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Military Recruitment (+2)
In 1914, 600,000 people out of 8 million Canadians served in the war. At the time, the war was depicted as heroic and brave. 3000 women served as ambulance drivers and nurses. 425 000 soldiers were sent to battle overseas. Thanks to the general acceptance of war and Canada's ties with Britain, the war offered many jobs and increased the morale of the country. The picture below is of a military recruitment poster from 1914. -
End of WWI (-2)
The war ended on November 11th,1918. Over half a million Canadians served in the war but sadly, between 60 000 and 70 000 did not survive while another 170 000 were injured. This was the biggest price Canadians had to pay but there were many more. The tension between English Canadians and French Canadians rose and the national debt increased to 2 billion dollars, about 5 times that before the war. The picture below shows a news article about the armistice which was signed on November 18th, 1918. -
Group of Seven Art Influence (+2)
The Group of Seven formed in 1920 and was determined to paint a Canadian form of art that was different to much other art. They ventured to many different wilderness areas of Canada and their work was recognized in many parts of the world. Before them, Canadian landscape was looked upon as unworthy of being painted. They worked in sometimes extremely harsh conditions to attempt to capture the true Canadian landscape. The picture above shows one of their art pieces on the Canadian landscape. -
Residential Schools (-2)
In 1920, the Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs Duncan Campbell made an agreement that created the residential school system. This meant that First Nations children from the ages of 7-15 would be forcefully removed from their homes and be sent to these schools. They received punishments for speaking their own language among other things. Dr. P.H. Bryce published a report in 1922 stating that there was poor sanitation, lack of funding, inadequate diet, and shortage of medical care. -
Immigration During the 1920s (+1)
Following WWI, many people immigrated to Canada to live a better life. This meant a boost of the economy in large cities and also helped populate largely sparse areas of the country. As a result, the population of Canada started to rise and the economy grew. Although this did not mean that all cultures were treated equally and soon after this boom in immigration, a culture will be cut off by a new act. The picture above shows a family that immigrated to Canada sometime during the 1920s. -
Gray-Dort Motors (+1)
Robert Dort was president of Gray-Dort Motors through the early 1900s. His company offered many jobs to Canadians and helped the community by donating. The picture above shows a model had a starting price of $1,465 at the time. Keep in mind that the annual salary during the 20s was about $1,200. Gray-Dort made cars until 1925. -
Frederick Banting (+2)
Frederick Banting didn't have the best grades and ended up failing his first year of university. This didn't stop him and his colleague from finding one of the greatest feats in science. In 1922, they discovered insulin. This would save millions of lives. While working in 1922, Banting and his colleague extracted insulin from the pancreas of an ox to save a teenager's life. He sold the insulin patent to the University of Toronto for a dollar while the profits went to medical research. -
Chinese Immigration Act (-2)
The Chinese Immigration Act was signed on July 1, 1923. Also known as the Exclusion Act to Chinese communities, it's purpose was to exclude people from China from entering Canada. Those who were already in Canada had limits of maximum of 2 years for trips back to China. The Exclusion Act also meant that every Chinese person, regardless of being born in Canada or not, had to register for an ID card, no matter the age. This time marked a decline for Canada and immigration. -
Famous Five (+2)
Come 1927, women had the right to vote and be elected to the House of Commons but were not able to be appointed to the Senate. Emily Murphy knew that this had to be changed so she, along with other women, banded together and formed the Famous Five. They started by asking the Supreme Court of Canada whether the word "person" in the BNA Act included women to which they replied, "no - it did not". In 1929, the Supreme Court of Canda reverted the decision and women would be allowed to be appointed. -
Sikh Families During the 1920s (-1)
Despite being able to bring their wives and children under 18 to Canada, Sikh families during the 1920s were often oppressed by general Canadians. They were almost forced to change their ways. They had to buy "Canadian-style" clothing and had to rid themselves of their turbans and cut their hair in order to blend in with society. The only place where they were able to gather was in the temple. This made life very difficult for them especially as they were just entering Canada.
