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Volunteers form French speaking battalion
Ranking: +1 I ranked this as +1 because the 22nd battalion took their job very seriously and took part in almost all the conflicts involving Canada since their inception. nicknamed van doos based on pronunciation of vingt deux (22 in French) -
Parliament catches fire
Ranking: -1 I ranked this as -1 because seven people lost their lives in a fire that was suspected to be an attack. The fire was fuelled by books and paper in the reading room and spread quickly.- A similar fire was put out days before
- When it was being rebuilt, it was the largest construction project in North America.
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Battle of Vimy Ridge
Ranking: 0 Vimy ridge was considered a great victory, but there was a cost. 3,600 Canadians lost their lives and 7,000 came back injured.- In the week leading up to the battle, Canadian and British artillery killed defenders.
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Wartime elections act
Ranking: -1 The wartime elections act showed who could and who couldn’t vote. Female relatives of soldiers serving in ww1 were able to vote and Canadians who immigrated from “enemy” countries couldn’t.- Borden made political moves to get elected.
- Canadian citizens who were born in “enemy” countries couldn’t vote unless they had a son or grandson currently serving in the military.
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Spanish flu
Ranking: -2 The Spanish flu was tragic in Canada, killing over 55,000 people. Resulted in the creation of the Department of Health in 1919. There was no vaccine, and the pandemic affected every region in the world including Canada.- Came in many waves
- 50-100 million deaths worldwide
- Troops heading from east to west spread the virus
- Second wave caused 90% of the deaths.
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Prohibition
Ranking: -1
People blamed alcohol for many problems such as unemployment, crime, violence and more. Christian denominations were popular in the 19th century. Religious figures disapproved of drinking. It was also seen as shameful to drink when people were risking their lives in the war.
- In march 1918, PM Borden stopped the manufacture of alcohol.
- Prohibition won by 13,687 votes -
Agnes Macphail
Ranking: +2 Agnes Macphail was a self professed feminist. She founded the Elizabeth fry society of Canada which helped women in legal trouble and stood up for farming women and female workers. She was the first woman elected to the Ontario legislature and the first female member of the League of Nations where she served on the disarmament committee.- Advocate for prison reform
- Elected to parliament in 1921, first election where women could vote.
- Defeated in 1940 election
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Chinese immigration act
Ranking: -2 The act passed on July 1, 1923 and banned Chinese immigrants unless they were merchants, diplomats or foreign students. Even Chinese with british nationality were banned. Immigration from most countries was controlled in some way but only Chinese were completely banned from immigrating- Passed by PM Mackenzie King because of demands to limit Chinese immigration.
- Poor economic conditions were blamed on minorities and the Chinese faced discrimination.
