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Winnipeg General Strike
After the war came to an end returning soldiers discovered there were few jobs available, wages hardly covered the cost of living anymore. This lead to many strikes and walkouts amongst workers wanting higher wages and better working conditions. There strikes happened all across Canada but Winnipeg was hit the hardest. The Winnipeg General Strike lasted 40 days, with over 30,000 workers walking out. This brought all business operations to a halt and took a toll on Winnipeg's economy. -
League of Nations Established with Canada as a Full Member
The League of Nations was based on the principle of collective security, if one member of the League of Nations was under attack then the other members unite against the attacker. Essentially an alliance between nations. -
British Columbia Votes Against Prohibition
The Women's Christian Temperance Union has succeeded in bringing about prohibition during the war. However, this lead to the trade of "illegal alcohol." The government had to admit prohibition was not working and in a series of plebiscites, Canadians adopted government controlled liquor outlets. -
Discovery of Insulin
The discovery of insulin made by Fedrick Banting and Charles Best helps millions of people suffering from diabetes today. In 1923 Fredrick Banting won the Nobel Pize in Medicine for his discovery. -
Minority Government Elected
The Progressive Party's election platform was based on their proposed National Policy, calling for free trade and to nationalise railways. During the election, The Progressive Party got 64 seats, mostly in Western Canada. This made it the second largest party in Parliament, giving the Liberals a minority government. -
Agnes MacPhail Becomes First Women Elected to Parliament
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Prime Minister Mackenzie King Refuses to Send Troops to Support Britian During The Chanak Crisis
When British troops were threatened by nationalists during the Chanak Crisis King refused to send the support needed. Chanak was a Turkish port controlled by Britain. But if Turkey decided to take back ownership of the port, it would have access to Europe through the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Britain saw this as a threat and sent a telegram to King asking for Canadian troops, he refused. This marked the first time that Canada did not support the British Empire in war. -
First Play-by-Play For Radio Broadcast
Foster Hewitt gives play-by-play for first radio broadcast of a Canadian hockey game. -
Prime Minister MacKenzie King Signs Halibut Treaty
Canada negotiated a treaty with the United States to protect halibut along the coasts of Alaska and British Columbia and Prime Minister Mackenzie King insisted that Canada should be able to sign the treaty without the signature of a British representative. When Britain tried to persaude King into letting them sign the treaty he insisted that it was a matter between Canada and the U.S. The Halibut Treaty was the first treaty independently signed by Canada. -
Revised Red Ensign Approved for use on Canadian Government Buildings Abroad
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Publication of the Balfour Report
At the Imperial Conference conference, the dominions of British Empire requested formal requested formal recognition of their autonomy. This conference made the greatest progress towards Canada changing its legal dependence on Britain. -
King Byng Crisis
Prime Minister Mackenzie King challanged Britain over the role of the governor general and Britian's influence on Canada's politics in which became known as the King-Byng Crisis. Since the King-Byng Crisis, no Governor-General has acted against the wishes of an elect Prime Minister. -
Federal Government Introduces Old-Age Pensions
This was the first government-run assistance program in Canada. The old-age pension is to help Canadians avoid poverty in retirement. -
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Drought in the Praries
The high demand for wheat in the 1920s lead to overfarming and by the 1930s the soil had completely dried out and turned to dust. By 1931 there were constant dust storms. -
Persons Case Opens Way for Canadian Women to be Appointed to the Senate
The Persons Case was a constitutional ruling giving to women the right to be appointed to the Senate. This case was started by The Famous Five, a group of women activists. -
Stock Market Crashes
The stock market crash also known as Black Tuesday was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States. This crashed marked the start of the 10 year Great Depression. -
City Dwellers Outnumbered Rural Population
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Statute of Westminiter is Passed
Passed by the British government, this made Canada an autonomous state within the British Commonwealth. A British law clarifying the powers of Canada's Parliament and those of the other Commonwealth Dominions. It granted these former colonies full legal freedom except in those areas where they chose to remain subordinate to Britain. -
Government Established Relief Camps
Due to an all-time low unemployment rate, the government established Work Camps. In exchange for room-and-board, single men did physically demanding labour. Men voluntarily entered the camps through the Employment Service of Canada; they were free to leave at any time. In return for bunkhouse residence, three daily meals, work clothes, medical care and 20 cents a day men labored 44-hour work weeks clearing brush, building roads, planting trees and constructing public buildings. -
Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation Established
Established as a political coalition of progressive, socialist and labour groups that wanted economic reform, to help Canadians affected by the Great Depression. -
Unemployment Rate Hits Highest Level
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Hitler Comes into Power in Germany
In 1932 Hitler was appointed the Chancellor and by 1933 he had risen to power. -
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On to Ottawa Trek
Over one thousand men working in relief camps protested the dismal conditions in federal relief camps scattered in remote areas across Western Canada. The men lived and worked in these camps at a rate of twenty cents per day. -
Mackenzie King Becomes Prime-Minister
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Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Established
Although some local stations in Canada predate CBC's founding, CBC is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Canada. -
Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations Created
Established unilaterally by the federal government to re-examine "the economic and financial basis of Confederation and the distribution of legislative powers in the light of the economic and social developments of the last 70 years." -
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday was the conclusion of a month-long "sitdowners strike" by unemployed men at the main post office in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was Depression-era Vancouver's final violent clash between Communist-led unemployed protesters and police that provoked widespread criticism of police brutality. -
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Second World War Begins
