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Joseph Armand Bombardier
Joseph A. Bombardier was born and died in Quebec and is best known as an entrepreneur and inventor. He started with the snowmobile. The Canadian Government was interested in his invention after WWII began. They wanted a larger, more powerful vehicle to move troops which led to the invention of larger armoured tracked vehicles. The are now known for building subway trains. -
Spanish Flu
The Spanish Flu pandemic killed more than 50 million worldwide, with more than 50 000 of those being Canadian, between 1918-1920. Most victims were 20-40 years old. It had widespread impacts to the economy as workers became ill and died. Canada had no coordinated response to the pandemic between political bodies, military and health In 1919 the the federal Dept. of Health was established to address this problem. -
Winnipeg General Strike
The Winnipeg General Strike saw upwards of 30,000 workers going on strike on May 15, 1919 for better wages and work conditions. Everything closed and the city ground to a halt. Even police and firefighters joined. The strike was branded as a revolutionary conspiracy by the Citizens Committee to try and suppress it The Federal Government got involved siding with employers and tried to force the strikers back to work. The strike ended June 26th, 1919. -
Bloody Saturday
The Winnipeg General Strike came to a head on June 21, 1919 when the Mounted Police and military confronted the strikers. Two died and 30 were injured. The strike was crushed. -
Residential Schools
By 1920 it become mandatory for Indigenous people to send their children to residential schools. Other educational institutions were not allowed. Residential schools were formed to force indigenous populations to assimilate into the wider Canadian culture which was considered superior. This lead to widespread abuse, death, loss of indigenous language and culture, as well as economic disadvantages for indigenous populations. -
Golden Age of Sports
The 20's and 30's saw women taking sports by storm.Isabel Coursier, a skier and Lela Brooks, a skater took competitive sports to a new level. They broke records demonstrating that women were excellent athletes. They paved the way for the women who came afterward. Lela was competed in the 1932 Winter Olympics in speed skating (demonstration sport at that time). -
Jazz Age
Jazz was a new style of music that combined European and West African customs. It is believed to have originated in New Orleans by African Americans. It result in big change to music and dance, similar to the changes happening in society. The music was known for being rhythmic, full of expression and spontaneous. Very unlike the music that came before. It became popular in Canada and around the world. It helped change women's roles and style of dress. -
Radio
During the 1920's the radio become increasingly important however, Canadians preferred the polished shows from the USA. Canadian broadcasting was mostly education, preaching, news and music. Radio in Canada started to organize and offer entertainment under Canadian Nation and Imperial Oil and Canadian Pacific Railways. Then the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation formed in 1932 (government monopoly).By the end of the 30's National shows were popular and there was widespread use of radios in homes. -
Prohibition
Prohibition was started by the Temperance Movement; people believed that alcohol was responsible for many of society's ills - causing economic hardship and destroying society and religion. It was tied to other social movements of the time - Women's Rights. First enacted in 1901 in PEI it moved across Canada becoming law by WWI. Prohibition here meant alcohol could be made but not sold in Canada. Canada exported the alcohol it produced. The law was revoked in the 1920s in most places. -
Insulin
F. Banting, a physician, began experimenting on pancreatic enzymes to isolate what would become insulin. He worked with J.R. McLeod, C. Best and J. Collip to create insulin a treatment for the fatal disease, diabetes. Their work has saved millions of lives world wide. Banting and McLeod won the 1923 Nobel Prize for their work. Insulin is considered one of the greatest achievements in Canadian medical history to this day. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese Immigration Act or Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. Chinese immigrants were not allowed into Canada for 24 years with few exclusions (students, diplomats, merchants and Canadian born Chinese). This was a law based on race. It also required everyone of Chinese descent to register for an identity card. If they didn't they could be fined $500 and even imprisioned. It impacted. social, community and economic growth. They could not vote or own property, and families were separated. -
Person’s Case
E Murphy, H. Muir Edwards, N. McClung, L. Crummy McKinney, and I. Parlby brought legal case to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1927 seeking the right of women to be appointed to the Senate. It was denied because women were not considered persons under the law. They appealed the decision and it was reversed in 1929. This not only opened the Senate to women but women were now considered "persons" in law and could not be denied rights. Cairine Wilson became the first female senator. -
Great Depression
Worldwide downturn in the economy was felt strongly in Canada. Many Canadians were left unemployed, homeless and hungry. People referred to that age as the "Dirty Thirties" due to drought in the prairies and collapse of international trade. Birthrates dropped, immigration declined. The widespread suffering resulted in the formation of the social-welfare state in Canada and the rise of popular political movements. The Government would now begin to take more interest in the health of the economy. -
Black Tuesday
Known as the Great Crash, Black Tuesday saw the sudden fall of stock market prices and dramatic trading first at the New York Stock Exchange spreading widely to include markets in Canada. In Toronto 330 000 and in Montreal 500, 000 shares were sold in a short time. Billions of dollars were lost. Companies went bankrupt, unemployment rose, people lost their life savings, and it was the start of a long downturn in the economy. -
Bennett Buggy
The Bennett Buggy was named after R.B. Bennettt, Prime Minister of Canada during the first part of the Great Depression (1930-35). It describe a car which had its engine, windows taken out and pulled by a horse because no one could afford the price of gas. It was named for Bennett because he was seen as out of touch and of no help to the many people that were suffering at this time. The Bennett Buggy seemed to represent everything that was wrong in the 1930s.