Canada Between the Wars

Post War Canada Closing of War Industries   major effects such as high inflation, women returning to home, rising unemployment, increasing labour unrest Winnipeg General Strike 1919  workers went on strike (demanded.85 cents per hour, 8 hour day, right to collective bargaining)  Bloody Saturday; riots and violence led to 1 death and 30 injuries  Leaders arrested and sent to jail but more attention drawn to social and economic problems of workers Prohibition & Bootlegging   ban of production, import and distribution of alcohol   Led to bootleg booze- smuggled alcohol and speakeasies Spanish Flu   Massive epidemic after veterans returned home   Deadly strain killing up to 100 million people; Canadians

Social Issues Aboriginal Issues  Policy of assimilation seen in the Indian Act 1867, creation of residential schools, and policy of enfranchisement (right to vote if give up Aboriginal status)  League of Indians- created in 1919 by Frederick Loft (Aboriginal war veteran) to make a united voice for Aboriginals Immigration  Xenophobia- intense dislike of foreigners  1919 Immigration Act- made all immigrants pass an English literacy test (emphasis on assimilation)  Chinese Exclusion Act: banned all Chinese immigrants except students, merchants and diplomats (from only 8 Chinese immigrants admitted to Canada)

Roaring Twenties

New Technologies & Movements  New technologies : radio, automobile, passenger planes  Ford Model T or “Tin Lizzie” was most affordable car ($395 in 1924) and was mass produced by assembly line  Ted Rogers : Canadian who invented the world’s first battery-less radio  Joseph Bombardier : Canadian who invented first snowmobile called “B-7” for medical transport in winter  Person’s Case : Famous Five campaigned that women should be considered “Persons” under Canadian Law; finally granted by Britain’s Privy Council and Cairine Wilson was first women appointed to the Senate

Entertainment & Sports Americanization  Huge influence of culture & influence from United States Fads  mahjong, crosswords, contests, dancing marathons Fashions  flappers, rising hemlines, bob haircut, knickers, bow ties Entertainment:  Jazz Age, Charleston dance  “talkies” (talking movies) with stars Charlie Chaplin and Canadian Mary Pickford “America’s Sweetheart” Golden Age of Sports  Famous amateur athletes such as Lionel Conacher, Bobbie Rosenfeld played multiple sports  Women in Sports: Edmonton Grads dominated basketball for over 20 years but by 1930s competitive sports were considered “unfeminine”  Professional Sports: hockey (NHL) & Foster Hewitt’s call of Hockey Night and Canada; baseball

1920s Economy ECONOMIC PROSPERITY  End of post war economic problems  New inventions and mass production of products fueled economy and employment  High sales, high wages, high prices, high production, high profits, high demand, low unemployment  Emergence of ‘branch plants’ in Canada PLAYING THE STOCKMARKET  Get rich quick scheme (buy low, sell high)  Stock / share: a unit of ownership in a company  Price of share dependent on supply and demand CREDIT BUYING  ‘credit buying’ of products (appliances)- buy now, pay later  ‘buying on margin’ of stocks

The Balloon Bursts: The Great Crash of 1929 HOW DID IT CRASH?  Stocks were highly inflated or overpriced AND company assets were not the same worth  Investors became nervous as stock prices were becoming “too high” for what it actually worth  ‘Black Tuesday’: October 29, 1929: massive selling of stocks > panic sets in > everyone selling  As investors sold, prices of stocks plunged EFFECTS  Thousands of investors wiped out  Banks demanded payment for loans but borrowers could not repay  Many companies had borrowed money to finance expansion of companies and had to shut down > rise in unemployment  People had bought many stocks and items on credit- had nothing to pay back; then banks would repossess items (ie. homes)  People could not afford to buy clothes, food and other merchandise > forcing more companies to go bankrupt and put more people out of work  Trigger to the Great Depression- worst economic downturn in history

Background Causes of Great Depression  Similar to WWI, there were BACKGROUND CAUSES to the Depression: 1)Overexpansion & overproduction 2)Canada’s Dependence on Staples (wheat) 3)Canada’s Dependence on United States 4)High Taxes decreased International Trade 5)Credit Buying 6)Buying on Margin

The Dirty Thirties  /3 of people were out of work  Riding the rods  Relief vouchers or Pogey  Relief Camps  Dust Bowl  Soup Kitchens  Bennett Buggies  On to Ottawa Trek & Regina Riot

Political Responses P.M. Mackenzie King  Five Cent Speech 1930  re-elected 1935 P.M. R.B. Bennett  elected 1930  proposed the New Deal New Political Parties  emerged to solve the problems of the 1930s  Social Credit- leader William Aberhart  Union Nationale- leader Maurice Duplessis  Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)- leader J.S. Woodsworth

Promoting Canadian Identity  Group of Seven  Canadian Author’s Association (1921)  RCAF: Royal Canadian Air Force (1924)  Statute of Westminster (1931)  CRBC: Canadian Radio Broadcasting Company (1933)  CBC: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (1936)  NFB: National Film Board (1939)

What brought the world out of the Great Depression?  World War II breaks out September 3, 1939  Canada declares war on Germany September 10, 1939 HOW? war industries re-open war industries re-open rise in employment rise in employment as more people get jobs, people have $ to spend as more people get jobs, people have $ to spend businesses revived businesses revived