Canada 1919-1939

Canada between the Wars 1919-1939

I. The British Commonwealth of Nations-

The period between the wars brought: Culmination of Canada's growth to independent nationhood within the British Commonwealth. Prime Minister Borden - Included in the Imperial War Cabinet in London. He piloted- the dominions "should be recognized as autonomous nations of an imperial commonwealth." At the end of 1919 the Canadian government acquired

A. Decades of discord

Issues:

Social labor history, national politics and relations in the empire.

Young people in this era grew up w/out stability (harsh war, unstable economy, and great depression)

1. Post War Recession

1919 Winnipeg General Strike was Canada's most influential labour action. After World War I many Canadian soldiers returned home to find few opportunities, all while companies had enjoyed enormous profits on war contracts. Wages and working conditions were dismal and labour regulations were mostly non-existent.

J. S. Woodsworth of Winnipeg, who had organized their political movement after the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. Meighen had played a key role in violently suppressing the strikers and this earned him the animosity of organized labour.

Intention of overthrowing Canadian capitalism through a series of crippling general strikes.

Attempted to unionize -workers from both industries went on strike to gain union recognition.

The strike was generally non-violent. The majority of the strikers were reformist, ("revolutionary socialism", which believes that there must be a revolution to fundamentally change a society.) not radical. They wanted to amend the system, not destroy it and build a new one.

1920s - Spiraling expansion of business.

Technical and industrial advances paced the rising standard of living.

II. National Politics

A. Government

Since the 1911 election, the country had been governed by the Conservatives, first under the leadership of Robert Borden, and then under Arthur Meighen.

Bordon, conservative 1911-20 (Union Government). Conscription means unity.

Meighan (1920-21, Union Government)

MacKenzie King, spirituarlist, liberal, union gov’t disbanded, absorbed into conservative part.

Organized labour thereafter was hostile towards the Conservatives, particularly Meighen and Robertson, for their forcefull role in putting down the strike. Combined with high tariffs in the federal budget passed in the same year which farmers disliked, this contributed to the Conservatives' heavy defeat in the 1921 election. Succeeding Liberal government, made sure that the Winnipeg General Strike resulted in much improved working conditions for millions of Canadians. Liberal government under the young leader William Lyon Mackenzie King.

The election was the first in which the majority of Canadian women were allowed to vote. Four women also ran for office. Agnes Macphail of the Progressive Party was elected as the first woman MP in Canada.

B. Parliament split

King's Liberals won a majority government Quebec, much of the Maritimes, and a good portion of Ontario.

The Progressive Party won the second largest number of seats, dominating the West, and