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(More Info) Prohibition, enacted in 1918, banned the production and transportation of alcohol. Some positive effects this had on the nation included a decreased crime rate, and an increased industrial efficiency due to workers being less hungover and drunk. Some negative impacts included it being nearly impossible for police to enforce, increased smuggling and gang activity, and provincial governments losing millions of dollars. -
The terrible epidemic known as the Spanish Flu swept into Canada in 1918. The virus spread through carrying soldiers overseas and returning home from the war. A common symptom of the virus included pneumonia. When diagnosed, most people died because later treatments such as penicillin and sulfa had not been discovered yet. Among the methods used to stop the spread of the virus were mask wearing and closing down buildings that provided entertainment and leisure such as schools and theatres. -
(More Info) On June 21, 1919, the Winnipeg General Strike quickly transitioned into a horrific and violent sequence of disasters living up to the name given to the event, Bloody Saturday. Massive crowds scattered the streets and watched the riot protesting the arrest of strike leaders. The Royal North-West Mounted Police tried to maintain the violence but inflicted one death, 30 injuries, and hundreds arrested. -
(More Info) Through the 1920s and onward, jazz spread all across the world due to entertainers such as Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Jazz music was rhythmic and very expressive. The Charleston was the decade's most prevalent dance because of its uniqueness and fast, wild pace which rapidly increased in popularity. It became a symbol of the booming jazz age and was performed in places such as speakeasies which attracted many people. -
(More Info) The Indian Act was amended in 1920 to mandate Residential Schools for Indigenous children. They were taken away from their families and stripped of their culture and beliefs. While at these schools, children suffered physical, sexual and psychological abuse. Some even died. By 1930, there were more than 80 such institutions running across Canada. -
(More Info) The Group of Seven was a group of painters formed in the 1920s. The group consisted of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Franz Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and Frederick Varley, however, a friend and influence towards the painters, Tom Thomson, died before the group was formed. The group painted the Canadian landscape and were the first to create a national style in their art. -
(More Info) Dr. Frederick Banting, born November 14, 1891 in Alliston, Ontario, was a scientist who discovered, alongside Canadian researchers from the University of Toronto, a treatment known as insulin in 1922. Insulin was used to treat the disease diabetes, which affected millions worldwide. In 1923, Banting won the Nobel Prize for one of the most important breakthroughs in modern medical history. -
Foster Hewitt, born November 21, 1902 in Toronto, Ontario, was most known for his voice in the official hockey radio broadcast for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hewitt played a huge role in the hockey community due to his familiar voice and catchphrase, "He shoots, he scores", which is still used by broadcasters to this day. His first live hockey broadcast debuted on February 16, 1923 at the Arena Gardens in Toronto. His significance to the hockey industry is valued in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. -
(More Info) The Persons case began in 1927 by the Famous Five. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that women could not qualify as "persons" under the British North America Act. In 1929, the Privy Council's Judicial Committee produced results and changed the Court's decision. Because of the Persons Case, women could now work in the House of Commons and the Senate. It also implied that the law could no longer prohibit women's rights. -
Talkies was the invention of sound in films. The arrival of this new technology caused a huge wave of excitement and anticipation, though even some anxiety. The first talkie movie to ever exist was The Jazz Singer. Famous actors and actresses that moved their audiences were Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo and Mary Pickford. There were more than 900 movie theatres across Canada by the end of the decade, which ultimately helped entertain everyone during the Great Depression. -
(More Info) On October 29, 1929, the day known as Black Tuesday, the stock market crashed. Many people who invested in the stock market were impacted heavily and lost everything. Many stocks on the market lost their value because people wanted to sell their shares and very few wanted to buy them. This eventually brought the market into a further plummet which sparked the Great Depression. -
(More Info) The Great Depression erased prosperity and inflicted an economic catastrophe that affected the whole world. It was caused by over production and over expansion, Canada's over dependence on primary products such as wheat, minerals, pulp and paper and reliance on the US for 65% of all imports. High tariffs that killed international trade and too much buying stocks on credit also contributed to the depression. -
In 1930, Prime Minister Mackenzie King stated that provinces were in charge of their own social welfare and if they did not have a liberal government, they would not receive a "five-cent piece." King's "Five Cent Speech" was his belief that the Canadian government should not give unemployment benefits to provincial governments in Canada with Conservative leadership. This only supported the Conservative party and led to them winning the election; taking control of the federal government. -
(More Info) On December 11, 1931, the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster. It provided the necessary recommendations of the Balfour Report law, ultimately the reason why Canada became an independent nation and was no longer controlled by the British monarch. Britain could no longer create any more laws for Canada as it became its own self-governed country. -
(More Info) In 1932, the Canadian government introduced relief camps that were positioned across the country for single, unemployed and homeless Canadian men. These camps were located in isolated northern areas of the country. In exchange for shelter, meals, clothes, medical care and 20 cents a day, workers would put in an excessive 44-hours a week for manual labour work. -
(More Info) Joseph-Armand Bombardier, born April 16, 1907 in Valcourt, France, was a mechanic that invented the sprocket wheel and track system, which ultimately created the first snowmobile in 1935. It was developed to be a more efficient use of transportation, recreation, hunting and trapping, specifically for those living in the North. -
(More Info) In 1935, just before the election, Prime Minister R.B Bennett planned to introduce unemployment and social insurance, set minimum wages, limit working hours, guarantee fair treatment of workers and control prices so that companies could not make unreasonable profits. This was referred to by the people as Bennett's New Deal. However, Mackenzie King and the Liberals regained power in the 1935 election.