Counterpoints: Chapter 1
A Different Canada – The 1900s
Still a British Nation
Canada still a colony of Great Britain
People see themselves as “British” rather
than “Canadian”
Canada has some self-govt. But foreign
policy is still handled by Britain
Alaska Boundary Dispute: Britain gives part
of B.C. To the U.S., outraging Canadians
The Victorian Age
Reign of Queen Victoria, marked by moral
strictness, social conservatism
Strict laws governing behaviour
Limited rights for women
Religion, especially Christianity, dominates
social life
Ethnocentric
Canada dominated by Anglophone,
Protestant people of British descent
Immigrants from Eastern Europe were forced
to assimilate – language and culture
Immigrants from Asia were discouraged or
barred
French Canadians: growing unrest, feeling of
Nationalism – Quebec as a separate “nation”
The Victorian Age
Scandalous Bathing Suits!
Canada in 1900s: Women
Not allowed to vote (until 1918)
“Suffragists”: women activists for women's
voting rights
–Nellie McClung
Temperance Movement: women, church
groups want alcohol banned, “curse of
society”
Suffragists
Nellie McClung
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Canadian Suffragists
Canada in 1900s: French
Canada
French Canadian Nationalism
–Anger at loss of French education rights in
Manitoba, Sask., Alberta
–Anger at ties to Britain, esp. conscription
–Henri Bourassa
Growing sense that Quebec is a “separate
nation” and culture
French-Canadian Nationalism
Henri Bourassa
Canada in 1900s: Immigrants
Govt. encourages immigration from Northern
Europe, esp. Britain
Immigrants from other areas, esp. Asia
allowed but discriminated against and given
menial jobs
–Chinese Immigration Act, 1885
–Head Tax, immigration limits
–Vancouver Anti-Asian Riots, 1907
Racism in the 1900s
Vancouver 1907
Head Tax 1885
Canada in 1900s: Economy
Industrialization: electricity from new
hydroelectric power plants
“Branch Plant Economy”: US companies
have plants in Canada
Working Conditions: demands for higher
wages, better conditions
–Growth of unions
–Strikes: Winnipeg 1919, Nanaimo 1913
Canada a “resource economy”: timber, fur,
minerals
Economy
Branch Plants: Ford
Economy
Winnipeg General Strike 1919
Canada in 1900s: Aboriginals
Discrimination:
–Indian Act, 1876
–Regulates lives of aboriginals
–Limitation on movement, freedoms, i.e.
passes to leave reserves (aboriginal
residential areas)
Assimilation:
–Residential schools – children forced to
speak English, adopt European attitudes
–Aboriginal languages and customs
Residential Schools
Fraser River School
Winnipeg School