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Canada in the 1920s and the 1939s
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Spanish Flu
Video on Spanish FluAs WW1 had ended, soldiers had returned home from the war and had unintentionally carried a deadly virus with them overseas. This disease was known as the "spanish flu". The epidemic devastated many countries around the world and had killed more than 50 000 Canadians. People weakened from the virus also got pneumonia and because there was no cure thousands had died. To stop the spread o the flu, schools, churches and theatres were closed and a federal Department of Health was created in 1919. -
Prohibition
More Info on ProhibitionProhibition was a law given in the year 1918. This law ensured that the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was banned. Women's groups campaigned for the ban, supported by many people, they pointed out that grain should be used to feed soldiers and civilians, rather than to make alcohol. This law was accepted by every provincial government except Quebec. This law had both positive and negative effects. -
Winnipeg General Strike
On May 15th, 1919, Canada had experienced one of the most massive strikes in Canadian history. More than 30,000 workers in Winnipeg quit their job and joined together to go on strike while others went on sympathy strikes to show their support. They demanded better wages of 85 cents per hour, better work conditions and eight-hour days. The strike spread from industry to industry and lasted for 37 days. It ended on June 21st when violence erupted and The Mounted Police charged the crowd. -
The Group of Seven
Group of Seven GalleryAs art continued to change, artists around the world were experimenting with the new ways of expressing themselves. A famous group of Canadian artists, known as the Group of Seven, were particularly influenced by Canada's landscape and the realm of impressionism.Their first exibition of paintings was held in May 1920 at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The Group of Seven consisted of; Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Frank Johnston, J.E.H Macdonald, F.H. Varley and Franklin Carmichael. -
Insulin
In 1921, over a million civilians in North America had diabetes. With no treatment at the time, thousands who suffered from the disease died every year. At the University of Toronto, Canadian medical reseachers Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered a ground-breaking treatment. This treatment was the discovery of insulin. By the summer of 1921, Banting and Best were ready to test it out and had astounding results. In late 1922, insulin was made available to treat diabetes. -
Prime Minister Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King was elected as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada and was known to be one of the most successful political leaders of his age. He was in power from Dec 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926. King was known to be cautious, careful, and extremely shrewd, with his most important goal of national unity. Mackenzie King dominated the Liberal party and political life in Canada for almost 30 years until his death in the year 1950. -
The Chinese Exclusion Act
On July 1st 1923, Canada passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. This Act banned all Chinese immigrants except students, merchants, and diplomats from entering the country. This Act was supposedly created because immigration was a main issue in the 1920s. It wasn't until 1947 that the Chinese Exclusion Act was eliminated. To Chinese Canadians, July 1st 1923 was labeled as "Humiliation Day". -
Foster Hewitt & Hockey Night in Canada
Foster Hewitt was born on November 21st 1902 and was a Canadian Radio broadcaster. In 1923 Hewitt became one of the first people ever in Canada to perform a play-by-play for Hockey Night in Canada. Many Canadians loved to tune in and listen to his enthusiastic voice and hear his famous phrase " He shoots! He scores!". For almost 30 years, Foster Hewitt was the voice of Canadian Hockey. In the 1920s Foster Hewitt became part of Canadian history. -
The Royal Canadian Air Force
More Information on RCAFThe Royal Canadian Air Force was organized in the year 1924 and was active until 1968. These military planes were given tasks such as to deliver shipments, as transportation, anti-smuggling patrols, forest fire watches, aerial forest spraying, mercy flights, and law enforcement. It wasn't until later on that these planes were changed to focus on becoming an army that would greatly help in WW2. -
Persons Case
In the 1920s, women had the right to vote in most provinces but what they did not have was the same amount of rights men did. They were also not considered "persons". Outraged by this, Emily Murphy, Nellie McLung, Louis McKinney, Henrietta Edwards and Irene Parlby joined together and formed the group known as the Famous Five. Together they appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada and as a result, obtained rights similar to those of men. -
Black Tuesday
The Great Crash, also known as "Black Tuesday", was the day the stock market crashed in October 1929. This was one of the most dramatic events which contributed to the beginning of the Great Depression. At the time, people had bought plenty of stocks when the price was low and then sold them when the price was high. The people who invested in the stock market lost everything including their jobs, money, cars and houses. -
The Five Cent Speech
In 1930, Prime Minister Mackenzie King made the biggest political mistake of his career. King had made a speech where he insisted that social welfare was the responsibility of the provinces. He also stated that he would not give a "five-cent piece" to any province that did not have a Liberal government. Due to these statements the Liberals were voted out of office, and the Conservative party came into power. Later on, Mackenzie King was also replaced by Richard Bedford Bennett as prime minister. -
Prime Minister R.B. Bennett
R.B Bennett became the prime minister of Canada in the election of 1930, replacing Mackenzie King. He was also Canada's prime minister during the Great Depression. He was in power from August 1930 to October 1935. While in power, Bennett declared that he would " find work for all who are willing to work, or perish in the attempt" and promised to give $20 million to provinces for emergency funds for relief payments. -
The Statute of Westminster
On December 11th 1931, the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster. This Act ensured that Canada had become completely self-governing, bound by no laws other then its own. Britain could no longer make any laws for Canada. Only in two areas did Canada not claim independance. -
On to the Ottawa Trek
In 1932, the government set up a number of relief camps located in isolated northern areas of the country. The camps were run by the Department of National Defence. Single men of 18 years of age and older worked eight hour days doing hard labour. In return, they were given food, shelter, clothing, and a pay of 20cents a day. Fed up with life in relief camps, many men boarded trains headed to ottawa to protest. They demanded clear economic reforms (i.e. minimum wage,social/ unemployment insuranc)
