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Canada Joins League of Nations
Jan 10, 1920 - Canada became a founding member of the League of Nations -
Treaty of Versailles in effect
Jan 10, 1920 - The Treaty of Versailles ending the First World War took effect. It established the League of Nations, an organization for international co-operation, with Canada as a founding member. -
Group of Seven Exhibit
May 7, 1920 to May 27, 1920 - The first exhibition of the Group of Seven was put on display at the Art Gallery of Toronto. The Group articulated a sense of a distinctly Canadian art, rooted in the Canadian landscape. -
Canaadian Forum Founded
May 14, 1920 - The Canadian Forum magazine was founded; it is Canada's oldest continually published political periodical -
Arthur Meighan Becomes PM
Jul 10, 1920 - Robert Borden resigned and was succeeded as Conservative prime minister by Arthur Meighen. -
First Women Cabinet Minister
Mary Ellen Smith was appointed to the provincial Cabinet in BC, the first woman Cabinet minister in the British Empire. -
Bluenose Launched
The schooner Bluenose was launched at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. -
United Farmers of Alberta Win
The United Farmers of Alberta won the provincial election, forming the government until 1935. They chose Herbert Greenfield as premier. -
Parlby Elected Cabinet Minister
Irene Parlby was elected to the Alberta Legislature as an MLA for Lacombe in the United Farmers of Alberta government. Only the second woman in the British Empire to hold ministerial office, she was particularly active on issues related to public health care, improved wages for working women and married women's property rights. -
Banting and Best Isolate Insulin
Frederick Banting and Charles Best at the University of Toronto first isolated insulin. The first diabetes patient was treated on January 11, 1922. Banting and J.J.R. Macleod received the Nobel Prize for their achievement. -
First Women Elected
Agnes Campbell Macphail became the first woman elected to the House of Commons, and J.S. Woodsworth was the first socialist elected to the House. Macphail promoted the co-operative movement, peace, civil liberties and social reform. -
Liberals Win Minority
In a federal election, the Liberals won a minority government with 116 seats. The Conservatives took 50, the Progressives 65 (there were 4 other members). Mackenzie King became prime minister. -
King Beocomes Prime Minister
W.L. Mackenzie King became prime minister of Canada for the first time. -
United Farmers of Manitoba Win
The United Farmers of Manitoba won the provincial election, with John Bracken as premier. -
Halibut Treaty
The "Halibut Treaty" with the US was the first treaty signed independently by Canada, without the participation of an Imperial delegate. -
Chanak Affair
Britain sent a telegram calling upon the Dominions to contribute soldiers in a demonstration of the Empire's solidarity against the Turks. PM King was noncommittal. -
Chinese Immigration Act
The Chinese Immigration Act was replaced by legislation that virtually suspended Chinese immigration on the day known to the Canadian Chinese as "Humiliation Day." -
Banks Fail
The Home Bank of Montreal failed, the first chartered bank to do so since the Farmer's Bank in 1911. -
United Farmers of Canada
The Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association amalgamated with the Farmers' Union of Canada to create the United Farmers of Canada. -
King Byng Affair
Mackenzie King's Liberals were defeated on a motion of censure. Governor General Byng refused to grant King's request to dissolve Parliament. Byng asked Arthur Meighen to form a government, which he did, on June 29. -
Meighen Nonconfidence
The Meighen government was defeated in a nonconfidence motion. -
King Forms Minority
In a federal election the Liberals and Conservatives reversed fortunes with the Liberals winning 116 seats and the Conservatives 91. The Progressives won 13 seats and the UFA 11; there were 14 others. King became prime minister again, forming a minority. -
King Prime Minister Again
Mackenzie King became prime minister again. -
Old-age Pension Introduced
The House of Commons approved the old-age pension plan. -
Persons Case
In the Persons Case, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously decided women were not "persons" who could hold public office as Canadian senators. In 1929 the British Privy Council reversed the decision. -
Williams Wins Olympic Gold
At the Olympic Games in Amsterdam, Percy Williams of Vancouver won the gold medal in the 100 m sprint. He added gold in the 200 m August 1. -
Women Legally Persons
The Imperial Privy Council ruled that women were legally "persons" and therefore could hold seats in the Canadian Senate. -
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Market Crash Ignites Depression
The selling of stocks on the New York Stock Exchange accelerated, leading to panic selling and tumbling prices. By Black Thursday, October 24, the economic boom of the 1920s was in ruins and the Great Depression began. -
Second Stock Market Crash
A second stock market crash hit Canada.
