1. Postwar Prosperity (1945-1968)
Martin Campbell

2. Setting up the scene
After the horrors of WW2, Canada and its respective Allies had a large economic boom due to mass industrialisation during the Second World War. The industrialisation meant that many more people had work, and money to spend. This led to a large growth in the middle class and the Baby Boom.
The prime minister during this time period was Mackenzie King, who was elected in 1921, and stayed until 1930, he would be re-elected in 1935 until he resigned in King was well known for building ties with the Americans during the Second World War.
Canadian morale was increasing due to the reasons listed above, as well as a general improvement of quality of life. People also had a sense of relief after the Axis forces were defeated. Fear of Stalinist Communism was growing among Canadians as well.

3. John Humphrey and the UN Declaration
John Peters Humphrey was born april 30, 1905 and had a tough childhood. He went to Mount Allison University and then attended McGill University In Montreal.
In 1945 he wrote a 400 page background for the UN Declaration of human rights, and wrote the first draft for it in In 1948 it was accepted by the United Nations and is still in use today. December 10th is the official day to celebrate the adoption of the declaration of human rights.

4. Economic Prosperity and Baby Boom
After the mass industrialization during the Second world war, and the help of Keynesian economics implemented by PM King, the Canadian economy began to bloom and stabilize. The increased number of economists and exponential trade ties with the US allowed the Canadian economy to bloom in almost all regards.
As the economy grew, so did the quality of life. This meant that Canadians had a sense of safety and were beginning to create families at an accelerated rate. This lead to a 20 year population “bulge” which eventually declined because of medical and societal reasons.

5. Newfoundland’s Struggle
Newfoundland attempted joining the Confederation in 1869, the Anti-Confederates won in a landslide victory. Later attempts would be made but fail as neither party had enough motivation. Newfoundland was hit especially hard in the Great Depression and asked Britain for economic support. This relationship would not prove to be worthy as Newfoundland would prosper greatly during the second world war and not need Britain's support. Between the years a fierce debate was happening in the province whether or not to join Confederation.

6. Newfoundland joins Confederation
After the second world war, both the United States and Great Britain had established large military bases on Newfoundland. Newfoundland got tired of what was happening to them and had 3 choices: They could either, stay as Britain's colony and be governed by the British, become fully Independent, or join Canada. In the end Newfoundland joined Canada by a narrow vote (52-48%). Confederation prevailed as Canada had offered to build roads and railways, as well as other economic benefits. Newfoundland became the 10th Canadian province on March 31st 1949 with Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent in office.

7. Canada and NATO
Canada had a crucial involvement in the creation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) which allied Canada, the US, and 10 European states. A Canadian man by the name of Escott Reid in created the idea and was supported by external affairs Minister Louis St. Laurent. The idea spread around the world and became a very real possibility. NATO was formed in 1949 mainly to stop the global spread of Communism. It is a strictly military alliance.

8. The Indian Act, revised
After surprisingly large amounts of Native Canadians enlisted in the army in WW2 (approx. 6,000), they came back to find that Canada itself had glaring discrimination against their people. The Native population in Canada became very vocal. There efforts paid off and The Indian act was revised in 1951 and the First Nations people had partial control over finances in their communities as well as some new rights. One major issue that remained was that when a native woman married a non- Native man, she’d no longer be legally native.

9. The Korean War
Canada had a large involvement in the Korean war, and was part of the UN forces under US leadership. At first, the war did not go well, until US General MacArthur invaded at Inchon and took significant amounts of territory back. The war became stagnant part way through, and ended where it started in 1953, at the 38th parallel. In the war there were 27,000 Canadians involved. Of those there were 1,550 casualties of which 516 were deaths.

10. Lester B. Pearson
Born the 23rd of April 1897, Lester B. Pearson moved around alot during his childhood. After his childhood ended, he studied History at the University of Toronto. Pearson enlisted in 1915 and fought against the Bulgarians until he was run over by a bus. After pearson returned home, he taught at Toronto University but found pay insufficient for his family. He joined the Department of External Affairs. In WW2 he was the Canadian ambassador in the US and garnered a reputation as a charismatic politician. Pearson would play a large part in the creation of NATO as well as being largely responsible for ending the Suez Canal Crisis. Pearson would later become the prime minister from

11. The Suez Canal Crisis
In 1956 Gamal Nasser seized control of the Suez Canal. At the time it was controlled by British and French for the oil it retained, who allied with Israel to retake it. The conflict continually escalated, and eventually could’ve been a catalyst for WW3.

12. Lester Pearson and the Peacekeepers
Canada’s top diplomat (Lester Pearson) worked tirelessly on creating a Peacekeeping force to force their way in between the two fighting parties. After long hard work, Pearson eventually convinced the United Nations to create a peacekeeping force with Canada as a key player. United Nations peacekeeping forces managed to resolve the conflict. Pearson would be given the 1957 Nobel Peace prize for his action.

13. John Diefenbaker
John Diefenbaker is likely Canada’s most controversial prime minister. He was Prime Minister from and was leader of the Progressive Conservative party. He was a eloquent supporter or non-establishment and a large supporter of equal rights for all people. He is criticized for his actions regarding the Avro Arrow, Nuclear Missiles in Canada, and relationships with John F. Kennedy. He is highly praised on the other side for giving First Nations people the right to vote, as well as introducing the Canadian Bill of Rights.

14. Canada And the Vietnam War
Canada had a supposed neutral part to play in the Vietnam war, but did multiple things to support the Americans. Canada only supported the South Vietnamese with their food aid which totalled $29,000,000. Canada also aided the testing of Agent Orange at Fort Gagetown. Canada also sold $2,500,000,000 worth of war materials to the US.

15. Vietnamese and American Refugees
Throughout the Vietnam war and years after, Canada took in more than 70 thousand refugees and Draft Dodgers from Asia and the US. Twelve-thousand US troops avoided service in vietnam and fled to Canada. In thousand people came to Canada from Vietnam and Hong Kong, where they had escaped through dangerous methods, earning them the name “boat people”.

16. Discussion Questions
Was Newfoundland joining Confederation a good choice?
Was the fear of Communism in Canada justified?
From a moral standpoint, should Canada have gotten involved in the Vietnamese War?