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Ukrainian Internment: -2
The Ukrainians dealt with a lot of racism, discrimination and mistreatment from the government and everyone else around them because the media and government alienated them and got people to turn on them by fearmongering (even though they did nothing). Therefore I rate this a -2 as there were no positives or progress. -
Mae Belle Sampson, Katherine MacDonald and Nurses Overseas: +1
The women who went overseas to be nurses were able to break the stereotype of women being fragile, helpless beings as newspapers featured pictures of them fighting on the frontlines to relentlessly help the injured. Therefore I rate this a +1 as it wasn't ground-breaking progress but the progress made was still impactful for the time period. -
Francis Pegahmagabow: +1
Indigenous people would rarely be credited for anything they do well and they would face a lot of racism but Pegahmagabow was able to be properly rewarded and recognized for his bravery by earning three military medals. Many soldiers respected him as he was a fierce warrior and he gave Native soldiers a better reputation among some white soldiers. Therefore I rate this a +1 as other Indigenous people still faced racism but there was still some small progress. -
Conscription: -1
Many people had many different opinions on conscription and it only caused division between Canadians as the people who were against conscription were labeled as cowards and disgraces to Canada. Some people also faced discrimination as the religious western farmers/conscientious objectors had to deal with a lot of name-calling and alienation from other Canadians. Many families also had to struggle a lot because the men had to go fight but they were the breadwinners. Therefore I rate this a -1. -
Jeremiah Jones: +1
Black men were almost never praised or acknowledged for anything they did well and they dealt with a lot of racism but Jeremiah Jones was recommended to get the Distinguished Conduct Medal, which was a great achievement for this time period. Therefore I rate this a +1 as progress was made but racism was still very prevalent. -
Emily Murphy and The Famous Five: +2
There was a lot of progress thanks to Emily Murphy and The Famous Five because them challenging the law that states “women were not persons in the matters of rights and privileges” made many other people realize how little women were valued in society and how they were seen as “not persons” and it caused a big rebellion from women that eventually got that law abolished and lead to the rights that women have today, including the right to vote. Therefore I rate this a +2. -
Sikh Families: +1
In 1919 the Immigration Act was put into place by Prime Minister Borden so Indian men were allowed to bring their families over to Canada, which they hadn’t been allowed to do before. However they still had to deal with a lot of racism so I rate this a +1 for the immigration progress made. -
Chuck Lee: -2
The government essentially scammed Chinese immigrants, like Chuck Lee, because they had to pay a huge sum of money just to immigrate and almost all employers were extremely racist so Lee wasn’t able to get a job and was forced to leave and go back to China. However, he could only stay for 2 years and when he wanted to move back to Canada with his wife, the immigration laws had changed so the $500 he spent was for nothing. Therefore I rate this a -2. -
Lieutenant F.O. Loft and other Native soldiers after the war: 0
There was both equal progress and decline as the League of Indians of Canada was founded to fight for more Indigenous rights, but the government kept discriminating against Native Canadians by taking away their land to give to non-aboriginal veterans and taking away the Native soldiers’ rights to vote. Therefore, there was equal progress and decline so I give this a rating of 0. -
Housewives: +1
Many new inventions such as electric refrigerators, radios, sewing machines, electric ice boxes and other electronic appliances made the lives of housewives so much easier compared to the amount of extra work they needed to do previously. But many housewives were living in poverty and had to do unbearable amounts of work as many lost their husbands and were struggling financially, so I rate this a +1.
