada's federal government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act banned all Chinese people from entering Canada, with exceptions applying only for students, merchants and diplomats. A mere eight Chinese people were admitted into Canada from the introduction of the act to 1947, when the act was finally lifted. The Chinese dubbed the date of the introduction of the act "Humiliation Day."
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Sadly, women were discriminated against in society until quite recently in history. This was called the Persons Case, in which sides argued over whether women were considered persons. Emily Murphy, the first female judge in the British Empire, and four other feminists petitioned to the federal government of Canada that women were considered "persons." The Supreme Court declared so, which was another big step in establishing women rights in Canada.
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The Roaring Twenties was brought to a halt with crahs of the New York Stock Exchange, also known as "Black Tuesday," that would change the conditions for the next decade. On this day, sixteen million shares were traded in the stock market. The Dow Jones lost thirteen percent of its value and other stock prices began to plummet. Overall, this day fueled the momentum of the Great Depression forward, and the world braced itself for ten years of hardship to come.
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On this day, Prime Minister Mackenzie King made the famous "Five-Cent Piece" speech, arguably his biggest mistake during his political career. He argued that social welfare among Canadian citizens was the responsibility of provincial government. He also declared that he would not give a "five-cent piece" to any province that did not have a Liberal government. This sparked an outrage and R.B. Bennett was elected into office during the next election.
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Following the reaction to W.L.M. King's "five-cent piece" speech, R.B. Bennett and the Conservative party stormed into power on parliament hill. Bennett was cursed with entering office during the Great Depression, but his intentions to battle it were strong. His early efforts were strong, but gradually they fell apart and power was handed back to King and the Liberals. A noted philantrophist, Bennett was known for sending a bit of money to kids who wrote him letters kindly asking for it.
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Amidst the growing autonomy of Canada, the Statute of Westminster was passed by the British Parliament. It outlined the Balfour Report law, which stated that Canada and other dominions of the British Empire would be self-governing. There were only two minor exceptions to this, but at the end of the day Canada was free from British rule and decisions.
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With the passing of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act under by R.B. Bennett, the CRBC (Canadian radio Broadcasting Corporation) was born. It's main purpose was to reduce American dominance in airways over Canadian soil and to promote Canadian identity. In 1936 it was renamed the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and continued to expand to this day.
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As a last-minute attempt to secure votes from a country angry at his stagnant actions to combat the Depression, R.B. Bennett proposed his "New Deal." The deal were intended to take action on conditions in the workforce, with intended reforms including setting minimum wages, limiting the hours of work and creating a positive work environment for employees. Many did not believe Bennett would takeaction and went on to elect Mackenzie King and the Liberals back into power.
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Disastisfied with the Bennett's response to the Great Depression, hundreds of men from British Columbia hopped onto trains headed east to rally a demonstration at Ottawa face-to-face with parliament. Their intentions were never fulfilled, as they were halted in Regina by the RCMP, on orders from Bennett. A riot commenced, injuring several and killing an officer. No sympathy was shown to the determined men.
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WIth Adolf HItler ruling over Germany, Jews across Europe feared for their lives, escaping to other nations that they believed would shelter them from harm. 937 of these Jews boarded the St. Louis and sailed to Canada, desperately seeking refuge. However, Prime Minister Mackenzie King denied them entry, reasoning that he believed they would not be good settlers. The Jews were forced to return to Europe and many of them eventually fell victim to Hitler's regime.
