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Residential Schools
In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The school system was created for the purpose of removing Indigenous children from the influence of their own culture and assimilating them into the dominant Canadian culture. -
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Canadian History 1920s & 1930s
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Model T and Assembly Line
On this day in 1913, Henry Ford installs the first moving assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile. Ford's Model T, introduced in 1908, was simple, sturdy and relatively inexpensive, but not inexpensive enough for Ford, who was determined to build “motor cars for the great multitude.” Their car was the first to be produced in large quantities. Olds' assembly line method was the first to be used in the automotive industry. Assembly lines were later on improved. -
Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was a period in the 1920s and 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles rapidly gained nationwide popularity in Canada.The Jazz Age is often referred to in conjunction with the Roaring Twenties, and in Canada it overlapped in significant cross-cultural ways with the Prohibition Era. The movement was largely affected by the introduction of radios nationwide. During this time, the Jazz Age was intertwined with the developing cultures of young people, women, and African Americans. -
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is the fear, dislike of, or prejudice against people from other countries. We know Canada today as one of the most welcoming countries in the world. A pioneer in upholding multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusivity, but back then people were afraid of some people just because of their, race, religion, or culture. After the First World War, indigenous, and people of asian background, were being heavily discriminated against and not getting the recognition they deserved. -
Prohibition
Prohibition was introduced by the federal government in 1918. Prohibition banned the production, transportation, and the importation of alcohol. Women's groups believed that the grain being used to make alcohol should be used to feed the soldiers and civilians instead. With the introduction of Prohibition, smugglers, bootleggers, and rum runners became an issue as they illegally smuggled alcohol into Canada throughout the early 1920's and 30's. -
Spanish Flu
In early 1918, the Spanish Flu broke out in Canada killing millions. Soldiers that had caught the virus while fighting in the war would carry the virus back overseas. Civilians would contract the virus and be diagnosed with pneumonia, later on dying because penicillin had not been discovered yet. Many public buildings like schools, theatres, and churches had to be shut down. -
Bloody Saturday
During the Winnipeg General Strike on June 21st 1919, complete chaos erupted. Crowds had gathered to watch the parades of people protesting. Although, parades were banned at that time. The Royal North-West Mounted Police were called in by the Mayor and that's when violence erupted resulting in the death of one man, the injury of 30, and the arrest of hundreds of people. -
Radio
During the 1920s, the small, low-power Canadian stations filled their abbreviated schedules with all manner of cheap, live productions: music, comedy, drama, education, preaching, news or poetry or story reading, nearly all of which were amateurish. Audiences preferred the more polished products of American radio and at the end of the decade, 80% of the programs listened to were American. In 1929, 2 stations in Montréal and Toronto became affiliates of American networks. -
Flapper
A symbol of the 1920s, flappers embody the youth and rebellion commonly associated with the prohibition era. Rebellious and determined, flappers flirted, danced, smoked, and frequented speakeasies. Much like their free spirits, the flapper dress style was a stark contrast to that of older generations. -
Insulin
On 11 January 1922 insulin was first used in the treatment of diabetes. Insulin was discovered by Sir Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best and JJR Macleod at the University of Toronto. Before 1921, it was exceptional for people with Type 1 diabetes to live more than a year or two. It was one of the twentieth century’s greatest medical discoveries, and it still remains the only effective treatment for people with Type 1 diabetes today. -
Talkies
The primary steps in the commercialisation of sound cinema were taken in the mid- to late 1920s. At first, the sound films which included synchronised dialogue, known as "talking pictures", or "talkies", were exclusively shorts. The earliest feature-length movies with recorded sound included only music and effects. -
Black Tuesday
Black Tuesday refers to October 29, 1929, when Canada's stock market crashed. Panicked sellers traded nearly 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -12%. Black Tuesday is often cited as the beginning of the Great Depression. 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. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn Canada had ever faced. People lost their jobs, debts became heavier, and most of families saw their assets disappear. The stock market crash played a large role in this economic downturn, but it wasn't the real cause. A recession followed the prosperity of the 1920's, which later then turned into the The Great Depression in the 1930's. -
Bennett Buggy
A Bennett Buggy was a term used by Canadians during The Great Depression. It was used to describe a car which had its engine, windows, and sometimes framework taken out to then be pulled by a horse. The term was named after Richard Bennett who was the Prime Minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. Bennett was blamed by many Canadians for the nations poverty, therefore the term was used. -
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted during the Great Depression by Prime Minister R.B Bennett. Bennett knew Canadians were upset about the economic turn down. Bennett's new deal promised more progressive taxation, unemployment insurance, health insurance, closer regulation of working conditions and social reforms. After the 1935 election, Canadians chose King and handed him a majority government.
