The Post War Years

Germany Surrenders In November 1918, Germany is forced to “unconditionally” surrender Germany had no capacity to continue fighting Unconditional surrender means Germany could not seek favourable terms for the surrender – they would have to accept whatever terms the Allies offered With the war over Britain, France, USA, Italy meet in Paris to determine the terms of peace – Treaty of Versailles The allied representatives at the signing of the armistice. Ferdinand Foch, second from right, seen outside his railway carriage in the forest of Compiègne.

Canada Steps onto the World Stage It was expected that Canada would be represented by Britain Prime Minister Borden felt that Canada should have her own seat and voice at these talks due to our heroic achievements and sacrifice of over 60,000 lives USA opposed this – feared Canada would side with Great Britain In the end Canada was allowed to send its own delegation to these talks (2 delegates were permitted)

Significance Canada’s inclusion was a recognition of the contribution of the Canadian Corps to the War effort Recognition of our new autonomous status as a result of our participation in the war Canada had matured as a nation – it would no longer be satisfied with being represented by Great Britain

The Paris Peace Talks

The Treaty of Versailles Formally ends WWI Germany is forced to accept full blame for the war Germany must Limit army to 100,000 Very limited navy (6 cruisers & 2 battleships), no submarines & no air force or large artillery Alsace & Lorraine regions returned to France All its overseas colonies to be handed over to Allies Rhineland would be occupied by Allies Germany had to reparation payments to pay for all the damage caused by the war (officially $132 billion gold marks, but only $50 billion had to be paid in cash) War Guilt Clause: Germany must accept full blame for the war

The New Face of Europe Europe 1914 Europe 1919

Discontent & Disease

Discontent With the fighting in Europe over, the biggest challenge was to bring the troops home Problem: more troops than transport Weeks turned into months – troops were still forced to practice manoeuvres and drills Some Canadian soldiers rioted in frustration – 5 were killed & 20 were arrrested Over 4000 Canadian soldiers joined British and American soldiers in an attempt to overthrow the Red Army in the Soviet Union to create a democratic government – this attempt failed.

Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force, 1919

Returning men brought the Spanish flu back from the trenches Disease Returning men brought the Spanish flu back from the trenches In 1919 the flu killed 30,000-50,000 Canadians 50-100 million people world wide – more than 4 years of war!!

Canada’s Economy 1919 Post-war economy began to shrink immediately after the armistice is declared Economy had to adjust to peacetime production  munitions factories needed to ‘retool’ to produce something civilians could use Transition was slow  unemployment increased  soldiers who had fought for 4 years of war now had no job Returning soldiers also faced few jobs, low wages & high inflation (cost of goods up 38% per year)! Union  an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve some common goals (wages, working conditions, job security, etc…) Small trade unions had limited influence  Many small trade unions had merged to become large unions - One BIG Union = more power for the common worker

The Winnipeg General Strike - 1919 Winnipeg had grown rapidly but lacked adequate housing & sanitation Labour groups sought improvement to working conditions and wages May 2  metal workers went on strike demanding union recognition Next  Building trade unions go on strike  seek support from Winnipeg Labour Congress (organization representing all unions) May 15  General Strike  over 20,000 union members go on strike (including police and firefighters) May 17 35,000 on strike – Winnipeg is essentially shut down!

Opposition to the Strike: Employers and government see strike as a communist threat June 6  government passes law allowing it to deport any citizen not born in Canada  feared plot to overthrow authorities June 17  strike leaders are arrested June 21  supporters of union leaders become violent army moves in and shoots on crowd  leaders of the strike are sent to prison  strike is broken A settlement soon followed that addressed some of the issues

Conclusion Short term  strike was not a success Royal commission found strikers were not part of communist plot Long term  laws were eventuall changed to recognize the right of workers to collective action  strike did demonstrate that collective action could be very effective

Women and Political Change 1918 Borden extends suffrage (right to vote) to most women 1921 Agnes Macphail 1st woman elected to Parliament By 1919 most women in Canada could vote and hold elected office Think and Apply: Examine cartoon on page 152: what does this suggest about the issues that were important to women in 1918? What does figure 6-5 say about the success of women’s struggle for equality?

The Persons Case 1916 Emily Murphy appointed police magistrate (judge) Some refused to accept her rulings – Alberta courts ruled she was qualified to hold post. 1917 Murphy is nominated for Senate post – Borden refuses to appoint her  not a qualified person according to interpretation of British law Famous Five: Murphy, Henrietta Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney & Irene Parlby  take case to Supreme Court of Canada Supreme Court  rules against the Five  appeal to British Privy Council 1929: British Privy Council  constitution is a “living tree”  must be interpreted according to the values of the time and NOT according to the values of a past generation