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The 20's and 30's
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The Spanish flu was the greatest epidemic of influenza in the world and Canada. It was called the Spanish flu because Spain was a neutral country and the media was not censored like most counties in the war allowing Spain to report about the flu. Soldiers retuning from World War 1 returned spreading the flu across Canada. Fifty thousand people died and 2 million out of 8 million Canadians were affected. The Department of Health was created in 1919 as a direct result of the epidemic. -
Prohibition began as a result of the Temperance Movement where several groups from Church and Social Gospel lead mainly by women believed that the sale of alcohol was a deterrent to economic and social success. It was enacted during the war and seen as a patriotic duty. It help reduce crime and corruption. It was repealed in 1920. This led to bootlegging from Canada to the US, producing famous gangsters like Al Capone This lead to laws being passed for the sale and distribution of alcohol. -
The Winnipeg General Strike was when people in the metal and trading council went on strike. Thirty thousand people walked off the job and it spread throughout industry. Workers were seeking better wages, 8 hour work days and better working conditions. The army was sent in to break up the strike which was seen as a revolution. Although this movement did not accomplish its goals, it did change how different labour groups would work together for common goals in the future. -
Bloody Saturday happened on June 21st 1919 on the Winnipeg general strike. The protester were protesting and the royal northwest mountain police were called in by the mayor. The police charged the crowed where 30 protesters were injured and one dead , and many were arrested. the protest ended with the police getting control of the streets , and now that day is known as bloody Saturday . -
Flappers were icons in the Twenties. These young attractive women drank, smoked, partied and dressed in a provocative way for the times. Many women during this time in history were gaining new rights including the right to vote and more women were joining the work force. The flappers were the first independent women of the times that helped lead to many women's rights and helped change the way society viewed women. They wanted to prove women could do anything a man can do. -
Residential Schools were created by the government and church because they felt the aboriginal kids were not being taken care of and should be educated and taught Christianity. In 1920, it was mandatory aboriginals attend these schools. Kids were taken from their families and forced to go. The schools had poor living conditions. The children were malnourished, diseased and were abused. Many died in these schools while trying to escape. The trauma and mental health still affect survivors today. -
The Group of Seven was a school of Canadian landscape painters founded in the 1920's. The Group of Seven were the most important artists of the 20th century that influenced many painters including Emily Carr. Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and F.H. Varley were the original members. This group helped make Canadian art important and recognized around the world. Paintings by the Group can be found in most Canadian art galleries. -
In the 1920s a lot of Canadians suffering from diabetes discovered a treatment called insulin in 1922. Ontario doctor, Frederick Banting (the doctor who discovered insulin ), found that people with diabetes could not absorb sugar from the bloodstream because they were missing an important thing called insulin. The result was amazing and saved millions of lives. -
Foster Hewitt was the premier broadcaster for General Motors Hockey on Saturday nights on the radio in Canada for forty years. He was the first broadcaster of hockey on the radio. He coined the phrase "He shoots, He scores" . He was awarded the Order of Canada as well as other broadcasting awards. -
The Chinese Exclusion Act was created because many Canadian's feared that the Chinese would come steal all their job's with high unemployment after the war. Only merchants and student were allowed to immigrate. Chinese staying in Canada had to register. They were viewed as undesirable people that were not white, who served the purpose with creating the railroad. A popular phrase at the time was "White Canada for Ever". The Chinese population declined in Canada until the Act was lifted in 1947. -
The Great Depression in Canada, when the economy collapsed due to the fall of the stock market and overproduction of goods which caused people to be laid off. Canada did not have a diversified economy and it was dependent on the US as a main trading partner. People were broke, starving and struggled to survive. Many people were dependent on the government for assistance. Bank of Canada, the Wheat Control Board, and social programs were created to help to control the economy and avoid turmoil. -
On Tuesday, October 29, 1929 the stock markets crashed in Canada and the US with millions of shares being sold. Near the end of the 1920's, production of goods was slowing down and there were layoffs. People at the time we looking to get rich quick and invested in the stock market. They were investing with borrowed money. When the markets crashed many people lost everything and loans would forfeit. Many believe this was the catalyst to the Great Depression. -
The Bennet Buggy was the name of a horse drawn car which had its engine, windows and parts removed. People bought cars in the 1920's but could not afford to operate them. With poverty, the gas taxes increased as it was the best revenue for the governments. The name Bennet came from the Prime minister at the time, Richard Bennett who was blamed for the depression. It became one of the most identifiable symbols of the Great Depression -
On February 5, 1930 William Lyon Mackenzie who was the Prime Minster of Canada at the time, gave a speech trying to avoid the Great Depression. In The Five Cent Speech, Mackenzie said he would not give even a nickel of support to anyone who lost their jobs who lived in a province without a liberal government. In the following election Mackenzie was defeated and replaced by a conservative government. -
Joseph Bombardier was a mechanical engineer who invented one of the first snowmobiles. He wanted to create vehicles which could ride on the snow because he lived in Valcourt, Quebec, where it snowed a lot. His son died because they could not get him to the hospital when his appendix burst and this further motivated Joseph. He created a track that turned with sprockets which lead to the first snowmobile. He created the company Bombardier which built snowmobiles and later built trains and planes.