Canada: A Changing

Society

1. The new culture of Canada

2. New Canada, new

government

3. The Cold War

4. Canada in a new world

Canada After WWII

Returning veterans helped by government

programs

Veterans and wave of immigrants leads to

increased demand for housing

Rise of suburbs (housing developments and

communities outside of city centres)

Suburban Values

Traditional family life

Stay-at-home mom, working dad, 2+ kids (nuclear family)

Increase in the birth-rate 1946-1961 (ie. “baby boom”)

Suburbia

Suburban Nuclear Family

Canada After WWII

Age of the Automobile

Cars needed by families in suburbs, commute to work

Small neighbourhood stores replaced by fewer large supermarkets and department stores, shopping malls

Poor safety: seat belts rare, drunk-driving common

Consumer Society

Rise in advertising, especially on television

Economy booming, Canadians have money to spend

New high-tech gadgets, appliances, toys, etc.

Conspicuous consumption

“keeping up with the Joneses”

Women After WWII

Women expected to give wartime jobs back to

returning veterans

Women encouraged to stay at home

Working women thought of as bad mothers

Some women couldn’t afford to stay home

Made to feel guilty by society

Paid less than men who did the same work

The Rise of Advertising

Advertising for women…

And the men?

The Home Life

Canada After WWII

Teen Culture and the Youth Movement

Before WWII, the average Canadian was out of

school by grade 8

Need to make money for family, needed to fight in wars

Baby boomers stay in school much longer, university

Economy booming, not needed as soldiers

A lot of free time, spending money from part-time jobs

Become target for businesses, advertising

Teens create their own culture

Fashion, slang, music, movies, etc.

Teen Culture

Protecting Canadian Culture Canadians, especially youths, increasingly

influenced by American culture after WWII

Movies, TV, music, celebrities, etc.

Adults and government increasingly concerned

Massey Commission (1949)

Purpose: investigate the state of Canadian culture

1951: reported that Canadian culture should be

protected from American influences

National Film Board (NFB) should be strengthened

Makes documentary films by Canadians and/or about Canada

Federal government should help fund the arts

Protecting Canadian Culture

Canada Council (1957)

funded by federal government

gives grants to artists and organizations to

strengthen Canadian culture

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Broadcast on radio since 1936

Response to influence of American culture pre-WWII

1952: establishes television stations, broadcasts

Canadian content across country

Protecting Canadian

Culture

Protecting Canadian Culture

Canadian Radio-television and

Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

Established in 1968

Regulates Canadian broadcasting (TV and radio)

Controls how much foreign programming can be

broadcast on television and radio in Canada

Requires certain amount of Canadian

programming on TV and radio

Canadian Content

Requirements:

Commercial Radio: 35% of music played has

to be Canadian, and 35% of music played

between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. must be

Canadian

TV for broadcast stations (CBC, CTV): 60%

of yearly programming and 50% of primetime

(6:00 p.m. to midnight) must be Canadian

content