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War Measures Act (1914) -2 [social, political]
The War Measures Act targeted "enemy aliens" (immigrants from enemy countries like Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Croatia). This act gave all government officials like police the right to imprison enemy aliens without just reasons or deport them to their home country easily. When imprisoned the enemy aliens were sent to camps where they were mistreated and abused. They worked hard and only earned 25 cents a day. -
War Measures Act (1914) -2 {CONTINUED} [social, political]
During this time 8000 individuals were put into these camps and 80,000 had to report to police regularly because the government was afraid they were spying for their home country. -
The Battle of the Somme (1916) -2 [political, social]
The 22nd Battalion was a French-Canadian Regiment that fought in the battle of the Somme along with the Newfoundland regiment. The battle was an absolute slaughter for Canadian soldiers. 801 men started the battle but only 68 were not wounded or killed. Though this battle did bring Canada a reputation as a viable and brave army to be afraid of, the French Canadians no longer wanted to fight in the war because of the heavy loss of their lives. -
The Battle of Vimy Ridge (1917) +2 [political, social]
This battle which was led by Canadian General Arthur Currie was one of the greatest victories in Canadian history. It brought much pride to Canadians. In this battle Canada furthered their reputation as a brave and fearsome army, they captured more prisoners and made more advances than any army in the allied forces. Most importantly Canadian soldiers were able to succeed in recapturing the Ridge whereas others had failed. This battle was a crucial win for Canada in the war. -
Military Service Act (1917) -2 [political, social]
Vimy Ridge left many soldiers dead and the army in need of replacements. However, people had started to realize the ugly truths about war so it was tough to get volunteers. French Canadians were upset because the government was forcing them into a war that they did not want to be a part of. Conscription forced men to go to war, but in the end all conscription brought was bitterness between French and English Canadians, as less than 1% of the population actually went overseas to fight. -
The Battle of Passchendaele (July 31, 1917) -2 [political]
This battle was a low point for Canada in the war, many soldiers were killed. The battlefield was wet, muddy and bloody. Arthur Currie objected the battle because he estimated 16, 000 would die, but Canadians did not have much of a choice and were forced to fight anyways. Our forces were able to capture the ridge but it was not worth it, the conditions for soldiers were wet and miserable and mud jammed up guns and tanks. In these awful conditions over 15,600 Canadians lost their lives. -
The Halifax Explosion (December 6, 1917) -1 [economic]
A French ship carrying explosive material collided with a Norwegian ship, this resulted in an enormous explosion that caused lots of devastation. This was a tragedy because over 1500 people were killed and many buildings were destroyed. I can infer this damaged the economy of Nova Scotia terribly and definitely wounded their morale. -
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Lack of Jobs (1918- mid 1920's) -1 [economic, kind of social]
When Canadian soldiers returned from the war overseas looking for jobs there was an excess amount of workers so many people who did not go to war and stayed in Canada were fired and left unemployed. Both women and alien enemies were kicked out of their jobs to make room for soldiers. Those people who had jobs worked for low wages in awful conditions. It was very expensive to be living in Canada and with such low job pay many Canadians struggled to get by. -
Women gain the right to vote (Jan 1, 1919) +1 [political, social]
After the war select women were allowed to vote but in 1919 all woman over the age of 21 were allowed to vote in the federal election. Because women were so involved in the war taking care of families, serving as nurses on the front lines and working in factories while the men were gone the woman's suffrage movement and many feminists were arguing they should have the right to vote. In 1919 this right was granted and it showed a big progress in the equality of women and men. -
The Balfour Report (1926) +2 [political]
The Balfour report showed great progress for Canada because it marked Canada and all of Britain's other dominions as being equal to Britain. The countries were still united in their loyalty to the crown and through the Common wealth. This meant that Canada was still allied with Britain but was free to make its own decisions. Canada did not officially become it's own country until 1931. -
The Person's Case (1929) +2 [political, social]
This case shows a huge achievement and improvement for Canadians, especially women. The famous five was a group of women who were fighting for women's rights, these women fought hard to have woman defined as "persons" in section 24 of the British North America act so that they could be appointed for the Senate. Eventually these women were successful and women were finally able to participate in everything that men could.