-
The push for Women's Rights started in the 1870's. During WW1 mothers, sisters, and daughters were allowed to vote. Women went on from this to push for a nationally recognized vote. In 1918, Prime minister Robert Borden officially extended the right to vote for all women. In 1919 women could officially run for parliament, and in 1921, Agnes Macphail became the first woman to be elected into the House of Commons. She was later joined by Martha Black in 1935.
-
When the Spanish Flu came in 1918, people didn't know much about it or how to treat it. Scientists of the current age think that it started in birds, then was transferred to pigs, and then finally to humans. The cramped and unsanitary conditions of the trenches made the Spanish flu able to spread quickly and violently. The crowds and parades celebrating the end of the war didn't help. By the time the flu had run it's course, more than 50 million people had died, including over 50,000 Canadians.
-
In 1919 most people were angry at the Central Powers for the destruction of so much land in WW1. Germany, namely, was given a lot of flak for their role in WW1. This led to the immigration act of 1919. This act banned everyone from the Central Powers from entering Canada. However, the Canadian government welcomed white Americans and the British. The government also preferred people with a farming background, and big Canadian railway companies gave new immigrants money to begin farms out west.
-
On May 15, 1919, all of Winnipeg's unions flooded the streets after employers had refused to negotiate a wage increase. On this day over 20,000 members of 94 unions officially went on strike. This even included police officers, firefighters, and postal workers. The strike was opposed by the wealthy businessmen, bankers, and politicians. The strike lasted over 6 weeks. The strikers returned to work on June 25 and had to sign an agreement to abandon and never again join their unions or were fired.
-
On June 21, 1919, In response to the Winnipeg General Strike, the government sent the RCMP (or RNWMP) into the streets to disperse protests. The RNWMP (Royal North-west Mounted Police) charged into a protest that was becoming violent, killing one man and injuring over 100 more. One of the injured died of his wounds shortly after, bringing the death count up to two. Because of the violence, this day was named bloody Saturday.
-
Xenophobia is described as the fear of anything foreign or strange. In the late 1910's and early 20's, segregation and discrimination against certain peoples was becoming all the more prevalent in Canadian society. This xenophobia was directed mostly at black Canadians who were "unsuited" for Canadian climates. It was also directed at Indian, Chinese, and Japanese immigrants wishing to settle in Canada.
-
In 1920, A doctor named Frederick Banting believed that diabetes could be treated with injections of insulin. He convinced J.J.R. Macleod to lend him his lab so he could test his theory. Macleod assigned young researcher Charles Best to help Banting. In January of 1922, the pair of researchers injected animal insulin into Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old diabetic. Thompson recovered, so Banting's theory was correct. In 1923, both Banting and Macleod received the Nobel prize for their research.
-
In 1923, the Canadian government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, designed to keep Chinese immigrants from coming to Canada. This law meant that the Chinese workers already building the Trans - Canada Railway could no longer leave the country to return to their homeland, China. The wives of the male workers were left in China and left to raise their families alone, and often in poverty. Many Chinese men left the country to support their families, never to return.
-
By the 1920's many people were living longer due to advances in medical technology. For people who were of old age, being employed was hard and there was no support from the government. Many governments wanted to change this. In 1927 William Lyon Mackenzie King's government passed the Old Age Pensions Act, which covered a maximum of $20 a month if you were:
1. Over 70 years and a British subject
2. Lived in Canada for over 20 years
3. Annual Income of less than %365
4. Not status Indians -
As Canada became urban, fewer amounts of children worked on farms and for skilled trades. Children worked in factories, mines, and mills. These jobs were extremely poorly paid and offered no teachable skills. Social reformers worked to change this. They believed that children should be in school and that would force them to stop working. The government continually pressed cities to mandate school attendance. By 1929 most provinces had strict laws banning child labor and making school mandatory.
-
After WW1, many Germans resented the War Guilt Clause and the need to pay reparations kept the country struggling economically. This struggle worsened in 1922 when hyperinflation reduced the value of the German mark to nearly zero. The German people were looking for someone who could solve their financial and economic problems. As a result of this Adolf Hitler seized this opportunity to come to power. He won over the Reichstag and abolished all other parties and took full control of Germany.
-
Most economists agree: the Great depression had many causes, but the Stock Market Crash was one of the most immediate. Many citizens had started exchanging stocks just that September, which many financial experts had said were "fundamentally sound". On October 4, the Toronto Stock Exchange lost $200 million in value. Experts and politicians continued to reassure the public. By October 28, the value of stocks throughout Canada was dropping by $1 million a minute.
-
During WW1, the price of wheat had gone through the roof in Saskatchewan due to the war effort. During the late 1920's, however, prices on wheat were dropping fast. by 1928, the price on a bushel of wheat was 80 cents, dramatically lower than the $2.37 a bushel in 1919. By 1932, the price of grain had dropped to 35 cents. There was also less rainfall in the prairies than ever before, which caused massive dust storms and grasshopper infestations. 14,000 farmers left their farms that year.
-
On June 14, 1935, 2000 trekkers from British Columbia relief camps arrived in Regina, Saskatchewan, on their way to Ottawa. The federal Government wanted to stop them there, so Prime Minister Bennet agreed to meet the Trek leaders in Ottawa to negotiate. The Government didn't resolve anything. At a public meeting in the Regina Market Square, the RCMP tried to arrest the trekkers, now joined by many other citizens. The panicked citizens fought back against the police and hundreds were wounded.
-
The international transportation company had it's humble beginnings in 1936. One inventor in Quebec - Joseph Bombardier, wanted to help locals get around more easily in the snow. In the 1920's and early 30's, he refined his ideas for a motor - powered vehicle for travelling over snow. During the winter of 1936 - 37, the first seven snowmobiles emerged from his small factory in Valcourt, Quebec. By the time winter came Bombardier was manufacturing his first production snowmobile model, the B7.
