The Emergence of
Modern Canada
1896-1914
Introduction
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1905 Alberta and Saskatchewan join confederation.
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Even with Canada’s vast territory it feared takeover from the
US.
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This made Canada a country that now stretched from sea to sea.
This was both political and economic.
Canada was also struggling with trying to find a greater
independence from Britain, and they wanted more control over
its own foreign affairs.
Canada was still a part of the British Empire, but this created
problems within Canada.

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The constant struggle of English and French relations.
Laurier worked towards bringing French and English Canadians
together as one in Canada.
Introduction
Still A British Nation
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Even though Canada had its own government during
this period in time, it was still considered a British
protectorate and part of the British Empire.
Britain still had the responsibility of solving issues
that took place between Canada and other countries.
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Because of this some Canadians were disappointed from
time to time in the way Britain dealt with issues.
Britain did not always have Canada’s best interest in mind
when making decisions for them.
Case in point is the ‘Alaskan panhandle’ dispute.
Still A British Nation
Still A British Nation

Laurier in the political
cartoon is seen bowing
to Uncle Sam during the
Alaska Boundary
dispute.
Introduction

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Global markets opened up for Canada’s mineral,
lumber, wheat, and manufacturing goods.
Immigrants began to flock to Canada from Europe,
Britain, US and Asia.
People traveled along the newly constructed railways
to settle into their new lives in Canada’s West.
Technology was beginning to boom.

Telephones, wireless radios, cars, planes, and motion
pictures.
Introduction

With the population growth come social
reforms.
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Women and aboriginals began to look for equality
and human right.
Labour unions began to pop up on the work site.
Even with the new social reforms,
discrimination still did take place.

Immigrants found it hard adjusting to the new
society.

Social equality was not fully developed.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier

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7th Prime Minister of
Canada
1896-1911
French-Canadien
“Golden Age of
Laurier”
Laurier is Elected

The 1896 election ended 20 years of
conservative power in Canada, but also
brought Canada its first French Canadian PM.

This extremely pleased the Quebecers.

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They wanted a government that would protect the
French language and culture, and Roman Catholic
rights.
French-English relations had always been a
problem in Canada, but they had reached new
levels with the execution of Louis Riel.
Conflict and Compromise

Laurier was interested in promoting national
unity, and protect Canadian interest abroad.

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He wanted a nation that was united with both
French and English speaking citizens.
It was the violation of the Manitoba Act were
English only education was developed that
helped Laurier win the election in 1896.

Macdonald refused to intervene in the situation,
and most French-Canadians turned and voted for
Laurier.
Imperialism: A French English Split
Imperialism: A French English Split

French and English relations in Canada have always been
difficult and rocky.
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Most English were loyal to the mother country in Britain and her
Empire, and most French felt as though they had not connection
anymore to Britain.
Those loyal to the Empire were called imperialists.
As a result of Canada being a British colony, and then British
protectorate, Canada had always relied on Britain for naval
and military support.

Britain had the most powerful navy at the turn of the century.
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Some were stationed in Halifax and Esquimalt.
Many viewed military affairs as the responsibility of the
British imperial government in London.
Imperialism: A French English Split

Most English speaking Canadians were still proud to be
British subjects under the crown.

This being the case they were glad to help Britain out when needed.
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Boar War.
People shared in the idea of expanding the British empire through
imperialist ways.
Most French speaking Canadians did not care for the British
Empire.
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Many were descendents of New France and the people who settled it
200 years earlier.
They saw themselves as Canadiens, and not British subjects.
The French tended to be nationalists and not loyal to the crown.
They were disappointed in the decision to send troops to the Boar War.
Imperialism: A French English Split

Language rights continued to be an issue in
Canada.

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The French lost the right to French instruction in
Manitoba, and then Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Henri Bourassa stated that maybe Canadiens
would be better off without Canada because their
rights as a minority were not being protected as
promised at confederation.
Imperialism: A French English Split

As the 1900’s approach, things began to
change in Canada, and the dependence we
once had was shifting to the other side.
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Britain was now turning to Canada for support and
finance on the military front.
Imperial Issues/Events
The South African War
The Naval Issue
The Alaska Boundary Dispute
The Laurier Boom

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During Laurier’s time in office, Canada’s economy began to
see great prosperity, and world prices and markets began to
expand for Canadian products.
A rise in industrial production created demand for raw
materials.
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This allowed Canada to increase prices based on the demand creating
more profit.
Better shipping technology combined with lower freight rate
helped the export of Canadian goods.
New technologies in production allowed for Canada to make
the most of its natural resources.

Pulp and paper, and mining of the Shield for rich ore deposits.
The Laurier Boom

The CPR allowed for expansion West, and helped the
industrial boom reach BC.

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Dramatic growths in lumbering and mining.
Within 10 years the forest industry grew from $2 million to $65
million.
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Rising world prices helped the agricultural industry to thrive
on the prairies.
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Harvest rights and accessibility led to cutting frenzies.
Farmers began to increase production and diversify there crops.
The region was not the “bread basket of the world,” and not the
agricultural hinterland of Canada.
New hydro electric potential was beginning to be harnessed
for use in the new factories and mines.
The “Last Best West”
The “Last Best West”

The “Last Best West” was the slogan used to attract
people to Canada West to settle down as
homesteaders and settlers.
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More money, more people, and more people, more money,
become a common thought amongst the people in charge of
settling the West.
With the end of the depression, there was a demand
for wheat around the world.
There were no more homestead lands available in the
US.
The Canadian West started to look extremely
appealing to people wanting to settle.
The “Last Best West”

Nearly all immigration between 1867-1890’s in North
America was to the US.
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Nobody wanted to come to the barren, unpopulated land of
Canada.
Those who did come to Canada usually left for the US
because of lack of work, or the harsh climate.
Between 1896-1911, the Canadian government
encouraged people to come and settle in the West.

During these years the prairie population increased
dramatically, and Clifford Sifton become the new Minister
of the Interior in charge of immigration.
The “Last Best West”

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Sifton was a westerner, and
was dedicated to populating
the prairies.
He launched a recruitment
program to try and lure
people to come and settle in
the prairies.

It targeted the European and
US people who would make
good farmers.
The “Last Best West”

Sifton brought controversy when he encourage
immigrants from the grasslands of eastern and central
Europe.
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They understood dryland farming methods.
Many Canadians were uncomfortable with
newcomers who would be bringing a different
language and culture into theirs.
Sifton had created an open-door policy, and he
defended it.

Sifton stated that “a stalwart peasant in a sheep skin coat,
born of the soil, whose forefathers had been farmers for ten
generations, … is good quality.”
The “Last Best West”

The settlers who come to the prairies were a much
more diverse group as a result of Sifton’s open-door
policy.
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British Settlers still made up 1/3 of all the
immigrants.
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Ukrainians, Russians, Czechs, Hungarians, Poles,
Rumanians, Austrians, etc.
Many actually failed as farmers because of having no
background in it.
Many of the American settlers who come north of the
border Assimilated into Canadian culture easily.

They made great farmers, and were quite successful at it.
The “Last Best West”

The average American brought $1000 and farming
equipment when coming to Canada.
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The average European brought $15.
Most Americans favored Alberta as their place to settle.
Between 1896-1914, 1 million Americans settled in
Canada.
At the same time thousands of British Children were
being sent to Canada.

Many come from orphanages, or were unwanted children
of poor parents. Others were just sent away by the
authorities without choice of the parents.
The “Last Best West”
The “Last Best West”
The “Last Best West”
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It was believed that the
farms would be a good place
for the children to eat well,
and learn life skills.
Some took the children in
and adopted them, but
others used it as a cheap
source of labour.
They were to be care for and
sent to school through the
winter, but many did not see
the basic necessities of life.
Some were beaten and force
to live in barns and stables.
The Push-Pull Factors of
Immigration

Between 1891-1921 the population of Canada almost doubled.
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Canadian immigration succeeded because of “push-pull”
factors.
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Table 7-1 in your text.
60% of the immigrant who come to Canada settled in the West.
1. A need t leave one’s homeland (push).
2. The lure of opportunity in another country (pull).
Americans, British, Europeans, and Asians come as a result of
the pull factor.
Poor eastern and central Europeans come as a result of the
push factor.
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The pull factor still did play a part.
Ukrainians come because of repeated crop failure, starvation, and over
population.
The Push-Pull Factors of
Immigration

Push-pull factor often worked together, and
not always independent of each other.

i.e. Doukhobors, a group of Russians who come to
escape military service because it was against their
religion, and they were in search of free land.

1899, 7000 had settled in Saskatchewan.
Adjusting to Life on the Prairies

Once arriving on the prairies, homesteaders had to
prepare for their new lives.

First was raising $500 to buy a plough, a wagon, horses,
and a milk cow.
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Many worked in the lumber industry, railway, mining camps, or
other peoples farms to raise the money they needed to start.
Many lived in primitive conditions on their new
homesteads.
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Comfort was not a concern.
Mud covered sod houses was the norm.
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Known as “soddie”.
Made from thatched roofs, open windows covered with sacks, sod
like bricks, and a wood frame.
Usually they were infested with flies and fleas, and smelt during the
hot prairies summers with leaks during the rainy season.
Adjusting to Life on the Prairies

Adjusting was tough.
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Winters were cold, and the diet of the homesteaders was
very monotonous.
Natural disasters like hail, drought , and grasshopper
infestation made things difficult.
Most immigrants to the prairies succeeded despite the
conditions.
After a few years the soddies would be replaced with
a more substantial home, and with more settlers come
better roads and infrastructure to get to the towns and
markets.
Adjusting to Life on the Prairies
Adjusting to Life on the Prairies
Adjusting to Life on the Prairies
Adjusting to Life on the Prairies
Newcomers in the Cities

Between 1898-1914, the population of the prairies increased
by approx. 1.5 million.
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1/3 of all the immigrants that landed in Canada during this
time frame chose the cities as their place to settle.
The developments in industry encouraged rural Canadians to
move to the cites to live a more urban lifestyle.
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The increase effected the entire country.
Montreal and Toronto doubled in size.
1914, the urban population was almost 50% of the total
population.
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Only four cities in Canada had populations that exceeded 100,000
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Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver.
Newcomers in the Cities
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Many immigrants coming to
the cities could speak little
English.
Many were pushed into
unsafe, low-paying factory
jobs.
A lot of the immigrants
lived in ghettos.
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Lots lived in crowded two
room buildings with little
heat, fresh air, or water.
Disease was common because
of the poor living conditions.
Newcomers in the Cities
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Most people found work as unskilled labourers.
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Pay was $10-$15 a week, working 10-12 hour days, and six
days a week.
The working conditions were usually poor.
Job security did not exist.
Most incomes were spent on housing and food.

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People did not have a lot of extra money to spend
Lots of families had children that worked to help out,
which in turn resulted in no education for them and neglect
from the parents because of the long working hours.
Newcomers in the Cities
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At this time the government did not feel
responsible for the poor, or any type of social
welfare programs.
The poor relied on each other, and charitable
organizations for help.
Railways To Everywhere
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The economy in Canada was booming during the Laurier
period, and with the boom come the construction of two new
transcontinental railways through the West.
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The Canadian Northern Railway, and the Grand Trunk Railway.
Both come as farmers become fed up with the CPR and the high prices
they were charging for shipping.
They also come at a time were most of the land around the CPR had
been taken, and people were having to move farther away.
The Canadian Northern Railway and Grand Trunk both sought
federal and provincial aid to built the rail lines.
Railway development.
Railways To Everywhere

The Canadian Northern Railway extended its prairie line
eastward to Quebec, and west on a northern route to the
pacific.
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1901, BC invited owners William Mackenzie, and Donald Mann to
extend their lines through the Yellowhead Pass, and down the
Thompson River to Kamloops, and through to Vancouver.
Mackenzie and Mann eventually built a financial business empire that
included the railways, mining, lumber, and shipping.
The Grand Trunk expanded much the same with government
encouragement, but this time it come from Laurier who agreed
to built a section eastward for areas not serviced by the CPR or
Canadian Northern.

The Grand Trunk followed the same western route as the Canadian
Northern through the Yellowhead Pass, but it continued across
Northern BC to Prince Rupert.
Railways To Everywhere

With the outbreak of WWI, all of the new
railways that were not a part of the CPR were
consolidated as one.
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This was done to avoid the financial hardships
because they were becoming unprofitable with less
immigration and British capital.
The single railway become know as the Canadian
National Railways, which was to be owned by the
people.
Railways To Everywhere
The Rise of Unions
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Canada was prosperous, but the prosperity of the time
was something that was not shared around equally.
A few major corporate giants controlled a majority of
the industry and finance of the country.
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i.e. Imperial Oil, Massey-Harris, and Dunsmuir Coal.
Few people in the population were able to see any of
the money in these companies, and their wealth
sharply contrasted that of the poor working class
people.
The Rise of Unions

Many flaunted their wealth
and built huge mansions and
homes for themselves.
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i.e. Dunsmuir Craigdarroch
Castle in Victoria.
The gap between the poor
working class and the
wealth grew bigger, and
workers began to look for
their share in the wealth
they generated for the
owners of the businesses.
The Rise of Unions
The Rise of Unions

Labour unions began to arise between 1880-1910.
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Approx. 10% of all workers joined a union during this time.
The problems the unions faced was that the employers could
easily replace the workers, and the government and legal
system tended to favor the rich owners opposed to the
workers.
Companies had private police to del with any disturbances that
may have arisen from public protest or people wanting to go
on strike.
Between 1910 and WWI, there were a number of different
violent confrontations that erupted between employers and
workers.

Coal miners in Nanaimo who worked for the Dunsmuir family were
involved in a 2 year strike over unsafe working conditions and low pay.

Pg. 270 of your text.
Closing the Door to Immigration

Not everyone was a fan of the immigration that was
happening as a result of the Sifton open-door policy.
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Labour organizations seen it as a threat, British Canadians
feared that it would alter the British character of the
country, and the French feared that they would become
more of a minority and their culture and language would be
lost.
Businesses liked the idea of the immigration because
it provided a cheap labour pool for them to hire
people out of
Immigration was especially an issue in BC were
many felt that their jobs were threatened by the large
numbers of Asian immigrants.

BC pressured the federal government to do something as a
result.
Closing the Door to Immigration


1905, Frank Oliver replace
Sifton as Minister of the
Interior.
Oliver agreed with reducing
the number of immigrants,
and he introduced a more
selective immigration
policy.

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He especially agreed with
limiting the number of nonwhite immigrants.
Provincial governments
began to restrict the
Chinese, Japanese, and East
Indian immigration.
British Columbia: The “Golden
Mountain”

The construction of the CPR and the Cariboo Gold
Rush brought large amounts of Chinese immigrants
to BC.
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They comprised the largest group of Asian immigrants.
1891, 9400 Chinese were living in BC.
Many had planned to return back to China.
A majority lived in “Chinatowns”, which become
places of business and cultural organizations.
A majority of the Chinese workers were employed in
the salmon canning and coal mining industries on
Vancouver Island.

Many companies wanted to hire the Chinese because they
would work hard for low wages.
British Columbia: The “Golden
Mountain”

Victoria's ramshackle Chinatown 1886
British Columbia: The “Golden
Mountain”


It was the labour organizations that become key in
getting exclusionary legislation against the Chinese
because they felt their jobs were being threatened as a
result the the Chinese undercutting them.
Groups were formed to put up protest against the
Asian immigration.


i.e. Asiatic Exclusion League.
Things come to a head in 1907 when Lt. Governor
James Dunsmuir refused to sign a bill to exclude
Japanese immigrants from entering Canada.
British Columbia: The “Golden
Mountain”

The actions of Dunsmuir had protesters march on
Vancouver’s city hall, and a riot ensued.

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Roughly 1000 demonstrators marched through the streets
of Chinatown and Japanese sections of the city damaging
businesses, etc.
The riot focused international attention on Vancouver.
PM Laurier was embarrassed, and as a result of Japanese
being a British ally, Laurier apologized and created a Royal
Commission to look at the matter.
The Government still went about setting a 400 person
limit on the number of Japanese that were allowed in
Canada per year.
British Columbia: The “Golden
Mountain”
By “Continuous Passage” Only

William Lyon Mackenzie King, Laurier’s Minister of
Labour, was in charge of the Royal Commission that
looked at the Vancouver Riots.


He was too also look at the immigration of people from
Asia as a whole, and look at how they had been enticed to
come to Canada to work.
Since 1904, CPR agents had been encouraging Sikhs
to immigrate.

It was difficult to restrict them access because they were
British subject and could not be denied access to Canada.
By “Continuous Passage” Only

To prevent any more East Indians from immigrating,
the Immigration Act of 1906.

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It was now change to make sure the immigrants now had to
come from their country of origin on a non-stop direct
route.
A direct route from India was impossible, and the
government believed that they had solved the immigration
issue.
The amendment was challenged in 1914 when the
Komagata Maru, a steamer chartered by Gurdit
Singh, arrived in Vancouver with 354 Sikh
immigrants.
By “Continuous Passage” Only

Komagata Maru arrived in Vancouver on May 23
after stops in China and Japan, and was immediately
quarantined by Canadian authorities.
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Passengers were not allowed to leave the ship.
Supporters argued that the continuous-passage rule was
invalid, but the government would not budge.
Officials and police officers tried boarding the ship, but
they were bombed with sticks and bottles to keep them
away.
July 23 the ship was escorted out of the Vancouver
Harbour by the cruiser Rainbow, one of the Naval ships
Britain had loaned Canada.
By “Continuous Passage” Only
By “Continuous Passage” Only
Women’s Suffrage and Social
Reform

At the turn of the century, women , Native Canadians,
immigrants of Asian descent, and other newcomers to
Canada, they did not have many rights.
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None of the above had the right to vote, and there was very
little equality.
Before the invention of such things as the washing
machine, housework and child rearing consumed
much of the average women’s day.
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Large families were common, and the risk of death or
disability at child birth was high.
Educational expectations were low because most women
did not work outside the home after marriage.
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1900, only 15% of the undergraduates at university were women.
Women were banned from professions like law, and they were not
eligible for scholarships.
Women’s Suffrage and Social
Reform

Women’s suffrage come to the forefront in the
Laurier era.


These women were devoted to social reform, and trying to
get the right to vote.
Suffragists blamed the problems of society on the
growing problem of alcoholism.


Problems like child neglect and poverty were some of the
things they looked at.
1885 the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
was created, and they promoted prohibition.
Women’s Suffrage and Social
Reform

Suffragist were also know as “maternal feminists” because
they believed that the skills of wives and mothers would bring
a fresh, companionate perspective to a male-dominated
government.
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They believed that female influence could change laws to improve the
lives of women and children.
The suffragist movement was a worldwide movement, but
Canadian women generally were a bit more peaceful.
The campaign was led by the Canadian Women’s Suffrage
Association, which was supported by the National Council of
Women of Canada, founded by Lady Aberdeen.

She was the wife of the Governor General, and had great influence
because of husband.
Women’s Suffrage and Social
Reform


The earliest successes for the
suffragist movement come on the
prairies.
Some believe it was a result of the
hardships women went through in
the west being right beside the
men when settling and beginning
a homestead.
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Prairie men were more incline to
give the vote because they seen
what the women had gone
through, considered them more as
equals as a result, and it was a
way for the farmers of the west to
increase the farm vote to
influence provincial
governments.
The west was the first to grant
women’s suffrage.
Women’s Suffrage and Social
Reform

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta were the first to grant to
vote to women in 1916.


Time Line 7-1 pg. 277 of your text.
In BC the fight for Suffrage was one that would last more than
45 years.

1871, American suffragist Susan B. Anthony visited Victoria and spoke
for women’s rights.
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Following year a bill was proposed and turned down.
1873, women had property had the right to vote in municipal elections.
1899, another suffrage bill was shot down in legislature, but this time
only by a vote of 15-17.
1912, suffrage was a part of the Liberal campaign in BC.
1916, a referendum was passed on the issue, and in 1917 BC granted
women the right to vote and hold political office.
Women’s Suffrage and Social
Reform



It was believed that politics was a “man’s work”.
It was beliefs like this that hindered the women’s
suffrage movement.
Nelly McClung was a well know suffragist.

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
Campaigned for women’s rights.
Was instrumental in the famous ‘Person's Case’ which saw
Canadian women declared persons in 1929.
She helped put on a play called ‘The Women's Parliament,’
a satire which turned the tables and poked fun at the
dangers of giving men the right to vote.


This was instrumental in getting women the right to vote in
Manitoba first.
Canada had the group know as the “famous five”.

Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Henrietta Edwards,
Louise McKinney, and Irene Parlby.
Women’s Suffrage and Social
Reform
The Rights of the Native Peoples



With the policy of assimilation, the survival of native
lands and culture was being threatened.
There were attempted to make treaties to free up land
for European settlement.
Aboriginal people wanted to retain their culture, land,
and traditions.

To do so they based their claims on the Royal Proclamation
of 1763 which recognized them as “Nations or Tribes, ”
extended to them the protection of Britain, and recognized
their right to own the land they had used and occupied.
The Rights of the Native Peoples

Residential schools become common place in the
policy for assimilation.

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Removing the children fro their families was detrimental to
most.
1910, more than 60 school existed, most run by Christian
religious groups.
The Children received manual, vocational, and religious
instruction in Christian faith.
They wee not allowed to practice their traditions or culture,
and could not speak in their language.
It made it difficult to preserve and pass on their culture to
future generations.
The effects were detrimental.
The Rights of the Native Peoples
The Rights of the Native Peoples
The Rights of the Native Peoples
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The BC native were unique in their situation
because they had been sheltered from a lot of
the large scale settlement in Canada.
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It allowed them to retain the land longer.
Overlap between the federal and provincial
government responsibilities caused confusion in
the ownership of Native lands.
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Provincial was control of Native lands, and federal was
responsible for Indian affairs.
The Rights of the Native Peoples
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Settlers flooded BC during the Laurier era and this
caused problems with issues of land and title to it.
The federal government believed reserves were a
priority.
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1900, only 15 treaties had been concluded with the 200 BC
native bands.
1911 the Native bands united to press for aboriginal
title to the land, and they presented their claim to the
provincial government.
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The problem was the provincial and federal governments
could not agree on how to respond to the claims.
The Rights of the Native Peoples
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The McKenna-McBride Royal Commission was established to
look and determine the size and location of Native reserves.
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It recommended adding land but taking away some of the most
valuable land.
The problem was the Indian Act of 1876 did not allow for cut-off lands
unless the Native people agreed in which they did not.
The Allied Tribes of BC rejected the report, and the federal government
passed a law removing the requirement for consent to the sale of cut-off
lands.
The government believed they had closed the issue of land
claims, but they Natives believed the issue was far from over.
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Nisga’s Land Claims on pg 280-282 of your text.
The Nisga’a Land Claim
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Took place in BC, and has taken more than 90 years
to resolve.
August 4, 1998, representatives from the federal and
provincial governments, and the Nisga’a First
Nations signed the first modern treaty in BC.
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Allocated $200 million in treaty settlement funds, 1930
square km of land in the Lower Nass Valley, and
ownership of 18 reserves outside of the area.
They are entitled to all resources on Nisga’a owned land,
have rights to timber outside settlement area, and have a
guaranteed share of about 20% of the allowable catch of
Nass River Salmon.
The Nisga’a government can also make laws consistent
with Canadian law, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
and the Criminal Code.
The Nisga’a Land Claim
Nisga’a Land Claim
The Nisga’a Land Claim
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The struggle for the Nisga’a land claim rights began
in 1907.
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They were the first Native peoples in BC to pursue their
goal of claiming title to their ancestral lands through the
Canadian political system.
They argued that because they had not signed a treaty with
the provincial government, the concept of reserves for the
Native peoples did not apply to them.
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Pg. 281.
The Nisga’a chiefs wanted a treaty that would
accomplish three things:
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Honour aboriginal title to the land.
Give the Nisga’a larger reserves on which they live.
Compensate the Nisga’a for any land they surrendered.
The Nisga’a Land Claim
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1910, PM Laurier encouraged the Nisga’a to take
their case to the Judicial Committee of the British
Privy Council.
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The Council decided the claim must be heard in a Canadian
court first.
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Laurier was no longer PM at the time of this and the case would
never be heard.
It was not till 1949 when Nisga’a chief Frank Calder
was elected t the BC legislature, and 1960 when
suffrage was granted to the Natives of Canada, that
things began to change.
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The governments soon began to resolve issues of land and
self government.
The Nisga’a Land Claim
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The Nisga’a treaty was
the first treaty
concluded west of the
Rockies since BC joined
confederation in 1871.
The New Century: Wonders of he
Laurier Age
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Things had now began to
change.
Technology was developing
and the world around people
was now becoming more
accessible.
Travel by car and plane,
rapid communication
through wireless radio, and
the creation of the motion
picture were all new
technological developments.
The Arrival of the Car
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1901, automobiles appeared on the cover of the
Eaton's catalogue for the first time.
Within the next few years, automobiles become more
affordable, and more and more of the were now being
seen on Canadian streets.
The profits to be made in the automobile industry
were huge.
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Companies like Massey-Harris, and the Canadian Cycle
and Motor Company went into production.
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Most of the vehicles made were hybrids that included American
engines and working parts mounted on a Canadian body.
The Arrival of the Car
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Not everyone was happy about the coming of the car.
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Soon most Canadian’s realized that the car was a
useful and reliable thing.
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1908, P.E.I. banned the automobile on a claim that they
tore up roads and frightened children and livestock.
In BC the response was positive.
Soon the successful and well-to-do people of Canada
adopted the car as the preferred means of transportation.
1908, Canada opened its first gas station in
Vancouver as a result of the popular growth of the
use of automobiles.
Most vehicles in BC were restricted to the south
because of the lack of good road north of the lower
mainland.
The Arrival of the Car
Soaring Through the Air
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The use of airplanes in Canada took much
longer to catch on than the use of the
automobile.
Crashes were frequent, and most pilots did
their own repairs and maintenance.
The first successful flight in Canada was in
1909 in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
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J.A.D. McCurdy was the pilot, and he flew a plane
called the Silver Dart 10 meters above the ground
for almost a kilometre at 30 km/hr.
Soaring Through the Air
A Communications Revolution
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At the turn of the century, Canada was the world
leader in telephone use.
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1901 census counted over 300,000 phone lines.
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Wake-up calls were offered to encourage new customers to
subscribe.
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This was nearly twice as many per person as the US.
Other company’s like the Victoria and Esquimalt Telephone
Company, had children run errands for subscribers at a rate of 15
cents a half hour.
The working conditions for operators were
undesirable with the headphone sets weighing 3
kilograms, and the hours and pay being dismal.
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Pg. 285.
A Communications Revolution
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1901, Canada received the first wireless telegraph from
England on Signal Hill in Newfoundland.
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1902, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company was set up in
Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.
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It was the first message to cross the Atlantic without the use of wires.
It was in Morse Code.
They a established permanent radio communication across the Atlantic.
1908, they announced they would transmit messages from the public at
a rate of 15 cents a word.
1907, Canadian inventor Frederick Fessenden transmitted the
worlds first radio broadcast of music and voice.
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The radio was slow to catch on.
A Communications Revolution
A Communications Revolution
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Superior reception over water increased the use of
wireless radio in shipping.
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1913, the use of radios was increasing with the publicity
surrounding the role they played in the sinking of the
Titanic.
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The Titanic wired a message alerting rescue ship, and it allowed for
700 lives to be saved in the sinking.
It was around this same time that new moving picture
shows were coming out.
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The first public screening in Canada was in 1896.
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The viewers paid 10 cents to crowd into a hall in Ottawa to see
several one-minute films showing people doing everyday things.
Arts and Leisure
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During the Laurier Era, Canadian sports began
to take off, and many who participated become
world champions.
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George Dixon was the first black man to win a
world boxing championship, Tommy Burns was
the only Canadian to capture the heavyweight title
in 1906 and defend in 10 times, Tom Longboat of
the Six Nations was one of greatest long distance
runners of the time.
1908, Canada sent its first team to the Olympics.
Arts and Leisure
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As a result of rapid industrialization and
urbanization, spectator sports and outdoor
recreation began to grow.
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1909, first Grey Cup.
1912, first Calgary Stampede.
People watched Babe Ruth hit his first home run at
Hanlan’s Point, Toronto.
The emergence of the automobile also helped
with the development of other outdoor
activities like hiking and camping.
Arts and Leisure
Arts and Leisure
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Canadian poetry and writing become a favourite past
time.
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Pauline Johnson was a Canadian poet who celebrated her
success in poetry reading across Canada, the united States,
and Europe.
Lucy Maude Montgomery wrote Anne of Green Gables,
and Stephan Leacock authored Sunshine Sketches of a
Little Town, a humorous look at small town Ontario.
Robert Service brought to life the adventures of the Yukon
Gold Rush through his poems.
Emily Carr become well know for her paintings of
aboriginal life and wild life settings in the Queen Charlotte
Islands.
Arts and Leisure
Arts and Leisure
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With the invention of the refrigerated rail car,
a wider variety of foods were now available
across the country.
Taste in food began to change.
1910, processed foods like Heinz ketchup were
common, and 5-cent chocolate bars went on
sale.
Soft drinks began to sweep across the nation
much like they did in the US.
Arts and Leisure
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Coca Cola was now
being marketed as a soft
drink and not a
medicine.
John McLaughlin, a
Toronto pharmacist,
developed Canada Dry
Ginger Ale.
It seemed as though
Canada was truly
coming of age!