-
Election of William Lyon Mackenzie King
The election of Mackenzie King as PM during the 1920's lead to Canada's future independence from Britain. He was one of the two people who wrote the Balfour Report, and was responsible for events like the Halibut Treaty and the Chanak Affair. PM King's government helped Canada to come into it's own. Mackenzie King was also prominent during the early years of the depression, where he vowed to "not give them a five cent piece", "them" being conservatives who tried to help people. (Library) (Right) -
Chanak Affair
To help out their troops in Chanak, Turkey, and to show solidarity in their empire, Britain sent out telegrams to their dominions for additional troops to aid them. Instead of immediate support, PM King decided to allow parliament to decide if they fought, to show Canada's desire for independence in foreign policy. By the time parliament met next, the crisis had already passed. This was a very defiant decision, and was the first step towards Canada's political independence. (Hillmer) (Gallipoli) -
Imperial Conference of 1926 (Balfour Declaration)
The Imperial Conference of 1926 was hosted in London, England, and came off of the heels of the Chanak Affair and the recent disputes over constitutional authority in Canada. The meeting set out to define the relationship between Britain and it's various dominions, writing The Balfour Report. This formally defined the relationship. The writing of this document was a major political event, which was the first point in which Britain was involved in Canada becoming independent. (Consent) (Tattrie) -
Persons Case
The Person's Case was a case in Canada that sought to change the the interpretation of the constitution to include women in the term "persons". It was initiated by the "Famous Five", lead by Emily Murphy. After the Canadian Supreme Court ruled against them, they took their case to the British Privy Court where the meaning was successfully changed. This let women enter government to make significant changes, which marked massive social changes in Canada. (Cruickshank) (Famous) -
Black Tuesday
Black Tuesday was the day that the stock market crashed in Canada and the U.S. People lost incredible amounts of money. A number of factors, such as decline in demand and drops of prices. This event was the main factor for Great Depression, which was an economic low point for Canada, which lasted the duration of the 1930's. All of Canada hurt during the Depression, though the prairies were the worst hit. The government was ineffectual, and provided very little relief. (Bite) (Hillmer) (1929) -
Election of R.B. Bennett
R.B. Bennett was the 11th prime minister of Canada, from 1930-1935, and was one of the key public figures during the Great Depression. Bennett took office on promises of restoring jobs and protecting Canadian interests, as opposed to the liberals, who believed that the government had no role in the flailing economy. Bennett would go onto to implement policies that were harmful to the economy, dealing a harsh blow to the economy, and marking a failure by the Canadian government. (Waite)(Viscount) -
Statute of Westminister
The Statute of Westminster, among other things, declared that Canada and the other dominions are fully autonomous and united by a common allegiance to the Crown. This law finalized the advice of the Balfour Report, giving Canada total control over foreign policy, though Britain still controlled the constitution due to the indecisiveness of parliament. This was one of the final steps towards Canada's total independence from Britain and was a major political advancement in Canada. (Ralph)(Statute) -
On to Ottawa Trek
Residents of the government established relief camps in British Columbia went on strike to protest the abysmal living conditions of the camp, namely rotten food and low wages. The PM at the time, Bennett, did not take them seriously. This lead to a strike, which escalated into a riot and over one hundred arrested, and one constable dead. Nothing changed, and the workers returned to the camps, which exemplified how the government failed to fix anything during the Depression. (Howard)(Strikers) -
Start of the Second World War
On September 1st, 1939, Germany stormed through Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany in retaliation two days later, marking the official start of WWI. This war had a major economic affect on Canada, in that it jump-started the economy and ended the depression of the 1930's, to which no political figures had an answer. WWI allowed Canada's economy to explode due to the rising demands for supplies, munitions, and workers, helping Canada to prosper once again. (Stacey) (Headline)
