Canada S Identity and Its Role in International Aﬀairs (1914-2000)

Provincial Essay Outline 1:

Canada’s identity and its role in international aﬀairs (1914-2000)

WWI (21-46)

Canadian Military: (CEF, RFC) (26, 35): Prime Minister Borden initially oﬀered Britain 25000 troops, but more than 30000 volunteers from across Canada signed up. 320000 ill-prepared Canadian and Newfoundland troops set sail for England. They began to develop a national identity. The CEF would be integrated into the British units; however, the CEF maintained its independence for much of the war.

Imperial Munitions Board: (27, 36): Sam Hughes created the Shell Committee (27). Prime Minister Borden replaced the Shell Committee with the more eﬃcient Imperial Munitions Board, building ships, airplanes, and shells to ﬁll the huge orders in England and Belgium. Resources such as lumber, nickel, copper, lead, Canadian wheat and beef were also in high demand (36).(The scarcity caused the domestic price to rice)

Battles: (2nd Ypres, Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele) (31, 32): 6000 killed in Ypres, 24000casualties, 75% of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment killed in Somme, Canadian troop in Vimy Ridge under Julian Byng. Stunning victory marked a Canadian milestone, and Canadians took great pride in the success. Canadian General Arthur Currie brought increasingly independent Canadian point of view in Passchendaele. Victory cost 15000 Canadian lives.

Paris Peace Conference: (43, 45): Prime Minister Borden fought successfully for Canada to have its own seat at the Paris Peace Conference not having been represented by Britain (43). He also fought hard to have Canada became a member of the newly formed League of Nations (45).

WWII (100-126) Canadian Military: (RCN, RCAF, BCATP) (103, 104, 111, 113, 114): No trouble ﬁnding volunteers. British

Commonwealth Air Training Plan was a major Canadian contribution to the war eﬀort, trained over 130000 aircrews (104). Canada built small warships, called corvette (111). By 1945, RCN had 400 vessels and over 1000000 sailors. 250000 Canadians joined RCAF, participated in bombing raids in Britain, North Africa, Italy, Northwest Europe, and Southeast Asia (113). 10000bombers crew lost their lives (114).

Battles: (Atlantic, Dieppe, D-Day & Liberation, Air) (110, 116, 118): Dieppe was a terrible failure. Casualties were high. Provide experience for Allies later successful invasion (110). Canadian soldier participated in the Allies’ invasion of Sicily (116). After a successful D-Day invasion, Canadians were given a separate task to liberate the Netherlands (118). Economy: Canada provided major military and economic support to the Allies. The value of goods it produced rose from $5.6 billion in 1939 to $11.8 billion in 1945. Financial aid amounted to $3.4 billion. Canada was known as the “Arsenal of democracy.” (125)

Identity: Canada’s enormous contribution to the war, in both human and economic terms, gave it a new role on the world stage. Just a few years before, Canada had been a colony in the British Empire; Canadians were major players in the global conﬂict. They had built the world’s third-largest navy and fourth-largest air force (128).

Cold War (130-157) Increasing Tension/As part of the Cold War: (NATO, NORAD, Korean War) (133-136, 138): In 1949, Canada joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, whose members are militarily bundled together (133). To protect against direct Soviet attack from the air, the United States built three lines of radar stations across Canada (Pinetree, Mid-Canada, DEW) (135). Canada sent thousands of troops and three naval destroyers to Korea (138). Canada accepted US’s nuclear weapon under certain conditions (143).

United Nation: Delegates from ﬁfty-one countries, including Canada, drew up a charter for the United Nations (137). Canada has been a strong supporter of the United Nations since its creation. Through UN agencies, Canada has aided refugees from war or natural disasters and worked on the development projects in various countries. Canadian peacekeepers had been involved in most UN operation since 1956 (138).

Reducing Cold War Tensions: (Suez, Nuclear, Vietnam) (139, 142-144, 147): Pearson, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because of that, proposed that UN Emergency Force to be sent to Suez Canal to separate and mediate between the rival armies (139). Lester Pearson openly criticized the Operation Rolling Thunder in a speech at a university in Philadelphia (145). By1972, nuclear missiles were removed from Canada’s NATO forces in Europe. By 1984, nuclear warheads were removed from Canadian soil (147).

Trudeau Era “ Middle Power:” (new African and Asian, East and West, North and South, trade and aid) (146,147, 149): In

1970, Canada oﬃcially recognized the communist government of the People’s Republic of China. In 1976, Trudeau became the ﬁrst leader of a NATO country to pay a state visit the Fidel Castro’s communist Cuba (146). Canada aimed to bridge gaps in order to promote world peace and understanding among nations. Helping the poverty-stricken countries of the South to develop their economies and improving living conditions is the core idea of trade and aid policy (148). In 1968, a new government body, the Canadian International Development Agency, took the responsibility of boost foreign aid to less industrialized countries. The total amount of aid extended to $2 billion in 1984 (149).

As part of the Commonwealth and la Francophonie: (solution to North-South gap, Colombo Plan) (149):Canada was in good position to build bridges because its membership of Commonwealth and la Francophonie. In 1950, Commonwealth countries, including Canada, established the Colombo Plan to provide money and aid to less developed countries in the organization. Canada sent experts overseas to provide technical assistance. Most Canadian aid went to India and Pakistan(149).

Post-Cold War World The New World Order: (Gulf, Somalia, Rwanda) (155, 156): Canada participated with a squadron of CF-18 ﬁghter bombers, units of the Canadian Army, and ships from the Canadian Navy patrolling the Persian Gulf (153). In UN’s Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, Canadian forces joined those from other countries in distributing food and other essential supplies to desperate local population (153). Canadian forces were found to abuse teenagers in the operation (154). Canadians were also active in the central African country of Rwanda, where massacre and large-scale planned killings took place. UN peacekeepers were sent under the command of Canadian Major General Roméo Dallaire (156).

Globalization: (157, 158): Canada government expanded its trading opportunities with Asian and Latin American countries, signed free trade agreement with Chile and Israel. Canada also joined APEC to promote freer trade among Paciﬁc countries (157). In late 1990s, these countries were hit by an economic crisis, whose eﬀects also extended to Canada’s economy (158).

Treatment of minorities (women, aboriginals, immigrants, refugees) (1914-2000)

WWI: (volunteers, refugees, vote women) Volunteers: (IM, AB): Not all Canadians were welcome to participate in the war. Women were considered too frail and emotional. Initially the Canadian forces did not accept Aboriginal people and were also reluctant to take African, Japanese-Canadians (25). Election: (WM): Military Voters act allowed the men and women serving overseas to vote, and the Wartime Election Act gave the vote to all Canadian women directly related to servicemen (40). Ambulance: (WM): Almost 2500 Canadian women joined the medical and ﬁeld ambulance corps (33). Domestic: (WM): During the WWI, women were hired for all types of work (37). Right to Vote: (WM): In 1916, women in Manitoba were allowed to vote. All Canadian women won voting right in federal elections in 1918 (37).

Twenties and Thirties (Women-WM, Immigrants –IM, Aboriginals - AB) General Strike: (IM): During the Winnipeg General Strike, the Immigration Act was amended to allow foreign- born union leaders to be deported (51).

Women’s Role: (WM): The principal role of women was as wives and mothers. New labour-saving devices often meant that women were expected to maintain higher standards of cleanliness. Until 1935, Agnes Macphail was the only women in the House of Commons (60).

Person’s Case: (WM): In October 18, 1929, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain declared that women are “persons” as an answer to Emily Murphy’s Persons Case (60).

Aboriginal’s life: (AB): Aboriginal nations saw little of the good life in the twenties. Not classiﬁed as “persons,” Aboriginal people didn’t won the right to vote until 1960. Social and economic conditions on reserves were poor (69).

Aboriginal’s appeal: (AB): In the early 1920s, the Aboriginal people in BC challenged the government on three issues: the potlatch ceremony, cut-oﬀ lands, and Aboriginal title, but none of them earned positive voice from the government (70). African Canadian: (IM): There were instances of tolerance of African-Canadian: Edmonton City Council refused to support an racist attempt and the Brotherhood of Railway Workers accepted black porters as members. However, entry of African-Americans into Canada had been discouraged and some provinces such as Nova Scotia and Quebec promoted racial segregation (70).

Immigration restriction: (IM): In 1923, the federal government passed a law that excluded Chinese immigrants to Canada until 1947. Japanese immigration had also been restricted to 150servants and labourers a year. In 1925, when the economy improved, the government relaxed restriction, which was also for increasing population to enlarge the market (71).

Depression: (WM, AB, IM): During the depression, there were fewer jobs for women. Aboriginal families on relief got only ﬁve dollars a month. In Vancouver, the Chinese population suﬀered greatly (79).Immigrants were

viewed with hostility, where Jews, suﬀered from anti-Semitism, in particular were targeted. Almost 10000 immigrants were deported from Canada until 1931 (80).

WWII (Jews, volunteer) While Nazis were persecuting Jews and other groups, Canadian government, with anti-Semitic views, chose not take responsibilities for accepting Jewish refugees. In 1939, over 900 Jewish refugees on boarded the St. Louis, was refused permission to dock on the east coast of Canada(97).Aboriginal people volunteered at a higher percentage of their population than any other group in Canada (104).Japanese-Canadians were sent to internment camps in 1942 (102).

Post-war War refugees: (RF):Canada accepted 165000 displaced persons, settling them in communities across the country (162).

Post-war posterity: (AB, IM, RF): Some groups did not share the post-war prosperity. Immigrants were living and working in miserable conditions, women were legally discriminated by their employers (171). Canada’s First

Nations suﬀered the most from environmental damage caused by resource industries, living far below the national average living standards (172).

Feminism: (WM): During social protests of the 1960s, feminism emerged as a signiﬁcant force. The National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) was formed in 1971. Pressure groups began to lobby both federal and provincial governments (181). One of the key victories was the inclusion of women equality in the Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. Colour-blind: (IM): By the 1960s, Canadians had a more open attitude towards people of other cultures and countries, removing most limits on immigrants of Asian, African, and other origins, and were oﬃcially “colour- blind” (204).

Vote Right: (AB): In 1960s, when Aboriginal people won the right of vote, they continued to suﬀer from serious problems, including poverty, poor health, and inadequate housing and education, which lead to hostility and discrimination in urban lives (208).

Aboriginal lobby: (AB): In 1968 the National Indian Brotherhood was formed to lobby on behalf of Aboriginal people living on reserves.

White paper: (AB): In 1969, the Trudeau government proposed a white paper; however the aboriginal people were furious as they saw the paper as an attack on their right to maintain unique. Residential In 1969, the system of residential schools was abandoned.

Immigration policy: (IM): In 1971, Prime Minister Trudeau also introduced an oﬃcial policy of multiculturalism,

which encouraged the country’s diﬀerent ethnic groups to express their cultures. In 1976, immigration policy changed again. Canada became more multicultural than before during 1980s (205).

Band council: (AB): In 1985, Parliament passed Bill C-31, which gave Aboriginal band councils the power to decide who had the right to live on reserves (210).

Oka confrontation: (AB): In 1990, the government mobilized troops to end the tense of the Oka confrontation. Oka was a wake-up call to the government and people of Canada (211).

School abuse: (AB): In 1998, the federal government apologized for the abuses at schools and announced a $350 million healing fund (209).

Aboriginal Title: (AB): In 1998, ruling on the Delgamuluukw case, the Supreme Court of Canada deﬁned “Aboriginal title” as ownership of land if the aboriginal people can prove that they occupied it continuously and exclusively before the Canadian government claimed sovereignty (215).

Canada’s autonomy (1900-2000) Note: (Politics, -) indicates limited autonomy; (Politics, +) indicates increased autonomy. Pre-war (Alaska, British country)

Foreign a ﬀ airs: (Politics, -): At the beginning of the twentieth century, Canada did not have rights to resolve its

aﬀairs with other countries. In a dispute over the Alaska Boundary, the British negotiated an agreement that favoured the US over Canada (7).

Wartimes and 20-30s (Vimy Ridge, King Turkey, King-Byng, Balfour Report, US investors, US culture)

British nation: (Politics, -): As Britain still controlled the foreign policy of all its dominions, Canada, along with the rest of the British Empire, was automatically at war (24).

WWI contribution: (Military, +): In the war of Vimy Ridge, it was the first time that all four divisions of Canadian troops were fight as a whole group. In the war of Passchendaele, it was the first time that Canadian troops were directed by a Canadian General overseas (32).

Turkey: (Politics, +): In 1922, King refused to support Britain when it announced plans to invade Turkey (Chanak Crisis - 55).

King-Byng Crisis: (Politics, +): In 1926, as the Liberals lost the support as the result of a liquor smuggling scandal, the Conservatives called for a motion of censure, and King immediately asked Governor General Viscount Byng to call another election. Byng refused King’s request and King was furious. King appealed to nationalist sentiments by claiming undemocratic of the event. No governor since has acted against the wishes of an elected Prime Minister (55).

Balfour’s report: (Politics, +): A special committee under the leadership of Lord Balfour examined the request of formal recognition of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa (55). In 1931, the recommendations of Balfour Report became law, which turned the British Empire into the British Commonwealth/ Canada was now a country equal in status with Britain (56).

US investment: (Economy, -): 75 percent of the newsprint produced in Canada was exported to the US. By the end of the 1920s, the Canadian auto industry had been taken over by the “Big Three” US automobile companies (57).The US enriched Canada’s economy by extracting or harvesting raw materials, but these materials were all transported to the US for processing and manufacturing, which benefited the US economy the most form this development (58).Merchants welcomed affluent Americans. In 1929, four million Americans spent $300 million vacationing in Canada (61). Radio, Movies: (Culture, -): Smaller Canadian stations soon found it difficult to compete with bigger, more powerful US ones. Nearly 300000 Canadians were turning into US stations for their entertainment (63).

US investment: (Economy, -) In 1922, US investment in Canada topped that of Britain’s investment, and by 1929, nearly 60 percent of foreign investment in Canada was from the US (66).

Group of Seven: (Culture, +): The Group of Seven painted Canadian scenes that celebrated Canada’s wilderness. Canadian magazines and literature also reﬂected a growing sense of national identity/ Maclean’s magazine published Canadian stories and articles from across the country, being careful to use only Canadian spelling Novelists wrote novels about Canadians and their experiences (66).

CBC: (Culture, +): In 1936, the federal government created the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which ran Canada-produced music and entertainment programs in French and English (90).

WWII contribution: (Military, +): By 1945, RCN had 400 vessels and over 1000000 sailors.250000 Canadians joined RCAF, participated in bombing raids in Britain, North Africa, Italy, Northwest Europe, and Southeast Asia (113).

Post-war (boomer generation, make Canadian culture, CBC, CRTC, NATO, NORAD, AVRO, Nuclear, Diefenbaker’s anti- Americanism, nuclear missiles)

NORAD: (Military, -): Canada’s independence was questioned when if a Canadian official were to visit the DEW line, he/she had to fly first to New York and gain clearance from US authorities(136).

Avro: (Military, +): Avro Arrow, a part of the military program in the 1950s, splits opinions (141).

US investment: (Economy, -): By 1956, 68 percent of the oil and manufacturing industry in Canada was US- owned, and by 1967 foreign ownership had risen to 88 percent (171).

Diefenbaker: (Military, +): Under Diefenbaker, the Canadian government refused to place Canada’s NORAD forces on alert, did not allow US planes with atomic weapons to land at Canadian bases. Although he believed that he was defending Canada’s independence, but a poll later showed that 80 percent of Canadians thought he was wrong, and damage to Canada-US relations had already done (142).

CRTC: (Culture, +): In 1968, the federal government established the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which would regulate the amount of foreign material broadcast over the airwaves and impose rules requiring Canadian content (167).

Retreat: (Military, +): From 1970 to 1972, nuclear missiles were removed from Canada’s NATO forces in Europe (147). In 1984, the last nuclear warheads were removed from Canadian soil.

FTA: (Economy, -): In 1987, Free Trade Agreement was signed between Canada and the US(150). In 1992, the Mulroney government expanded the North American Free Trade Agreement, which included Mexico (151). Globalization: (Economy, -): In the late 1990s, countries of booming economies were hit by an economic crisis, whose eﬀects also extended to Canada’s economy (158).

French-English Relations (1914-2000)

French Canadian Nationalism Nationalist: From the beginning of the century, French Canadians tended to be nationalist, believing that Canada should be more independent from Britain (8).

French Schools: French Canadians lost the right to French-language instruction in Catholic schools in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta (8).

Conscription Crisis: Prime Minister Borden had promised there would be no conscription, but after he had returned from England, shocked by the casualties on the battleﬁeld, he introduced the Military Service Act, a bill that would make enlistment compulsory except conscientious objectors (39). The majority of French Canadians did not feel a patriotic connection to either Britain or France. They saw the Act as a means of forcing them to ﬁght in a war, which they didn’t feel was theirs (40).

L’union Nationale: Maurice Duplessis formed L’union Nationale in 1935, protesting for French culture and language.

1944 Conscription Crisis: Even though Mackenzie King had promised no conscription, in August 1942, he ﬁnally permitted overseas conscription. Conscripts were not sent until 1944.Quebec felt betrayed by King’s actions (125).

Maurice Duplessis: Duplessis was a strong Quebec nationalist who was devoted to the idea of Quebec as a distinctive society, a “nation” rather than just another Canadian province. Under Duplessis, the Roman Catholic Church was the main defender of Quebec culture (191).

Quiet Revolution: After Duplessis died, Jean Lesage and the Liberals came to power in Quebec. By modernizing the province’s economy, politics, education, and culture, the government introduced new attitudes and the inﬂuence of the Roman Catholic Church declined (192).

Royal mailboxes: In the early 1960s, Royal Mail boxes and downtown oﬃce towers belonging to Canadian

National Railways were attacked (193).

Partie Québécois: In 1967, the inﬂuential Quebec cabinet minister René Lévesque left the Liberal Party and formed the Partie Québécois a year later (193).

October Crisis: In October1970, members of the FLQ kidnapped James Cross, a British diplomat, and later on the Quebec labour minister Pierre Laporte. Trudeau asked Parliament to impose the War Measures Act. Federal troops were sent in to patrol the streets of Ottawa and Montreal (195). Bill 101: The PQ government passed Bill 101, making French the only oﬃcial language of the province (198).

1980 Referendum: After PQ’s victory over Quebec, in 1980, the Lévesque government called a referendum and asked voters to vote “yes” to a new agreement with Canada based on sovereignty-association, which means Quebec being politically independent, yet maintain a close economic association. In the referendum, 40 percent voted “yes” and 60 percent voted “no” (198).

Kitchen Compromise: All the members approved the deal except René Lévesque was not included in the Kitchen Compromise. Lévesque and people of Quebec felt betrayed. The new Constitution was signed without the agreement of Quebec. Flags in Quebec ﬂew at half-mast, and Premier Lévesque led an angry demonstration through the streets (200).

Bloc Québécois: By late 1990, support for separation soared to 64 percent. Lucien Bouchard, a powerful Quebec member of Mulroney’s Cabinet, resigned in protest and formed Bloc Québécois, a federal politic party aiming for Quebec separation (202).

1995 Referendum: Premier Jacques Parizeau called a provincial referendum on full sovereignty. 49.4 percent of Quebeckers had voted “yes”; 50.6 percent had voted “no” (203).

National Unity

Bi and Bi Commission: In 1969, Pierre Trudeau’s government passed the Oﬃcial Languages Act, making Canada

an oﬃcially bilingual country (194).

Notwithstanding Clause: It allowed the federal government or any of the provinces to opt out of some of the clauses in the Charter (200).

Meech Lake Accord: The Meech Lake Accord oﬀered to recognize Quebec as a distinct society, and also proposed giving more power to the other provinces. All the provinces would have the power to veto. The proposal was not passed and Quebeckers were dismayed.

Charlottetown Accord: Prime Minister Mulroney continued the Constitution debate. Eventually he and his premiers came up with another package of constitutional amendments, which was the Charlottetown Accord. Other interests were also addressed in the package including support for Aboriginal self-government. 54.5 percent of Canadian voters rejected it because too many clauses were addressed in the Accord (202, 203).

After 1995 Referendum: As the century closed, support for separatism appeared to be declining in Quebec. Liberal gains in Quebec in the 2000 federal election (204). Provincial Essay Outline 5:

Worker’s rights + welfare state + human rights policies (1914-2000)

Pre-war Trade union: Some workers began to form trade unions to press for better pay, reduced hours of work, and better safety conditions. The coal miners in Nanaimo, for example, were involved in a bitter strike that lasted more than two years (15).

WWI War Measures Act: Almost immediately after war was declared, Borden introduced the War Measures Act, which granted the Canadian government the authority to do everything necessary “for the security, defence, peace, order, and welfare of Canada. The Act gave the government power to strip ordinary Canadians of their civil liberties: mail could be censored, and habeas corpus was suspended. The government could intervene directly in the economy of the country and control transportation, manufacturing, trade, and Agricultural production (27).

Military Voters Act, Wartime Election Act: Prior to the election over the issue of conscription, Prime Minister Borden passed two new pieces of legislation: the ﬁrst was the Military Voters Act, which allowed the men and women serving overseas to vote; the second was Wartime Election Act, which gave the vote to all Canadian women directly related to servicemen (40).

Twenties and Thirties Post-war conditions: Most returned to Canada early in 1919 only t ﬁnd that there were no steady pensions for veterans, no special medical services for those wounded in the war. After the war, the cost of goods soared, and wages no longer covered the cost of rent and food for many families (49).

Workers’ demands: Workers’ demands for higher wages, better working conditions, and in some cases, the right to join unions (49).

OBU: At the Western Labour Conference in March 1919, union leaders form western Canada succeeded in founding One Big Union (OBU) which would represent all Canadian workers in one organization, whose main weapon would be the general strike (50).

Winnipeg General Strike: In May 1919, Winnipeg’s metal and building workers walked oﬀ their jobs, demanding higher wages, shorter working week, and the right to collective bargaining (50).Business leaders, politicians, and industrialists formed the Citizens Committee of One Thousand, which saw the union leaders as part of a communist conspiracy (51). On June 21, the parade turned violent when the Royal North West Mounted Police and special police charged into the crowd, resulting one striker died and thirty injured (51).

Relief: Government relief payment was given to those who had no alternative source of income. People had to wait in line for hours and then publicly declare their ﬁnancial failure, and also had to swear that they did not own anything of value and prove that then were being evicted from their home. If these requirements were met, people received vouchers that could be used to buy food, and the vouchers were never enough to cover expenses while obtaining them was always humiliating (77)

Work-creation Programs: Prime Minister Mackenzie King was totally unprepared to deal with a crisis pm the scale of the Depression. He lost to R.B. Bennett in the 1930 election. Bennett was no more in favour of government relief; nevertheless, his government gave the provinces $20million for work-creation programs. Work Camps: The federal government also decided to create work camps for unemployed, single men. Work camps were usually located deep in the woods, so the men were completely isolated. They worked on projects such as building roads, clearing land, and digging drainage ditches. There were paid twenty cents a day and given room and board. Their food was terrible and the bunks were often bug infested. Over 170000men spent some time in these camps (82-83).

Unemployment insurance: An unemployment insurance program was ﬁrst attempted in 1935during the Great Depression by the government of R.B. Bennett.

Onto Ottawa Trek: In 1935, over a thousand men left the camps in the interior of British Columbia in protest against camp conditions. They congregated in Vancouver. Under the leadership of their union, the Relief Camp Workers Union, the men decided to take their complaints to Ottawa. While the union leaders had great hope of the Prime Minister, Bennett made his opposition clear immediately. Back in Regina, the RCMP were ordered to clear the trekkers from the stadium. One man was killed, many were injured, and 130 men were arrested (83).

Vancouver Protest: When the federal government closed relief camps in 1937 and the provincial government reduced relief payments, many men were left destitute. In April 1600protesters occupied the Vancouver Art

Gallery, the main post oﬃce, and the Georgia Hotel. Some men who refused to leave at the post oﬃce were evicted with tear gas (86).

CCF: As Ottawa struggled to ﬁnd ways of coping with the Depression, some Canadians looked to alternative parties for solutions The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was formed in the West in 1932. It appealed to a wide variety of Canadians. The leader was J.S.Woodsworth. In its platform, the Regina Manifesto, the party stated its support for public ownership of key industries, and also for social programs to assist people in need of money. The CCG did not win many seats in the 1930s, but it did provide a clear alternative to the policies of the mainstream parties (86).

Social Credit: In the 1935 election in Alberta, the Social Credit Party won a landslide victory. The leader, William Aberhart felt that the government should release money into the economy so that people could spend it. He promised each citizen a “basic dividend” of 25 dollars a month to buy necessities. Later on, the Supreme Court disallowed social credit (87).

Little New Deal: In British Columbia, Premier Duﬀerin Patullo promised voters a “Little New Deal,” based on the

New Deal in the United States. He introduced reforms to shorten the workday, increase the minimum wage, and increase relief payments by 20%. Pattullo’s projects were shorted lived (88).

WWII Restriction: During the war, the federal government also tried to restrict or prevent strikes by unions. The power of trade unions was limited also with the introduction of wage and price controls. Canada’s Minister of Munitions and Supply, C.D. Howe, was strongly anti-union, but his harsh stand against organized labour did not stop steel workers in Nova Scotia and coal miners in Alberta and BC from going on strike in 1943. In 1944, the federal government softened its policy, allowing workers the right to join a union and forcing employers to recognize unions chosen by their workers. CCF: During the war, King was looking for a way to keep the support of voters who remembered the hardships of the Depression and were attracted by the CCF. As a result, he introduced unemployment insurance in 1940 and the family allowance or “baby bonus” in 1944 (175).

Post-War

Chinese, Japanese: In 1947, Chinese Immigration Act was repealed and Chinese won the vote. In 1949, Japanese Canadians were allowed to return to the West Coast and were given the vote.

Communism: As the Cold war had started, some Canadians feared the spread of communism. Union leaders who fought for better conditions for workers came under suspicion. In Quebec, police raided oﬃces and private homes in search of “revolutionary” material (133).

Veteran returning: Veterans who wanted their old jobs back were given them, and the years that they had been away at war were counted as years of service on the job. Veterans and war widows were given hiring preference for government jobs (162).

Unions: Members of trade unions fought for a greater share of the country’s prosperity. In1946 and 1947, seven million workdays were lost to strikes as workers fought for the right to form unions and pressed for wages that would support a family. As a result, wages rose, workers won a major victory in establishing the ﬁve-day, forty- hour work week, and increased fringe beneﬁts such as paid vacations. Non-industrial unions grew rapidly (171).

Referendum of NFL: After WWII, the islanders were given the opportunity to vote on their political future in a referendum. In the second referendum, 52% of the vote favoured Confederation, and Newfoundland became part of Canada on March 31, 1949.

Sixties to Now Canadian Bill of Rights: In 1960, Diefenbaker’s government passed Canadian Bill of rights, which formally recognized and outlined rights already held by Canadians under common law. Human rights in Canada weren’t solidly entrenched in to our legal system until 1982 (298, 299).

Complete Medicare: In 1962, Saskatchewan Premier T.C. “Tommy” Douglas introduced a complete Medicare program that allowed all people in the province to seek medical treatment without paying directly out of their own pockets (175).

NDP: In 1962, Tommy Douglas left provincial politics to become leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), formed from CCF. As a result, the national Medical Care Act was passed in 1966, which meant that federal and provincial governments would now share the cost of medical care by doctors and hospitals for all Canadians. Although medical care continues to be a controversial social program, Canadians identify Medicare as the social program they value most (175, 176).

Pearson Plans: In 1966, Pearson’s government began the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Assistance Plan.

Women’s movement: Responding to pressure from feminists, the government set up the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in 1967 to examine women’s place in Canadian society. Several important conclusions were made: Women should have the right to choose to work outside the home. Society should take some responsibility for children. Women should be entitled to paid maternity. The federal government should do all it can to help overcome discrimination. The pressure group, National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC), began to lobby in 1971. One of the NAC’s key successes was the inclusion of the equality of women in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 (181).

Inflation: As the inflation caused by an oil embargo by OPEC affected the domestic prices in Canada, unemployment soon rose to its highest level since the 1930s (182).

Charter: Trudeau wanted the Constitution to include a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a clear statement of the basic rights to which all Canadians were entitled (199). Since 1982, Canadians have had the right to challenge in court any law they believe violates their rights as speciﬁed in the Charter (299).

Provincial Essay Outline: Canada’s changing economy (1914-2000)

WWI Recession: By 1914, Canada was in a recession after almost two decades of rapid growth. Industries back on production and many workers became unemployed. The international demand for wheat was down (15).

Imperial Munitions Board: When Canada had entered the war, the country was in an economic recession. But by

1916, the economy was booming. After Borden replaced the Shell Committee with the more eﬃcient Imperial

Munitions Board, munitions factories started building ships and airplanes as well as shells (36).

Export resources: The production and export of Canadian goods reached record highs. Resources such as lumber, nickel, copper, and lead were also in high demand, as was Canadian wheat and beef (36).

Domestic market: The scarcity within Canada caused the prices to rise. Some Canadian businesses made enormous proﬁts from the inﬂated prices, but workers became increasingly frustrated by government controls (36).

Debt: The government decided to try to pay its debts through a combination of bonds, taxes, and loans. The government also introduced the income tax. The money from these two initiatives was not enough, and by 1918 a deeply indebted Canadian government was forced to borrow money from other countries, particularly the United States (36).

Twenties and Thirties Economy improves: By the middle of the decade, the economy started to improve. Wheat remained an important export for Canada, but there was also enormous growth in the exploitation of natural resources and in manufacturing (57).

US investors: Prior to the war, Canada traded mainly with Britain. After the war, the United States emerged as the world’s economic leader. During the 1920s, US investment in Canada increased. Almost 75% of the newsprint produced in Canada was exported to the United States, and most of the metals mined in Canada were used in US-made products. US investors preferred to set up branch plants. By the end of the 1920s, the Canadian auto industry had been taken over by the “Big Three” (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler). New Prosperity: Canadians had enough income to buy cars and radios and went to the movies. Jobs increased as people found work in services such as railways, hotels, and holiday resorts. In1929, four million Americans spent $300 million vacationing in Canada (61).

Stock Market Crash: In the latter half of the 1920s, the North American economy was booming. On Tuesday October 29, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. The stock market crash marked a shift from the prosperity of the 1920s to the crushing poverty of the Depression of the 1930s (72).

Election: Prime Minister Mackenzie King was totally unprepared to deal with a crisis pm the scale of the Depression. Many municipalities had bankrupted. King didn’t contribute “a ﬁve-cent piece” to the Tory government (81).

Work-creation Programs: After King was lost to R.B. Bennett in the 1930 election, the new prime minister was no more in favour of the government relief; nevertheless, Bennett’s government gave the provinces $20 million for work-creation programs. In spite of this, the economy did not improve (82).

Tari ﬀ and Protectionism: Bennett’s “blast” was to raise tariﬀs by 50 per cent to protect Canadian industries. This did provide protection for some Canadian businesses, but in the long run, it did more harm than good, as other nations erected trade barriers against Canada in return (82).

Working Camps: The federal government also decided to create work camps for unemployed, single men (82).

WWII Avoid inflation: With so much increased production and employment, people suddenly had more money to spend. Prime Minister King chose James Ilsley, a former lawyer from Nova Scotia, to address the concern of inflation. Ilsley enthusiastically set about encouraging Canadians to buy Victory Bonds. In 1941, the Wartime Prices and Trade Board took the drastic step of freezing all wages and prices as a way to prevent inflation. Then, in 1942, King introduced food rationing, which meant Canadians were allowed only a limited amount of certain goods per week (123).

Post-war C.D. Howe’s Solution: On August 6, 1945, Prime Minister Mackenzie King called a meeting of provincial premiers to discuss the transition to a peacetime economy. The Minister of Reconstruction, Trade, and Commerce, C.D. Howe, presented a new strategy: private industry would handle the transition; general tax breaks would be given to companies that agreed to produce consumer goods or invest in new plants; government Crown corporations were auctioned oﬀ to private companies at low prices. Canada’s economy was booming. (169)

Natural resource: The economic boom was fostered by the development of natural resources. Boomtowns were carved out of wilderness. In some places, airlifts brought in heavy equipment, construction material, and automobiles (170).

New industry: Southern Ontario thrived as a centre of manufacturing. By the 1950s, more than half of the nation’s factories and plants and 99% of its automobile industry were located in Ontario (170). Megaproject: In 1950, work intensiﬁed on the Trans-Canada Highway, which was to stretch from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Victoria, BC. When ﬁnally completed in 1970, the Trans-Canada was the longest national highway in the world. St. Lawrence Seaway and Trans-Canada Pipeline were also built (171).

American investment: By 1956, 68% of the oil industry in Canada was US-owned; by 1967, foreign ownership of this resource had risen to 88%. US companies had opened numerous branch plants in Canada. By 1956, US ﬁrms controlled more than half of all the manufacturing in Canada (171).

Oil Embargo: OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) refused to sell oil to the western countries that supported Israel in the Middle East War in 1973, causing the oil and gas price jumped about 400%. As price rose, inﬂation spiraled (182).

Regionalism: In the 1970s, the West found a particular cause for grievance. In response to the oil crisis, the federal government froze the price of domestic oil and gas, and imposed a tax on petroleum that was exported from western Canada. These actions infuriated Albertans (183).

NEP (New Energy Policy): To solve the problem, the Trudeau government increased transfer payment and brought in the National Energy Program (NEP). The aim of NEP is to reduce consumption of oil, to protect Canadians from rising oil prices, and to make Canada self-suﬃcient in oil. By 1984, oil prices had fallen and the NEP had been dismantled (184).

Debt Crisis: By 1984, the federal government was almost $160 billion in debt. Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives swept to power in 1984.Mulroney planned to trim social programs and to stimulate the economy by cutting the rate of taxes. The Free Trade Agreement with the US would also increase businesses. However, the plan did not work and Canada was hit by recession in 1990.When Jean Chrétien inherited the national debt of $466 billion in 1993, the Liberals’ solution was to inject more money into the economy, which would create jobs, and workers would spend more. At the end of 1994, the Finance Minister Paul Martin announced that Canada could co longer aﬀord “big government.” The government was achieving its aim but paid a high price. Universities and

colleges raised their tuition fees; the health care system suﬀered badly (184-187).

FTA: In 1987, Mulroney started negotiations that led Canada into the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US. The agreement removed tariffs on goods crossing the border, and opened Canada to US investment as well as opening the US to Canada in investment. The FTA was established in 1989. In 1002, the Mulroney government expanded the free trade zone by signing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which included free trade with Mexico. Globalization: The Canadian government has signed free trade agreements with Chile and Israel. Canada also joined APEC (the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation Group) to promote freer trade among Pacific countries. Globalization was partly the result of rapid changes in communications technology and the fall of communism countries around the world were now “open for business” (157). Global economic recession: In the late 1990s, the “Asian tigers” were hit with an economic crisis whose effects

were felt throughout the new global economy. The Canadian economy suﬀered, especially in British Columbia, since Asian market for lumber, minerals, and food products diminished (158).