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Prohibition
Prohibition in Canada was a ban of all alcoholic beverages all throughout the country. The movement was formed by temperance workers who greatly pushed to have bars and taverns closed. The cause for this ban was due to alcohol being the blame for violence and home problems amongst families. -
The Spanish Flu
1918, the year an epidemic known as the Spanish Flu had swept Canada. This virus had spread due to returning soldiers carrying it home with them overseas, and is estimated to have killed between 20 and 100 million people- 50,00 being Canadians. -
Winnipeg General Strike
Taking place in 1919 in Winnipeg Manitoba, The Winnipeg general strike is one of the most influential strikes in Canadian history. It saw 30,000 workers leave their jobs and go on strike- a strike which resulted in multiple injuries and arrests-but would hold some significance to the formation of the New democratic party. -
Bloody Saturday
On June 21st 1919, the most violent part of the Winnipeg General strike became known as Bloody Saturday. The strike grew violent and saw Mounty police charge into the roaring crowd on horseback killing 2 men and wounding 27 others. The authorities were afraid of revolution and used force to detain strikers. -
Radio
Invented first in the 1880s with the help of discoveries by many scientists, The Radio became revolutionary in 1920s Canada. The radio was considered the greatest invention of the decade as it aided not only entertainment, but communication as well as it resided in the homes of many citizens. -
Telephone
Using the science discovered years before, Alexander graham bell invented the first practical telephone in 1876. It was not until the 1920s that the telephone was able to make long distance calls and became truly revolutionary changing the way people communicate forever. -
Group of seven
Originally known as the Algonquin school, the Group of Seven was a group of Canadian landscape painters consisting of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley. The paintings these men made helped form a sense of identity in Canadians everywhere as they painted the beautiful and unique landscapes found all across Canada. -
Insulin
In the 1920s researches in Canada weren't sure how to treat the problem of diabetes. It wasn't until Frederick Banting and Charles Best figured out that insulin was key to treating the diabetic. With the support of the J.J.R. Macleod university of Toronto, Banting and Best began treatments on human subjects. This lead to the injection of insulin on 14 year old Leonard Thompson. Making him the first person to be treated with insulin and creating a solution for the diabetic dilemma. -
Agnes McPhail elected to parliament
In 1921 Agnes McPhail became the first women elected to parliament. She represented the Ontario riding and was apart of an election in which all Canadian women could vote and run. later on, she would go on to become one of the first women elected to Ontario legislature. -
Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King
In the 1921 federal election, William Lyon Mackenzie King and the Liberal party defeated Arthur Meighen and the conservatives making William Lyon Mackenzie king Canadas 10th prime minister who would go on to serve 3 consecutive terms from 1921–1926, 1926–1930 and 1935–1948. -
Chinese immigration act
The Chinese immigration act was the ban of all Chinese immigrants from Canada due to the premise of race. Immigrating to Canada was already hard for most people who weren't of British heritage but the Chinese immigration act singled out Chinese immigrants only. The ban was for about 24 years and wasn't completely scrapped until the 1940s -
Great crash of 1929
The roaring 20s saw many people grow overconfident and make risky investments which would later came back to bite them. In October, 1929 the Great crash took place. Millions if not billions of dollars had been lost on the Canadian stock exchanges. Many citizens lives were disrupted as they lost everything. This event took Canada by storm and would play a role in the nations further economic downfall during the great depression. -
The Great Depression
In 1929, Canada was faced with the worst economic downturn yet- the great depression. The great depression saw many families lose their quality of life, many citizens lose their jobs, and even put people out on the streets as they lost their homes and livelihood. The cause of the great depression was largely due to the era of prosperity in the roaring 20s where many people had gotten confident in the continuous rise of stocks. The depression marked the beginning of the dirty thirties. -
On-to-Ottawa-Trek
In the 1930s, Young men road freight trains across Canada looking for work. In 1932 prime minister R.B. Bennet created basic jobs for them such as building useless roads, clearing trees and other hard labor. These jobs paid little money for back breaking work. In 1935 The workers went on strike and demanded higher wages planning travel to Ottawa to take the situation to the prime minster himself. -
The Regina Riot
By June of 1935, the trekkers had been joined by many unemployed workers as they had reached Regina and all banded together to travel to Ottawa in order to confront prime minister Bennett. Bennett met with the trek leaders but he insisted nothing was wrong with their wages or the relief camps. later on the authorities resorted to violence against the trekkers which caused an uproar in the crowd- a riot followed. The result saw one officer dead and hundreds injured. -
Canada turns away refugees
In 1939, a day held in regret amongst Canadians, Canada turned away the St louis. A ship holding over 900 Jewish refugees. In denying passage to the St louis into Canada, the ship was forced to return back to Europe where about 250 of its passengers would die in the holocaust. -
Canada declares war
On September 10, 1939, just days after France and the United kingdom had declared war on Germnay, Canada had declared war. Only this time it was a decision made completely on her own with consequences in mind. It marked an important moment in history as Canada had entered a war entirely of her own accord.
