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Prohibition
Prohibition was the outcome of the efforts of peopleof the temperance movement to close all drinking establishments, on the basis that they believed that was the source of society's scum and misery. Prohibiton is a law that prohibits the consumption of alchohol. Many provinces in Canada brought in Prohibition but during the 1920's, many of these laws were repealed. -
The Spanish Flu
The Spanish flu was an influenza pandemic that spread across the world. The flu was caught by the soldiers during the war. The poor living conditions, massive troop movements, and cramped quarters allowed the flu to spread and mutate much faster, After the war ended, soldiers came home to their families and spread the flu even further. The final death toll was a staggering 50-100 million people, 50,000 of whom were Canadians, making it the "greatest medical holocaust in history". -
Period: to
Interwar Years
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Winnipeg General Strike
The Winnipeg General Strike was Canada's most influential general strike. The causes of the strike were low wages and terrible working conditions. Western labour leaders met in Calgary to discuss the creation of One Big Union. When negotioations broke down between management and labour, the Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council called a general strike. Many workers showed tremendous support for the strike, over 30,000 quitting their jobs. These actions crippled retail trade and stopped the trains. -
Group of Seven (artists)
The Group of Seven were a group of Canadian artists who were most famous for their paintings of Canadian Landscapes. The group originally consisted of Franklin Carmicheal, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H MacDonald, and Frederick Varley. The Group had a prominent influence throughout Canada by the end of 1931 that they no longer believed it was nesessary to continue as a group, and disbanded that same year. -
Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King became the Prime Minister of Canada in 1921, and would continue to dominate Canadian politics through the 1920's and 1940's. King was an intelligent and hardworking man. He had no close friends and was cold and tactless in human relations. Mackenzie knew exactly how to please Canadians. He would lead the liberal party for 29 years and helped establish Canada's reputation as an international middle power fully committed to world order. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 was an act passed by the Parliament of Canada which banned most forms of Chinese immigration to Canada. Many other countries already had immigration restrictions to Canada, but only the Chinese were so completely prohibited from immigrating. -
Royal Canadian Air Force
Prior to 1924, Canada's air defences flew with the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. The Royal Canadian Air Force was established in 1924, and focused on civil aviation. This changed to a military focus and became an integral part of World War 2 and the Cold War. -
Persons Case
The Persons Case is a Canadian and British constitutional act where it was first decided that women were eligible to sit in the senate. A group of women called the Famous Five took the case and took it all the way tothe Imperial Privy Council. The case established that women had the same rights as men in respect to positions of political power. -
Black Tuesday
Black Tuesday or or the Dirty Thirties as some call it, was a time of despair in Canada. It was the largest economic disaster that Canada had ever endured. Prior to the Stock Market Crash, Canada was in a time of great wealth and excess, until Black Tuesday, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collasped. The effects of the crash were devastating. Rich men became poor, men lost their jobs, and many people attempted suicide. -
Five Cent Speech
The Five Cent Speech was a speech that Mackenzie King made during the beginning of the Great Depression about how social welfare was a responsibility of the provinces and also stated that he would not provide unemployment relief to any province that did not have a liberal government. This speech was one of the reasons why Mackenzie lost the election to R.B. Bennett. -
R.B. Bennett
R.B. Bennett served as Canada's 11th Prime Minister. He defeated Mackenzie King in the 1930 election. Bennett had the misfortune of being the Prime Minister during the worst of the Great Depression years. He was able to win the election after King made a huge blunder by giving his Five Cent speech. Bennett tried to fight the depression by increasing trade and imposing tariffs on imports from other countries. -
The Statute of Westminster
The Statute of Westminster is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and the United Kingdom. This was a historically significant moment for Canada because it marked our independece as a nation that is seperate from the British Empire. -
On-Ottawa-Trek
The On-Ottawa-Trek was a1935 social movement of unemployed men protesting the poor wages and living conditions of federal relief camps throughout Canada. The men worked in these camps by build railroads and other public works at a rate of 20 cents per day. The men walked out on a strike in April 1935, and with a large amount of public support they decided to take their case to the federal government. The events that took palce after this would help to discredit Bennett's Conservative government. -
CBC
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, more commonly known simply as CBC, and served as a radio and television broadcaster. CBC is the oldest and one of the most popular broadcasting networks in Canada. -
SS St. Louis
The SS St. Louis was a German ship which held 937 Jewish refugees trying to escape the persecution of Hitler. The ship's captain Gustav Schröder was determined to find homes for the refugees after they were denied entry to Cuba. He was a non-Jewish German and an anti-Nazi, and refused to return to Germany until all the passengers had found a safe haven, which he was eventually able to do.
