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Prohibition
Prohibition banned the production, import, and transportation of liquor across Canada. Women's groups had campagined for a ban of liquor, stating that grain should be used to feed soldiers & civilians rather than to make alcohol. Consquently, Prohibition was introduced by the federal government in 1918, causing the crime rate to drop and the arrest for drunkness to decrease. However, illegal liquor was now made/sold by bootleggers, and transported by rumrunners. -
Spanish Flu
In 1918, Canada was struck with a terrible epidemic called the Spanish flu. This was a result of soldiers returning home from the war and carrying the virus with them from overseas. Civilians usually got pneumonia when diagnosed with this epidemic and often died from it because penicillin and sulpha had not been discovered yet. In efforts to stop the spread of this flu, schools, theatres, and churches closed their doors. Death had come to the homefront. -
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Canada: The Roaring Twenties & The Dirty Thirties
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Bloody Saturday
Bloody Saturday took place on June 21st 1919, during the Winnipeg General Strike. Crowds had gathered to watch a parade protesting the arrest of strike leaders, however, parades had been banned at that time. The Royal North-West Mounted Police were called by the Mayor and the crowd was charged. Violence errupted resulting in the death of one man, the injury of 30, and the arrest of hundreds. Five days later, the general strike was over. -
Group of Seven
-More Info-The Group of Seven formed in 1920, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald, and Fredrick Varley. They were a group of Canadian painters who were famous for their paintings of the Canadian landscape. The Group of Seven were the first to create a Canadian national style in painting. Their influence and popularity still continues to grow all over the world. -
Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
Mackenzie King was a dominant Canadian political liberal leader from the 1920's to the 1940's. He was Canada's 10th Prime Minister, with 21 years in office. However in 1930, King insisted that social welfare was the responsibility of the provinces, declaring he would not give a "five cent piece" to any province that did not have a liberal government. This speech was not popular among voters. In the election of 1930, The Liberals were voted out of office & the Conservative Party came into power. -
Insulin
In 1921, the population of North America had greatly been affected by diabetes. At that time, no one knew the cause or treatment of the disease. However, in 1922, Canadian medical researchers at the University of Toronto had discovered a treatment called insulin. Ontario doctor, Frederick Banting, determined that people with diabetes could not absorb sugar & starch from the blood stream because they were missing an important hormone-insulin. Results were astounding & saved the lives of millions. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
In efforts to stop immigration from China, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in Canada on July 1st 1923. This Act banned all Chinese from entering Canada, except for students, merchants, and diplomats. Canadians feared that the Chinese would take over their jobs. Due to the Great War (1914-1918), discrimination still existed in Canada. -
Royal Canadian Air Force
-More Info-The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968. Its focus was mostly on civil aviation, however the government believed military planes could be justified only if they were used for peaceful purposes as well. Therefore, early RCAF pilots patrolled for forest fires, checked on fishing boats, and watched for smuggling along Canada's coasts. In 1968, the three branches of the Canadian military were combined into the Canadian Forces and the RCAF was split up. -
Persons Case
-More Info-In August of 1927, Emily Murphy & four other prominent women (Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Edwards, Irene Parlby) decided to petition the prime minister about the meaning of 'persons' in Section 24 of the British North American Act. In April of 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada decided women were not 'persons' qualified for appointment to the Canadian Senete, however the Privy Council in Britain stated otherwise. As a result, women were considered 'persons' in the eye of the law. -
Black Tuesday
In the 1920's, many people played the stock market, thinking they could get rich over night. Unfortunately, Tuesday October 29, 1929 would forever be known as Black Tuesday, the day Canada's stock market crashed. Many people who invested in the stock market were affected negatively and lost everything. This dramatic event had played a big role in Canada's economic downturn in the 1930's, which was known as the Great Depression. -
The Great Depression
-More Info-In 1929, the general prosperity in Canada quickly disappeared as Canada plunged into the Great Depression, the worst economic downturn it had ever faced. Consequently, many people lost their jobs, their debts became heavier, & families saw most of their assets disappear. Even though the stock market crash of 1929 played a big role in this economic downturn, it wasn't the cause. The prosperity stage of the 1920's was followed by a recession which eventually turned into a depression by the 1930's. -
Statute of Westminister
-More Info-On December 11, 1931, the British Parliment passed the Statute of Westminister which was a law that gave formal recognition to all countries with a Dominion status full independence. This meant that Canada was made a completely self-governing nation, bound by no laws other than its own. However Canada did agree to remain part of a new Commonwealth of Nations, which is why its type of government is a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy. -
On-to-Ottawa Trek
The On-to-Ottawa Trek was a social movement of unemployed men, fed up with life in the British Columbia relief camps. They boarded freight trains bound for Ottawa to protest the government. The men got to Regina, where they were stopped by the Mounted Police and accused of disobeying the law and plotting to overthrow the government by Prime Minister Bennett. Violence broke out in which dozens of people were injured & a police officer was killed. -
New Deal
Prime Minister R.B. Bennett knew that Canadians were angry with the government over the economic downturn. In 1935, just before an election, Bennett introduced his plan to establish unemployment & social insurance, set minimum wages, limit the hours of work, guarentee the fair treatment of employees, & control prices so that businesses could not make unfair profits. The people called this Bennett's New Deal. However in the election of 1935, King and the Liberals swept back into power. -
CBC - Canadian Broadcasting Company
-More Info-In 1933, the government created the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Comission (CRBC) which became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1936. This corporation was created in efforts to counteract the American domination of the airwaves and to encourage the development of Canadian programs. CBC took on a powerful force in establishing a sense of national unity across Canada, and is still popular nowadays.
