Roaring 20’s
Economy
Introduction—during the war
 Canada’s economy grew due to all the factories producing war supplies
 Great demands
 Unemployment disappeared
Poor Economy after WWI
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End of war end of demands for goods and services
Country in an economic slump
Factories shut down
Agriculture sector suffered drought
Difficult to maintain standard of living
Canadian soldiers came back to unemployment
Unemployment was very high
Little the government could do
War torn Europe
 Europe was rebuilding itself
 Canadian agriculture sector rose
 Wheat on high demand
 U.S. took an increasingly isolationist stance
 Britain supplanted by the U.S. as Canada’s main economic partner
Rebuilding Economy
 1920s—Canadian workers began to create
unions to ensure job security.
 Strikes held to improve working conditions
 Adjust from war economy to peacetime
economy
Roaring 20’s economy
 Viewed as an era of great economic prosperity driven by the introduction of
a wide array of new customer goods
Growth in Industry
 The Canadian pulp and paper
industry expanded rapidly
during the 1920s.
 Demand was huge in the
American market.
 During the 1920s Canada
exported more pulpwood and
newsprint than the rest of the
world combined.
Trade—U.S.
 U.S becoming Canada’s main economic partner
 increased trade with the U.S.
 The US purchased most of Canada’s raw materials
 US set up branch plant in Canada to produce American products to avoid
Canadian Import taxes
Boom in Old and New Industry
• By 1923-24 the economic slump that
followed the First World War was
over.
• World economies had improved and
countries were buying Canadian
goods.
• Demand for Canadian wheat reached
record levels in the 1920s.
• Domestic and foreign industrial
demand for iron ore, nickel, zinc and
copper caused a mining boom.
Tariffs
 Tariff: Tax on foreign goods being imported.
 The federal government introduced tariffs to protect Canada’s
manufacturing and industrial base.
 Example: US made farm machinery was taxed so that it was more expensive
than Canadian-made farm machinery.
 What did this do for Canadian companies?
Changes….
 Wages were rising for many people and for the first
time people could buy goods on an installment plan,
or credit.
 Beginning of a debt society.
 Workers had more income, therefore more
DISPOSABLE INCOME.
Growing Economy
 Factories began to produce new products,
like cars, radios and refrigerators.
 Unemployment dropped and peoples’
lives were back on track.
Women in the Economy
 During war, many women obtained jobs
 Most of women retained their jobs throughout the 20’s
 One in five workers were women
Innovations and Technology
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czr-98yo6RU
 1920’S What the Future will look like
Canada becomes a Consumer Society
• Along with the 1920s came with a
number of consumer products that
many Canadian families ‘had’ to
have.
• Mass Media was introduced in the
1920s, in fact, by 1929 there were
300,000 radios in Canada, up from
fewer then 10,000 radios in 1924
(beginning of boom)
• Mass media = Mass Advertising
Advertising
 Advertisers made luxury
items seem like necessities
to hundreds of thousands of
Canadians.
 There was an astounding
range of household goods
made available by places like
EATONS.
Mass Production
 Mass development allowed for cheaper prices of
technology products
 New technology
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Automobile
Movie
Radio
Refrigerators
Mass Production (cont.)
 Cars
 Before the war, cars were rare luxuries
 By 1920, cars were much cheaper
 Cars had wide effects on the economy and society
Gas stations
motels
 Source industries were broadening
 Unemployment dropped
Ford’s first model
The Automobile
 The car was initially very expensive
to build. As a result, Ford invented
the “Assembly line” which allowed
the car to be mass produced quickly
and efficiently dramatically
decreasing its cost.
 The Model T’s were built in Windsor,
Ont.
 Canada and the United States
reacted to the invention of the car
by building roads, gas stations,
parking lots and drive in motels.
 Demand for the car was so high that
Ford had a very difficult time
keeping up with production.
 Millions of new jobs were created.
The “Roaring 20s” were in full swing
The Assembly line
Of The Model T
What did the automobile do for Canadians?
 Before the 1920s only
the rich could travel
Canada.
 After the early twenties
the average Canadian
could.
 Canadians went on
Sunday family drives.
“Miracle” Inventions
 Automatic washing
machines, hand operated
washing machines,
electric irons, electric
toaster, electric stoves,
vaccuum cleaners and
sewing machines.
 These products gave
people more free time.
Radio
• The first radio broadcast in North
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America was in Montreal on May
20, 1920.
The first radios were very crude
with very poor sound quality.
In 1924-25 a Canadian electronics
engineer named Ted Rogers came
up with the idea of creating a radio
that could plug into an electric
outlet. Hence, he created the first
“batteryless” radio.
Most radio stations were American.
80% of the radio stations that
Canadians listened to were
American. What impact did this
have on Canadian culture?
As a result of the “Americanization”
of the airwaves, the CBC (Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation was
created in 1936.
Radio
 The first Broadcast of
Canadian content that was
widely listened to was
Foster Hewitt’s Hockey
Night in Canada on Mar 22,
1923
 For a Video Clip of Foster
Hewitt and Maple Leaf
Gardens, Foster Hewitt CBC Archives
Foster Hewitt
Hockey Night in Canada:
Leafs vs. Canadiens
The Radio and the Family
 Radio was a way for
families to spend time
with on another.
 The entire family would
huddle around a radio
set and listen to their
favourite weekly shows
of music, comedy, soap
opera, education, news
and preaching.
The Telephone
 Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)
 Born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Came
to Canada in 1870 at the age of 23.
 Invented in telephone in Brantford,
Ontario.
 By the 1920s, only 1 in 4 families had
a telephone. However, by 1929, 3
out of 4 Families had a telephone
 The impact of the telephone is
Canada was immediate. It brought
Canadians closer to together;
especially those who lived in isolated
areas.
Alexander Graham Bell ^
In Your Notes:
 Using the Canadian Challenge Textbook, turn to pages 57-58
 Read the section and answer the questions at the bottom of pg 58
 How would the economy be different without the influence of WWI?
 Would it be almost the same or would the changes be drastic?
 How did War-time inventions influence within peace-time society?
 How did these inventions connect the average Canadian families?
Roaring 20s—Overview
 United States replaced Britain as Canada’s main economic partner
 technological advancements increased trade and employment rate
 More women in the economy
Conclusion
 The economic boom made life easier for many
Canadians and in many ways it brought families
together, and unified this young country.