The Roaring 1920 … Canada After WW1

1. The Roaring 1920 … Canada After WW1

2. The Soldiers Return... • 17000 soldiers returned to Canada • Many injured or disabled • Unable to Work: • Received government pensions • Return to school • Received free land and money to start farms through the SOLDIER SETTLEMENT ACT. • these benefits did not extend to Aboriginal soldiers

3. Times of Turmoil • The years following WWI were a period of turmoil and unrest for Canada.

4. 1. Disease: The Spanish Flu I had a little bird, Its name was Enza. I opened the window, And in-flu-enza. • In 1918-1919, a deadly flu hit the world (called the Spanish flu) • It had more victims than WW1, killing at least 20 million people; • Soldiers brought it home with them from Europe Did you know... The Stanley Cup has only ever been cancelled 2 times – in 2005 because of the strike, and in 1918 because of the flu.

6. 2. Prohibition • Definition: A complete ban on the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol; • Women’s Temperance Movement campaigning to ban sale of alcohol since turn of century • Production of alcohol took away from war effort – misuse of wheat and manpower • During war every province except Quebec banned the sale of alcohol • 1918 federal government introduces prohibition

8. Positive Social Effects of Prohibition • Crime rate drops • Fewer arrests for drunkenness • More workers take pay cheque home instead of to the tavern • Industrial efficiency improves – fewer work days missed

9. Prohibition in the USA • USA was also officially “dry” from 1919-1933 • Canadians make fortune smuggling liquor to USA • Rum runners use horse-drawn sleighs and snowshoes to get booze across the Quebec border into Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont • Also used boats to run alcohol across Lake Erie and Ontario and into the USA • Believed that close to $1 million dollars in alcohol per month was moved across the Windsor-Detroit border

10. Rise in “the mob” or organized crime (i.e. Al Capone, Franky Fingers) • By the 1920s, prohibition became impossible to enforce; • Was a loss of revenue for the provincial governments and unpopular with most citizens, so slowly, across Canada, it ended (although it remained in the U.S.)

11. End of Prohibition • Too hard to enforce • Bootleggers making millions • Provincial governments losing millions of dollars in liquor taxes • Unpopular with many citizens • Provinces begin to reinstate sale of liquor during 1920s – PEI last province to end prohibition in 1948

12. 3. The Economy • Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia • experienced good economic times throughout most of the 1920s; • The Prairies • in the early 1920s, things were very difficult: • Wheat prices dropped 60%; • Farmers who had gone into debt to purchase new tractors, harvesters and trucks for efficiency had difficulty paying their bills; • The Maritimes • prices for fish, lumber, coal and iron fell, creating high unemployment rates and economic uncertainty; • high freight rates made it more expensive to ship their products to Central Canada, so there were fewer buyers for their products.

13. 4. TREATMENT OF MINORITY GROUPS • WOMEN • Won the right to vote – not considered “persons” • Lost jobs when soldiers returned • If they worked, they had low-paying, low-status jobs, i.e. nurses, secretaries, domestics, clerks, or factory workers; • Received less pay then men for equal work; • In 1921, a federal statute (law) was passed requiring that all female civil servants (those who worked for any level of government) quit working when they got married • It was assumed that if they got married the income was no longer needed and their jobs should be given to men who had families to support.

14. ABORIGINALS • Soldiers not eligible for any pension – were not treated the same as "white" Canadian soldiers • The government still forced them to assimilate into Canadian society; • Residential Schools • Aboriginal children forced into residential schools • Many were abused mentally, physically, and sexually • Many were informed that their families had died in small pox epidemics so that they wouldn't try to escape and accept assimilation. • Forced to live on reserves • High alcohol consumption, high suicide rates, and high disease rates, as well as inferior housing, no running water, and no indoor plumbing, were a fact of life for many. • Those who lived off reserve faced severe discrimination and prejudice; many faced poverty and despair.

15. IMMIGRANTS • During the war, many Canadians had become more suspicious and less tolerant of "foreigners" (non-British) and ethnic minorities; • Xxenophobia (an intense dislike of foreigners) • The Immigration Act • All immigrants pass an English literacy test • Discrimination was directed at Asians • Chinese Exclusion Act, July 1, 1923 • Banningall Chinese immigrants except students, merchants, and diplomats (only 8 Chinese immigrants were admitted between 1923 and 1947) • In 1928, the number of Japanese immigrants allowed to enter was reduced to 150/year

16. 5. DISCONTENT AND LABOUR UNREST • When soldiers returned home they were paid lower wages • Unemployment was on the rise as munitions factories closed because they were no longer needed. • Women were sent back home and out of the workforce • The cost of living increased, but the wages didn’t keep up with the pace. • Workers united and formed UNIONS in an attempt to fight for their rights.

17. LABOUR UNREST • Because of the lack of jobs available for soldiers, they were angry at the cost of living and the lack of steady employment • The union movement was a response to developing new ideas regarding the role of government and work • Workers were unhappy with the conditions and payment for work and there was an increase in labour union activity

18. LABOUR UNREST • In 1919 farmers formed the Canadian Council of Agriculture, which supported public ownership of essential services • In March 1919 in Western Canada, labour groups combined to form a branch of the One Big Union (OBU) • Labour unions were impressed with the recent Communist Revolution in 1917, and wanted to achieve the same • The best method of achieving this goal is through general strikes

19. WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE • May 15, 1919 • As a result of a breakdown in talks between industry and metal building workers; • Most workers were concerned with improved pay and working conditions, but some were influenced by radical union views; • The strike was declared by the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council and over 30,000 workers supporting the 12,000 metal and building workers went on a general strike;

20. WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE • Some cities across the nation joined in strikes supporting the Winnipeg workers • On Sunday June 21, 1919 (“Bloody Saturday”) was one of the last days of the strike and saw a violent clash between RCMP and strikers, where two men were killed by police and eight labour leaders were arrested • The strike ended June 29, 1919;

26. The Winnipeg General Strike • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq-a4sdmZiM Begin video at 1:15:00

27. The Winnipeg General Strike • Why did the government react so harshly with regards to the strike? Why did the government fear the aim of the strike was? • Explain the aims of the workers. What were they trying to do by striking and shutting down an already damaged economy? • Who do you believe “won” the strike? Explain your response.