INTER-WAR YEARS

Search for Security

The League of Nations
Goal: Preserve peace of the world
 Promote international cooperation
 Arbitration: Members agreed not to go to war without submitting disputes to
arbitration
 Collective Security: Help any member who was a victim of aggression to prevent
war

If sanctions were imposed, all members would cut off any ties they had with the
aggressor
→ Prevent the aggressor to go to war

The above ideas didn't work.

 Provided false hope that war could be prevented
 The League of Nations had set itself up for failure for the following reasons:

1) Exclusive Membership:
 Not all nations were members.
 Germany and the Soviet Union were excluded from the League
 The U.S. refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles
→ Excluded them from joining the League

2) Lack of Enforcement:
 Members were bound together in a mutual protection
→ There was nothing established to enforce the decisions on any offenders.
Canada in 1920s
Aftermath of the War:
 Many soldiers were still in Europe. Soldiers had to wait for years before they
were able to return back home.
 Soldiers felt they were not being paid enough
should have been paid for all the pain and suffering they had
endured
 Had difficulty adjusting to 'normal' life
Could not grasp the importance of working in factories when they just finished
fighting a war and tried to stay alive.
 Conscription during WWI had torn the country into two.
 Quebec was against conscription.
 French-English relations in Canada had been changed due to the decisions
made during the war.

Social Changes:
- Canada’s economy was booming.
- Women had gained the right to vote. (only in provincial elections, did not gain
the vote till 1940s)
- Canadians started to participate in many activities - picnics, horse races,
skating, skiing, etc.
- Group of Seven: Famous art group during the 20th Century, rejected realism
(Emily Carr: One of Canada' greatest artists)

Technological Advancements:
 Transportation:
- The Model T and the assembly line (Henry Ford)

 Communication:
- Telephones were common
- The radio began to spread influence and connect communities.

 Household products:
- Items like the refrigerator, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, etc., made
everyday life easier.

 American Influence on Canadian Culture:

- Increased transportation, communication and economic ties
- American movies, music, clothing, fads, etc. were adopted by Canadians
(French-Canadians aside).
- Many of the first significant highways in Canada stretched north to south.

 American Influence on the Canadian Economy:

- The United States emerged as the world's economic powerhouse.
- Branch Plants:
Set up American owned and operated companies in Canada.
- Resources:
→ Canadian raw materials were exported to the U.S.
→ Manufactured into consumer products.
→ Sold back to Canadians.
- Bootlegging:
As prohibition lasted longer in the U.S. than Canada, Canadian bootleggers
made a fortune in exporting illegal booze.
- Tourism:
 American tourists flood into Canada.
Service jobs flourished.
Americans spent over $300 million dollars in Canada.
Immigration and Racism:
 After WWI, immigrants from enemy countries were not allowed, only from
Britain & America.
 Immigrants from Europe were allowed to enter the country later.
 Immigrants from Russia, Eastern Europe & Asian were restricted, deported and
accused of being socialist/communist troublemakers.
 Aboriginal nations:
- Subjected to residential schooling, ignored land claims, bans on cultural
practices, and exclusion from the rights of citizens.
 African-American immigrants:
- Subjected to racial segregation and discrimination
- Initiated by the government
- Supported by the courts

The Growth of Canadian Independence:

 The Paris Peace Conference & Treaty of Versailles
- Canada had her own seat at the League of Nations Canada was now separate
from Britain.

 The Chanak Crisis 1922:

- Britain sent troops to Turkey to control the port of Chanak
- Prime Minister King had refused to unconditional support Britain
said Canadian Parliament would decide whether or not to send
troops

 The Halibut Treaty 1923:

- Canada signed a treaty with America to protect the halibut on the coast of BC
and Alaska without approval from Britain.
→ Autonomy in foreign affairs

 The Imperial Conference 1923:

- According to the Balfour Report, Canada was no longer a colony of Britain.

 The King Byng Crisis 1926:

- The Conservative party won more seats than King's Liberals in the 1925
election.
- King had the right to stay in power under the rule of responsible government.
∵ He had the majority of votes in the House of Commons (the Progressive
Party).
- King attempted to dissolve Parliament and call for another election.
→ Governor General Byng refused & allowed the Conservative Party to form the
government.
- The Conservative Party lost a vote in the House of Commons.
lost the election back to the Liberal Party.
→ 1st time that Governor General refused a request from the Prime Minister.
facilitated recommendations in the Balfour Report and
future legislation.

 The Statute of Westminster:

- Dominions were free to make their own laws
 - Canada was now part of the British Commonwealth of Nations - free and equal
states (applied to former colonies of Britain)

Birth of Trade Unions

Trade Unions:
 Gain improved housing
 Job training programs and higher pay
 Cost of living went up but wages remained the same, people couldn’t pay for
the needed

Winnipeg General Strike 1919

 30000 workers walked off the job in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Toronto & Montreal
 Official response:
- Banned all parades/demonstration
- Anyone born outside of Canada was suspected to cause the revolution.
were arrested and were deported back to their
country.

Blood Saturday 21/6/1919

 Violence had erupted when the 10 strikers who were arrested.
 Police charged at the crowd: 1 killed, 30 injured, 100 arrested.
 Central Strike Committee ordered everyone to go back to work, many didn't
have a job to go back to.
→ Strike drew attention social and economic problems that people faced
→ Many labour leaders become involved in politics
→ Pro-worker political parties, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (NDP),
became popular.

Role of Women
 Lives of women had changed drastically.
 They held jobs & involved in sports which belonged to men.

 Women believed alcohol was evil and should be banned (wife abuse, child
abuse, accidents, poverty, neglect of family, diseases and death)
 Alcohol was banned for 3 years in Quebec; 4 years in BC; 48 years in PEI
 Prohibition led to crime in the U.S. and Canadians started to ‘bootleg’ alcohol to
the States.
 Loophole:
- Allowed to drink wine (28% alcohol) in Ontario
→ Doctors were allowed prescribe alcohol to patients

 Agnes Macphil become the first female Member of Parliament in 1921.

  The Famous Five and the Persons Case
- 5 Alberta women:
Emily Murphy, Nellie McChung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney &
Irene Parlby
- Asked the Supreme Court of Canada to examine if the word “person” in the BNA
Act included females.
- Supreme Court ruled that the word did not apply to women.
- With PM King’s help, the Famous five appealed to the British Privy Council.
- It ruled that “person” included all males and females.

The Great Depression

Main Causes in Canada:
1) "Boom & Bust Cycle”
 Economy experiences dramatic shift: Economic prosperity → Financial downturn

2) Canadian Wheat
- Canadians sold wheat to other countries but other countries started to produce
their own wheat.
→ Farmers were producing more wheat than they sold.
→ Lost income.
→ Unable to pay their mortgages.

3) Overproduction
 The goods in Canada & the United States they produced were not being sold.
→ Factory owners began to lay off workers
→ Income loss in families & spending powers

4) Protectionism
 Americans imposed high tariff (關稅) on all goods entering the country to protect
their businesses. → Other countries rose their tariffs
→ A decrease of exported goods slowed down world trade

5) “Buying on Margin”
 Many Canadians expanded their business by selling of stocks.
 Many Canadians bought these stocks through loans from the bank, hoping to
pay off their loans while still making a profit.
 Due to overproduction, stocks began to drop in their value,
→ Canadians became bankrupt and banks were out of millions of dollars in
loans.
→ Businesses were laying out more & more employees.

6) Black Tuesday 29/10/1929

 Due to the effects of “Buying on Margin”,
→ The stock market collapsed in New York, Toronto & Montreal.
→ Many stocks had become worthless.
→ Unemployment, bankruptcy & falling prices.

7) International debt
 After WWI, Germany owed money to France & Britain (owed money to the U.S.)
→ Germany was unable to pay.
→ France & Britain unable to pay the U.S.
→ Severe decline in world trade
→ The loss of millions of dollars in what was 'anticipated' government revenue.

Life during the Great Depression:

 Economic Dependency
- Before the depression, Caranda was depended heavily on the U.S. for export
and economic security.
- Within a year, millions of Canadians were unemployed, which led to socials &
economic chaos.

 “Pogey”
- Many Canadians relied on pogey (government welfare) to survive.
- The government did not make getting welfare easy: Many had to stand in line
for hours, only given food voucher & never covered the cost of living.
→ Canadians declare financial failure

 Charity
- Many private charities and soup kitchens which supplied Canadians with used
clothing, household goods & food.

 Prairie Drought (1928 – 1935)

- Prairies were faced with a drought
- Plague of grasshoppers invaded the region

 Family Life
- Many men had left their families to look for work or simply left as they were
unable to raise a family.
- Children were sent to live with distant relatives.

 Minority Groups
- Aboriginals, Chinese & other immigrant groups were faced with discrimination
due to the intense employment competition. Organizations, such as KKK thrived
in this environment

 Riding The Rails

- Men started riding on freight trains in the hopes of finding a job across the
country. Later men just rode the trains since they had nothing to do.

Response to the Great Depression:

 Bennett's Response
- Relief camps:
Men were employed at 20 cents a day to build roads, clear land, dig ditches,
etc.
 Bennett's new deal
- Created to protect individuals and business from economic crisis.
- Programs were unemployment insurance, pension plans, health insurance, etc.
 - The plan was great but too late, caused him to lose the 1935 election back to
King.

 On-to-Ottawa Trek 6/1935

- Relief camp workers boarded the train in Vancouver to Ottawa to bring their
complaints about the depression to the Prime Minister.

 Regina Riot
- Police were ordered to clear the protesters.
- A fight broke out.
→ One death, many injuries, and hundreds arrested.

 Distractions
- Sports
Hockey, football, basketball and boxing.
- Movies
Many could not afford to go but it was still a popular entertainment.
- Radio
In 1936 the federal government created the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC)
- Dionne Quintuplets (1934) - drew in thousands tourists & generated millions of
dollars.

Consequences:
 Unemployment
→ Overproduction
→ Massive unemployment
→ Loss of income, bankruptcy, socio-economic depression

 Bank and Business Failure

- People went bankrupt.
→ Banks unable to collect loan payments.
- No one was buying any goods.
→ Business closure.

 Political Consequences
Creation of CF - Co-op Commonwealth Federation (later NDP)
- Gained support from the public.
- Many social programs were created such as employment insurance, welfare,
pensions, etc.
- The government become involved in the social & economic control.
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