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Due to men being at war changes were put into place for the voting system, it was decided that women would take the role of their husband or male relative if they were at war when in terms to voting (The Wartime Elections Act). Once the first world war ended this then allowed women to fight for their right to vote which by 1918 they had fully recieved. -
Prohibition was the ban of any importing, producing or exporting of alcohol in Canada, once prohibition lifted in 1927 american citizens started smuggling canadian booze across the border since the USAs ban had not yet been lifted. This deeply increased the risk of running into organized crime since they were the main beneficiaries of alcohol smuggling. Even though overall crime rates went down during the prohibiton it didnt necessarily make cities safer due to organized crime running rampent. -
The Spanish Flu was a pandemic which saw 2 million Canadian cases. Many unessential businesses were forced to close their doors, the Spanish Flu is often overshadowed by the first world war when it comes to history however not many understand why this is. An wartime measures act limited media exposure which indirectly hindered civilians knowledge of this virus. It was not until a Spanish newspaper broke the story that anybody heard of it which was why the term "The Spanish Flu" was created. -
The Winnipeg general strike began May 15 1919, workers all across Winnipeg didn't show up to work and went on strike because of the terrible working conditions they experienced on a daily basis. They only had three demands, these were 1. to have a decent wage 2. to have eight hour work days and 3. the right to bargain collectively for better working conditions. These demands were not met and eventually the strikers were forced back to their jobs after the infamous Bloody Saturday. -
It is June 21 1919 and the people striking in the Winnipeg General Strike are having a parade. Parades are banned, it soon turns ugly. The Mayor is fearful that the strikers could cause a revolution so he sends the RCMP to storm the strikers with the intent to harm. Hundreds of strikers are arrested, thirty are injured and one is killed. This marks the end of the Winnipeg General Strike. -
Rumrunners were a big part of the 1920s solely because of the prohibition. Rumrunners would smuggle alcohol across the border of Canada and the United States. Alcohol smuggling was a dangerous act and in turn meant they made very good money. Most rumrunners either sold to or worked for organized crime which was part of the reason why organized crime was on the upswing in the 20s. -
Due to new and improved technology the popularity of sports in the 1920s skyrocketed. Many Canadians went to the Olympics during this decade and even more Canadians were tuned in, listening to what was to happen next. Athletes became a source of mass entertainment, along with the fact that women were now allowed to play sports and for example a team like The Edmonton Grads were beating out their male counterparts, it gave a whole new meaning for sports. -
The Continuous Passage Act was an act that forced Indian people to stay on a continuous passage from their home country to Canada, if they stopped at a port they would be sent back once they reached Canada. The government wasn't allowed to ban Indians so they chose the next best thing, to make them practically unable to enter the country. The Continuous Passage Act displays how much discrimination these people who are just trying to have a better life faced. -
Residential schools were schools where aboriginal children aged 4-16 were forced to attend. These children were forced away from their families and some never got the chance to see them again. They suffered severe mental and physical abuse and were forced to live the “british way of life” no longer did they have a culture, no longer did they have another language. This was Canada’s Holocaust. -
The mass production of cars marked a turning point in technology, cars made it possible for people to live farther away from their work and yet be able to get there quicker and easier than before. Cars helped bring family and friends together by making it easier to travel long and short distances. The mass production meant factory workers needed a way to mass produce, thus the assembly line was invented. This made production easy and helped meet the growing demand cars had developed. -
The mass production of radios was another key turning point in technology in the 1920s. With radios they provided a source of entertainment that people had previously never even thought to be possible. It helped bridge the gap between the whole mass of Canada, people could be listening to people all the way across the country, it made it feel small and for everyone to feel connected. It was a great source of entertainment and helped sports turn into “the golden age” as it is known today. -
The Halibut Treaty was a treaty that granted Canada the right to sign treaties by themselves. Previously a representative of Britain would sign the treaty along with Canadians however in 1923 the government decided Canadians should be able to sign a treaty by themselves when it doesn't pertain to Britain. This was a stepping stone for Canada to eventually gain independence. -
Talkies being invented created a whole other generation of moviegoers. Talkies made listening to movies a possibility. At the movie theater there would be no sound, there were subtitles otherwise no sound could be heard. With the invention of talkies everything changed. Talkies made sound possible, movies became more dramatic and people were more eager to go than ever before. The 1920s were truly a decade of technological improvement. -
Charles Lindbergh was the first to successfully fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in a plane. This had been attempted before however none of them made it back. It was a risk to fly over the Atlantic, always a possibility to crash into the water and never be heard from again, this didn't frighten Charles, he braved the Atlantic and came back a hero. He proved that it could be done, he became famous overnight. -
The Persons Case involves five women who against all odds beat the system and forced it to be in their favour. Emily Murphy was a lawyer when her friend decided she should attempt to make it into the Senate however this was not possible. Women at this time were not classified as ‘persons’ according to the supreme court, Emily Murphy and the four other women at her side went to Britain's Privy Council to overrule the supreme court, it was successful and women were classified as persons. -
The drought in the 1930s hit everybody hard. People were already struggling because of the great depression and 80km dust storms did not help the atmosphere of the decade. Farmers who had previously had plentiful crops were now reduced to zero. Topsoil was blowing away making it impossible to plant new crops. It was an impossible situation, it made a bad decade worse. The drought lasted until around 1938 right in time for World War 2 to happen shortly after. -
The Great Depression affected everybody, it was a global economic crisis and nobody appeared to have any ideas on what to do. The Great Depression had many causes such as the mass production and consumption of products, because of the booming economy in the 1920s an abundance of people were hit very hard by this crisis. Many people were unemployed, in debt, and in need of help. -
Black Tuesday was the day that the stock market crashed on the 29th of October 1929. Millions of people were either selling their stocks in fear or investing their money and/or borrowed money into stocks which caused the stock market to go to unsustainable levels which ended up crashing it. Black Tuesday caused a domino effect of bad events which ended up leading Canada into the great depression, this had a negative impact on practically everybody. -
Prime Minister Mackenzie King wanted to be reelected, however he did not want the conservative party to win and declared in his infamous “five cent” speech that if any provincial government (referring to the conservative party) were opposed to the canadian government he would not give federal unemployment money to the provincial governments, not even five cents. This speech was not taken very well by the public and was a main reason as to why he ended up losing the election to R. B. Bennett. -
The Statue of Westminster was a law that was passed which allowed Canada to pass laws by themselves without the need for Britain's interference. Canada received full independence from Britain and was given the recognition of being their own country that had previously been denied. Canada became a self governing country, no longer being held back by Britain, this was a day for celebration. -
Relief camps were put into place by Prime Minister R.B Bennett, he was nervous about the amount of unrest in young unemployed men. He did not wish for there to be a revolution so he created relief camps. In these relief camps men were paid 20 cents a day and worked 44 hour weeks. These men did heavy manual labour and were being paid a tenth of what an average worker was being payed. -
Prime minister Bennett’s new deal was an attempt to help solve the economic crisis the Great Depression was causing, his new deal included: social insurance, minimum wage, maximum work week, closer regulation of working conditions and more. However because he lost the next election he was unable to put any of the conditions of his deal into action. -
The On-To-Ottawa Trek was a movement where unemployed young men tried to go to Ottawa to make the government understand the injustice of relief camps. These men however never made it that far, they were stopped by the RCMP in Regina which resulted in a riot. The On-To-Ottawa Trek marked the failure of relief camps and only a year after the riot relief camps shut down for good.