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Unit 3 Canada in the 1920s
Unit 3
Canada in the 1920s
Economic changes after the war
Canada’s wartime economic boom
ended when weapons manufacturing
stopped in 1918
Over 300,000 workers in munitions
factories became unemployed
• Canada was in an economic slump
• The role of women changed - men
returning from war & taking their jobs
• It was expected that women should
return to doing housework.
Soldiers returning from Europe thought
there would be jobs and a good economy.
There was animosity against those who
stayed home and profited from the war
After sacrificing so much at war many
soldiers found no work and grew
increasingly frustrated
• Those lucky enough to find work had low
wages
Those with a job had to deal with inflation
What is inflation?
When prices rise while wages don’t change
The cost of living more than doubled
from 1914 to 1919
Many had difficulty finding housing and
rents were high
Workers and veterans around the country
were forced to strike for higher pay
Disillusioned Canadian soldiers marching in protest (Toronto).
Labour unrest swept across Canada
Churches & workers demanded social
responsibility from government & business
This is the idea that ALL people should
benefit, not just the rich and powerful.
Policies that promote this are…
Old-age pensions
Living (fair) wages
Public ownership of essential services
Some workers saw
the 1917 Russian
Revolution as a
guide to changing
Canada
Groups like the
OBU and the IWW
were formed, both
favouring General
Strikes
• In 1918 and 1919, many workers all
across Canada went out on strike.
Winnipeg,
1919
The Winnipeg General Strike, 1919
The biggest strike in the country.
With over 40,000 workers off the job,
the city was paralyzed.
Some politicians thought it was the
beginning of a communist revolution
June 21 - Bloody Saturday
Violence –The Mounted Police charged
the protesters, and fired on the people.
When the police moved
in to break up the
strike, one protestor
was shot and killed.
• Workers were ordered back to work.
• New laws were passed to prohibit any
further strikes
• While the workers lost out in the
short term, in the long term many of
the union leaders were elected to
office and began changing Canada’s
political landscape.
After the strike, a Royal Commission
investigated and reported the causes:
1. the cost of living was too high
2. working conditions were poor
3. low wages had caused workers to
take extreme actions
Growth of the Canadian economy• By the early 1920s the effects of war were
disappearing
• More investment from foreign countries
came into Canada
• The economy had returned to a normal
peace-time level
Primary industries were still very
important and growing.
Forestry boomed
Wheat farmers had good prices and
bumper crops
Mining was strong
Papermaking – Canada produced more
than all other countries combined
hydropower and oil
Secondary industries
(manufacturing) increased production
such as: cars, household appliances
(eg. irons, toasters, etc.)
This led to the rise of mass consumer
culture
Economic Boom, Economic Problems
Farmers: Uneven Prosperity
Not all farmers were successful, but many wheat farmers were, due to the high wheat prices.
Even those farmers were faced with problems; increasing machinery costs which cut into their profits.
Economic Decline in the Maritimes
After 1927, the Maritime economy
increased (pulp & paper) but only in
a few regions.
Elsewhere, the economy was in
decline.
Coal miners were laid off and the steel
industry was hit with stiff competition from
central Canada and the U.S.
Preferential railway rates were also stopped
by the Federal Government, causing
transportation costs to increase.
Many thousands of people had to leave the
Maritimes for work elsewhere.
The Roaring Twenties – 1925+
• New inventions made the world seem
smaller
The radio
was a new
invention.
Families
would
listen to
programs
together
For a few pennies
Canadians could
see black & white
silent movies,
news reels.
By the late1920s
new movies were
introduced where
the actors actually
spoke!
Mass production of cars
Air travel
• These inventions were
increasingly accessible
to more people.
• Wages increased -
Canadians were living in a
"modern age"
• More people had moved into
cities and begun work in the
service industry (tertiary).
•Credit: buying items and paying for
them later. This was called the
‘installment plan’.
• People bought SHARES (stocks) on
the stock exchange that led to an
economic BOOM.
Culture and Society in the 1920s
Dramatic change was due mainly to 3 influences of WWI:
1. WWI created an industrial base that was responsible for huge economic prosperity
2. Canadians could now access the world through advances such as radios, cars
3. The roles of women during the
war gave them more confidence and
independence
People in rural areas were less
isolated thanks to radio, movies,
cars, and airplanes
With higher wages and a shorter
work week, there was more free
time
• New forms of entertainment,
inventions & lifestyles appeared
Flappers
Jazz music
The Charleston
Ford’s Model T
Babe Ruth
Social inequality in the 1920sA. Women:
Were under-represented in government
They were not considered "persons"
under the law (until 1929)
Training schools for girls were mostly
preparation for family living or
secretarial work.
Women were seen as "temporary
employees" (once married, they often
lost their jobs.)
B. Children:
• After 1929, children under 14 could no longer
work in factories or mines.
• So many more children stayed in school
The Home Children
• Children from Britain (orphans or from poor
families) were sent to Canada to start a new life.
• Their work was often
exploited. (hardwork, very
low wages, abuse).
This ended in 1930.
C. Immigrants:
Racism had long been a
problem in North America
and Europe.
Racism grew in the 1920s
(Some restaurants refused
service to black people)
The infamous Ku Klux
Klan had 15,000 members
in western Canada.
D. Aboriginal People:
• Government official policy was
ASSIMILATION = forcing indigenous
people to lose their culture & language
and become Canadian
children were sent to Residential schools
& forced to forget their own language
and culture.
Those who tried living off-reserves were
victims of discrimination and prejudice.
It was difficult to find good jobs
Many were forced to live in terrible
poverty
Those living on reserves did not have the
right to vote
By the 1920s and 1930s, indigenous
people like Deskadeh, began to organize
to fight for their rights.
PROHIBITION
Prohibition = sale & consumption of
beer, liquor was made illegal
In Canada prohibition laws were set by
the provinces, but ended in 1919.
But in the US, the Volstead Act banned
alcohol from1919-1933.
Organized crime boomed as gangsters
smuggled contraband (illegal rye,
rum) from Canada
Al Capone – the famous gangster
Politics in the 1920s
Farmers in many provinces formed their own party – The United Farmers
They wanted lower tariffs and social welfare like old age pensions.
In Ontario, Alberta, & Manitoba the United Farmers formed the government.
In 1920 the farmers formed a new national party – The Progressives
In the 1921 election the Progressives came second to the Liberal’s William Lyon Mackenzie King
Canada’s longest
serving prime minister
– close to 30 years
The Maritime Rights MovementMaritimers felt that they had little power in
Confederation and formed the MRM
They wanted:
reduced rail freight costs
Gov’t help developing
Atlantic ports.
Women and PoliticsWomen could vote, but
few ran for office
So few were elected.
Agnes Macphail was
the first female MP and
was the only one from
1921-1935.
The 'Persons' CaseEmily Murphy took the federal
government to court in 1927 because it
would not allow female senators because
they were not 'persons' under the BNA Act.
In 1929, the Privy Council in Britain (the
highest court) ruled that women were
indeed persons.
The first female senator, Cairine Wilson,
was appointed in 1929.
The King-Byng ‘Crisis’ In the 1925 federal election Liberals under King
won fewer seats (101) than the Conservatives(116) under Arthur Meighen, but King would not step down as PM.
He argued that under the rules of responsible government & with support of the Progressives (who had won 24 seats), he had a majority.
Minority government -When one party has less than a majority of seats (50% + 1) but is supported by another party to govern
Libs (101) + Progs (24) =125 out of 245 total
So 125 > 116
So with the support of the Progressives, King stayed on as PM.
In 1926, due to a corruption scandal, the Progressives stopped supporting King.
Rather than lose a vote in Parliament, King went to the Governor General (GG), Lord Byng, and asked him to dissolve Parliament so a new election could be called.
Byng refused, so King resigned and Byng asked Meighen & the Conservatives to form the government.
Meighen lost a vote in the House of Commons and was forced to ask the GG to dissolve Parliament and hold yet another election.
King and the Liberals won a majority in this election and again stayed in power with the help of the Progressives.
Significance - first time a GG had refused the
request of a PM to dissolve parliament.
This changed the role of the GG, not only in Canada
but in all other dominions of the British Empire.
Canada's growing Independence
Canada continued to seek more independence internationally.
In 1921, Prime Minister Meighen (Conservative) opposed an alliance between Great Britain and Japan, choosing to back American opposition to the treaty.
The Chanak Affair - in 1922, Canada decided not to help the UK in its dispute with Turkey regarding the rights to the Dardanelles and access to the Black Sea.
Canada's growing Independence
Canada became an independent member of the League of Nations in 1920
The Halibut Treaty (1923)
Canada signed an agreement with the US
to govern fishing rights.
This was the first time a Canadian, not a
British representative, signed an
international agreement.
The Imperial Conference of 1926
It was in this conference, under
pressure from Mackenzie King,
Canada signed the Balfour
Report -
This marked the end of the old
imperialism of GB and the
beginning of an association of equal
nations, linked by common
interests and their loyalty to the
British sovereign (the British
Commonwealth)
Statute of Westminster, 1931
A law in the British Parliament that legalized the Balfour Report and gave Canada full authority over its external relations.
Canada, as a member of the
Commonwealth of Nations,
was fully independent of
Britain for the first time in its
history.
