Key Events

A Master List

1914: For King and Country

• Canada went to war automatically with Great Britain

• The Canadian Corps was an independent volunteer army within the British Empire

• Canadian factories expanded to produce the necessary war materials

1915: Women and the War

• Although they could not vote, Canadian women contributed to the war effort as nurses, as factory workers, raising money

• The Canadian Corps withstood a gas attack at Yprès

• Saskatchewan prohibited the sale of alcohol for the duration of the war

1916: Trench Warfare

• There was racism in the army; recruiting officers were reluctant to sign up aboriginal soldiers

• The Ross rifle proved to be useless and Sam Hughes was fired as Minister of Militia

• Conditions in the trenches were miserable: mud, rats, stale food, stench, fear

1917: The Conscription Crisis

• Canada won an important victory at Vimy Ridge a source of pride for decades to come

• The government introduced conscription to bring Canadian Corps up to 500,000 men

• Although English-Canada supported the government, voters in Quebec opposed conscription; country was divided along racial lines

1918: Canada’s 100 Days

• The Canadian Corps was selected whenever a tough objective had to be taken

• From 1917 on, the Canadian Corps never lost a gun, never lost ground

• During the 100 Days the heavy pressure the Canadians put on the Germans helped bring about the armistice

1919: Adjusting to Peace

• The Spanish flu epidemic killed many Canadians

• Canada signed the Treaty of Versailles independently of Great Britain

• Radicalized workers staged a general strike in Winnipeg

1920: League of Indians

• One third of all able bodied Indian men volunteered to fight in the war

• Despite loyal wartime service, Indians received no benefits (no vote, conditions on reserves remained grim, no political power)

• The League of Indians (modeled on League of Nations) was established to unite all the First Nations and give them more influence

1921: The Progressive Movement

• By 1921 women could vote in every province except PEI and Quebec

• The Progressive party came in second in the election and ended two-party politics for ever

• Progressive politicians (like Agnes Macphail) fought for farmers and workers

1922: The Discovery of Insulin

• Canadians were very inventive, discovering such things as radio, telephone, the zipper, insulin and the electric light bulb

• Unemployment was high and the jobs people could find didn’t pay well

• Prohibition was still in effect, but a man could get a drink of alcohol with a doctor’s prescription

1923: Humiliation Day

• Racism was common. Chinese people could not become Canadian citizens

• Before 1923, if a Chinese person wished to come to Canada, he had to pay a $500 head tax

• The immigration act was changed to prohibit Chinese immigration

1924: Hollywood

• Canadians develop a hearty appetite for American pop culture: Hollywood movies, jazz music, fashions

• Hollywood celebrities begin to matter more to Canadians than British royalty

• Canadian women wear shorter dresses, flatten their chests and smoke scandalously in public

1925: Prohibition

• Province after province went dry during the war, but not Quebec

• Liquor continued to be sold by creative businessmen who fold loopholes in the prohibition laws

• When prohibition ended, provincial governments got into the act selling liquor through government-owned retailers

1926: The King-Byng Affair• Rum-runners were smuggling American

merchandise duty-free into Canada on their return trips.

• A scandal involving a corrupt customs minister threatened to topple the government

• The Governor General triggered a backlash against Britain by denying the prime minister’s request for a new election.

1927: The Group of Seven

• Canada developed a distinctive artistic style unique from Europe

• Canadian art became fashionable

• Because they had something that was first rate, Canadians were beginning to overcome their inferiority complex

1928: Sports Gold

• Canada celebrated the Kellogg-Briand Treaty renouncing war

• Canadian athletes, especially the women, dominated the IX Olympic Summer Games in Amsterdam

• The NHL expanded into the United States and several Canadian teams folded, unable to pay the salaries the Americans offered.

1929: The Persons Case

• Male chauvinism made it very difficult for women to break into the professions: medicine, law, journalism, politics

• The Famous Five petitioned the Supreme Court to declare women persons and end male chauvinism.

• Women had to take their case all the way to Great Britain, but they finally were vindicated.

1930: A Faltering Economy

• The Conservatives won the federal election and R.B. Bennett became prime minister

• The Canadian economy shrank as factories produced fewer cars, mines closed and farm incomes declined.

• The government introduced the “Unemployment Relief Act” dedicating $20 million to help the unemployed.

1931: Life on the Dole• Most Canadians believed unemployment

was their fault and felt humiliated going on the dole.

• To qualify for the dole, a man had be destitute, have a family to support and do whatever work was offered.

• The government raised the sales tax from 1% to 6% but cut the tax rates for high income earners.

1932: Communism

• The Communists tried to run in the 1930 election but were harassed and imprisoned.

• Section 98 of the Criminal Code made it illegal to be a member of any organization advocating revolution.

• A riot broke out at Kingston Penitentiary when prisoners staged a sit-down strike to force some changes.

1933: Cooperative Commonwealth Federation

• The strategies of the Conservatives did nothing to end the Depression.

• Canadians began to blame Bennett for the continuing misery.

• A new socialist political party (the CCF) was formed; its plan was to replace capitalism but it rejected violence.

1934: The Dionne Quintuplets

• Canadians began to read stories in the newspapers that fascist parties were gaining power in Europe.

• Fewer Canadians were getting married because of the Depression

• The Ontario government took the Quintuplets away from the Dionnes and made them a tourist attraction.

1935: Social Credit

• Some Canadians worked sixty hours for wages that left them in poverty.

• A commission revealed that a seamstress made 9½ cents to sew a dress Eaton’s sold for $1.59.

• Albertans elected a new party (Social Credit) into power.

1936: Union Nationale

• The Great Depression hit Quebec as hard as the other provinces.

• The Union Nationale came to power to save the people from the “evil influences” of communism.

• Quebec passed a padlock lock giving the police special powers to arrest anyone the premier disliked.

1937: Spanish Civil War

• GM workers went on strike in Oshawa demanding the right to unionize.

• The Ontario government sent in the police to punish them.

• Some Canadians volunteered to fight against fascism in Spain, but they got no support from the government.

1938: Appeasement

• Canada gained the right to set its own foreign policy in 1931 (Statute of Westminster)

• Canada prevented its delegate to the League of Nations from recommending punitive measures against the Japanese.

• Although its delegate recommended an oil embargo against Italy, Canada’s government refused to support it.

1939: Jewish Refugees

• Canada declared war on Germany

• Government promised there would be no conscription

• Canada turned away Jewish refugees

1940: Aerodrome of Democracy

• Canada played a crucial role in the air war– Canada manufactured planes– Canadian pilots flew mission during Battle of

Britain

• Liberals won re-election

• Quebec gave women the vote.

1941: Japanese-Canadians

• Anti-Japanese hostility increased in Canada after bombing of Pearl Harbour

• Canadian troops tried in vain to defend British colony of Hong Kong

• 22,000 Japanese-Canadians were interned for duration of war.

1942: Grand Strategy

• Canadians voted in a plebiscite on conscription– English Canada agreed to release government from

its pledge of no conscription– French Canada did not

• Canada sustained heavy casualties during the failed Dieppe raid

1943: Demanding a Welfare State

• Socialism became popular– Liberals and Conservative moved to the left– CCF picked up a lot of votes in Ontario

• Many commodities were rationed.• Union membership doubled since 1939.

1944: The Liberation of France

• Canadian soldiers helped liberate France.• Despite facing discrimination, 3,000

Aboriginals volunteered to fight for Canada during World War Two.

• Some Canadians trained for special missions, parachuting in behind enemy lines to sabotage their installations.

1945: Spy World

• Canada helped the Allies defeat Germany.

• After the Gouzenko Affair, Canada began to arrest people suspected of passing information to the Soviets.

• During the war, at Camp X, many Canadians were trained for top secret missions.

1946: Return of the Veterans

• A million veterans returned home.

• Rationing ended.

• War brides came to Canada with the Canadian soldiers they had married.

• Canada had a baby boom.

1947: Energy Boom

• Canada’s economy remained strong after the war ended.

• Oil was discovered at Leduc, Alberta.

• During the war Canadian industry expanded and factories began to produce things they’d never made before.

1948: Universal Human Rights

• Canada was an important member of the United Nations.

• Canadians celebrated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

• Canada began to change its laws to end racism, but still had a long way to go.

1949: North Atlantic

• Canada elects a French-Canadian prime minister

• Newfoundland joins Confederation

• Canada plays a key role in the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

1950: The Jet Age

• The AVRO Jetliner shows Canada is a world leader in jet aircraft design

• Canada begins producing the CF-100, a long-range all-weather jet fighter for Arctic patrol

• AVRO, with 10,000 employees, is the biggest employer in Toronto

1951: Defining Canadian

• Canadians are fighting in Korea under an American general

• The government is removing the word ‘royal’ from mail trucks and replacing British with Canadian passports

• Canadian culture is threatened by American popular culture

1952: Powers of Resistance

• French language is threatened outside Quebec

• The asbestos strike makes Quebeckers realize American and English-Canadian business owners dominate their economy

• Canadian textile workers break with the UTWA to establish the Canadian Textile and Chemical Union

1953: The New Internationalism

• 25,000 Canadians served in Korea; 312 died

• Canada enters a new phase of internationalism

• The government is committed to spending $5 billion over three years to build up the military to a permanent peacetime force of 100,000.

1954: Equal Rights Feminism

• Women in Quebec still can’t sign mortgages or telephone contracts

• Only the CCF campaigns for equal rights feminism

• The CCF in Quebec selects a woman as its leader

1955: French-Canadian Nationalism

• CBC-TV televises its first hockey game in 1952

• Televised sports brings Canadians closer together

• Fans in Montreal riot because Rocket Richard was suspended

• Anger in Quebec is boiling up after years of frustration

1956: Middle Power Constraints

• Expert diplomacy gives Canada real power at the United Nations

• Canada invents peacekeeping to end the Suez Crisis

• Canada accepts 40,000 Hungarian refugees

1957: Closure• Canadians begin to worry about the

extent of American ownership of Canadian industries and resources

• The Liberals use closure to cut off debate about the Trans-Canada Pipeline

• The Conservatives win the election and form a minority government

1958: Teenagers

• The Conservatives win the biggest majority ever, controlling 208 of 265 seats

• Canada becomes more diverse: first Ukrainian and Blood Indian Senator

• Almost half of the population is under age 25

• Teenagers become trendsetters: music, clothing, pastimes

1959: The End of the Arrow

• Canada scraps the CF-105 and accepts Bomarc missiles

• The St Lawrence Seaway opens• NORAD links Canada closer to the

United States

1960: Provincialism• Provinces demand more money from

Ottawa

• Quebec wants to opt out of federal programs to preserve its autonomy

• The Liberal Party comes to power in Quebec with plans to modernize the province

• The Quiet Revolution begins as power of Catholic Church in Quebec is attacked

1961: The Fight for Medicare

• The CCF merges with the Canadian Labour Congress to form the New Democratic Party

• Saskatchewan introduces Canada’s first medicare scheme

• The medical establishment fights the scheme with a doctors strike

1962: The Commonwealth• Canada and the United States clash

over the Cuban Missile Crisis• Canada struggles in vain to find

trade partners to reduce dependency on USA

• Canada opposes South Africa’s readmission to the Commonwealth unless apartheid is ended

1963: The Nuclear Question• Canadian peacekeepers are sent to

Cyprus• The branches of the armed forces

are unified under a new flag• The Liberals are back in power• Canada accepts nuclear weapons as

part of its commitment to NATO and NORAD

1964: The State of the Arts

• American civil rights movement draws attention to status of Blacks in Canada

• Canada Council is endowed with $100,000,000 to support the arts

• There is an explosion in the quantity and quality of all forms of Canadian art

1965: French-English Relations• Auto Pact guarantees Canada a greater

share of the North American auto market

• English-Canadian intellectuals worry Canada has become a branch plant colony of the USA

• FLQ terrorism escalates in Quebec• A Royal Commission recommends

bilingualism

1966: The Global Village

• Counter culture challenges values and norms of older generation

• Canadian television networks begins broadcasting in colour

• Television replaces school as primary source of information for teenagers

1967: The Summer of Love

• Canada celebrates its centennial, the highlight of which is Expo ‘67

• Crowds of separatists cheer Charles de Gaulle’s proclamation “vive le Québec libre!”

• Indian culture (long hair, environmental focus, free spirit) is suddenly in fashion

1968: The Voice of Women

• Trudeau is elected Prime Minister on a wave of Trudeaumania

• Although Canadian businesses profit from arms sales to the USA, most Canadians oppose the Vietnam War

• Thousands of American draft dodgers and deserters find refuge in Canada

1969: The Mystery of the White Man

• The Official Languages Act is passed, guaranteeing federal services in both official languages.

• A White Paper proposes to do away with reserves and treaty rights.

• Canada’s armed forces are reduced by a third.

1970: The October Crisis• The FLQ kidnaps two men in Montreal.• The government invokes the War

Measures Act.• Pierre Laporte is assassinated by the

FLQ.

1971: Multiculturalism

• Canada is declared officially multicultural.

• Canada’s immigration policy is now colour-blind (white immigrants are no longer preferred)

• Non-European immigration outnumbers immigration from Europe for the first time

1972: Women in Politics

• The first black woman is elected to office.

• Women’s liberation movement is in full swing.

• Liberals are reduced to a minority government and NDP hold balance of power.

1973: Land Claims

• Oil shock sends world price of oil soaring.

• Government introduces a national oil policy to make Canada self-sufficient in oil by the end of the decade.

• Supreme Court rules that Natives in B.C. can claim ancestral land rights.

1974: The New Left

• Anti-American attitudes increase in wake of Vietnam War and Watergate scandal

• The Foreign Investment Review Agency is established to block American takeovers of Canadian businesses.

• The NDP pressures the government to create Petro-Canada to help Canada achieve energy self-sufficiency.

• Trudeau’s Liberals win another majority government.

1975: Survival• Supreme Court denies Irene Murdoch a fair

share of marriage property in divorce settlement. (Women are outraged.)

• The Canadian Radio Television Commission requires 30% Canadian content

• Women’s liberation movement puts strains on many marriages (including the prime minister’s)

1976: Language Wars

• One million workers down their tools to protest wage and price controls

• Air traffic controllers strike to protest unpopular bilingualism policy

• Quebec votes in René Lévesque’s separatist Parti Québécois

1977: The First Nations

• Canada claims 200 miles of sea as its territorial limit

• First Nations claim they own land where no treaty exists

• The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry allows Canadians to hear the Native point of view

• The 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement becomes the first modern land-claim settlement

1978: Tomorrow Country

• Alberta’s economy and population are expanding while the rest of Canada stagnates

• Alberta’s government makes 45% of every barrel of oil sold, allowing it to do away with the sales tax

• Ottawa forces Alberta to sell its own below the world price

1979: Joe Who?

• Joe Clark’s Progressive Conservatives win a minority government

• To tackle the deficit, the government brings down a tough budget which includes an 18% tax on gasoline

• The opposition parties vote against the budget and Joe Clark has to call another election after just three months in power

1980: The Centre Must Hold

• Pierre Trudeau returns from retirement to lead the Liberals to another majority government

• Quebeckers vote in a referendum, rejecting sovereignty association (to separate from Canada) by a margin of 60% to 40%

• The Liberal government introduces the National Energy Program

1981: The Provinces Push Back

• Albertans are so enraged by the NEP that 49% say they favour separating from Canada

• Premiers who oppose Trudeau’s plans to repatriate the constitution form the Gang of Eight

• Alberta and Ottawa make a deal to share the oil revenue: Alberta gets 30%, Ottawa gets 25%

1982: The Night of the Long Knives

• The BNA Act is repatriated; the new constitution includes a Charter of Rights and Freedoms

• Quebec is stripped of its veto power and René Lévesque feels he has been betrayed by English Canada

• Despite losing the referendum, the Parti Quebecois continues on in power, using Bill 101 to eliminate English signs in Quebec

1983: Unions on the Defensive

• Under Trudeau, the federal deficit grows from $17 to $200 billion

• Interest rates skyrocket and many working class families lose their homes

• Unions are threatened as robots replace workers at automotive plants

1984: Star Wars• Many Canadians criticize Star Wars.

• Trudeau lets America test cruise missiles in Canada.

• Canadian astronaut flies aboard the space shuttle.

• Brian Mulroney becomes Prime Minister. [Trudeau retires (again)]

1985: Open for Business

• Mulroney declares Canada is “open for business” (His government axes FIRA and NEP)

• Mulroney tackles deficit by cutting funds to military, foreign aid, the CBC, and VIA Rail.

• Mulroney begins to consider a free trade deal with USA.

1986: Globalization

• Canada continues to attract immigrants from around the globe.

• Canada is adapting to a new economy based on the computer and foreign competition.

• Magna International Ltd is a Canadian business success story.

1987: The New Federalism

• Canada works out a free trade agreement with the United States, but Liberals in the Senate block its passage into law.

• A new party (Reform) is formed in western Canada with an emphasis on reforming the Senate.

• The Meech Lake Accord is negotiated. It will recognize Quebec as a distinct society.

1988: The Corporate Agenda

• The free trade agreement dominates the 1988 federal election.

• Country is split down the middle: Liberals and NDP share the anti-FTA vote; PCs get the pro-FTA vote.

• Vote splitting gives Mulroney a second majority government and free trade becomes law.

1989: Cultural Imperialism

• Montreal Massacre raised awareness of violence against women.

• Canadians celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War

• Budget cuts to CBC mean Canadian content is squeezed out by powerful American imports.

1990: Distinct Societies

• Town of Oka tried to expand its golf course onto sacred Native burial ground, triggering a tense standoff.

• The army is sent in to remove the barricades.

• The Meech Lake Accord was defeated by Elijah Harper’s opposition.

1991: The National Unity Crisis

• Canadian forces participated in Operation Desert Storm (liberation of Kuwait).

• Quebec began to reconsider separation from Canada because of failure of Meech Lake Accord.

• The federal government established a Citizens’ Forum to examine Canada’s options.

1992: Backlash1992: Backlash

• The recession was the biggest worry of most Canadians, not national unity. Unemployment is 10%.

• Most Canadians rejected the Charlottetown Accord in a national referendum.

• Racial tensions increase because a Sikh man wished to serve as an RCMP officer while wearing his turban.

1993: The Slaughter

• The torture of a Somali teenager by Canadian peacekeepers shocked the nation.

• Canadian peacekeepers serving in Yugoslavia received a rare U.N. citation.

• The voters humiliated Kim Campbell’s Progressive Conservative Party, reducing them to just two seats.

1994: Dark Continent

• Canada helped bring an end to apartheid in South Africa.

• Canadian peacekeepers have served in many African nations: Somalia, Congo and Rwanda.

• Despite best efforts of General Romeo Dallaire, Canada did not do enough to prevent the genocide of 1,000,000 Tutsis in Rwanda.

1995: Power from the North

• Quebec’s First Nations blocked construction of James Bay II hydro-electric dams on their land.

• Federal government recognized inherent right of Native people to govern themselves.

• In another referendum, Quebec voters rejected sovereignty association by a narrow margin.

1996: Tackling the Deficit

• Canada’s debt was out of control.

• A tough federal budget slashed spending for each government department by as much as 50%.

• Social programs became less generous.

1997: Landmines

• Canadians were saddened by the tragic death of Princess Diana.

• Canadians worried that social programs were being cut too aggressively

• Canada spearheaded the international campaign to ban landmines.

1998: Human Rights

• Canada has developed a host of documents to protect human rights.

• Canada can play a lead role in prosecuting war criminals.

• The Charter of Rights and Freedom was used to strike down the Rape Shield Law.

1999: Our Land

• The federal government and the Inuit negotiate the largest land claim agreement in Canada’s history (1993).

• The map of Canada is redrawn because Nunavut has been created.

• The Inuit try to draw attention to the effects of global warming on the Arctic..

2000: The Clarity Act

• Canada has a Governor-General of Chinese descent and BC has a Sikh premier.

• 200,000 immigrants arrive in Canad each year.

• The Clarity Act explains to Quebec the conditions for separation.

• Jean Chretien’s Liberals won a third majority and BQ in Quebec is in decline.

2001: World Trade

• Team Canada trade missions have negotiated business contracts worth several billion dollars.

• Protest against the World Trade Organization builds. Protestors oppose extending NAFTA to include all of South America.

• Canadian airports receive 33,000 unexpected visitors when USA closes its airspace following World Trade Center attack.