THE ROARING 20’S
&
THE DIRTY 30’S
Between the
Wars
AFTER WWI
 During the war, industry had grown greatly.
 Canada had supplied shells to the western front.
 Ships were built and maintained for the Atlantic convoys
 The steel industry boomed.
 Soldiers needed boots, clothes, blankets.
 Many factory owners became wealthy.
 Farmers grew more wheat.
AFTER WWI
 Because of the great demand, prices
had risen.
 The soldiers found goods cost nearly
twice as they had in 1913.
 Wages had risen during the war, but
only about 18%. They could not keep
up with the prices.
 After the war, factories were closing or
cutting back. The jobs that remained
were already filled and there was no
need to hire ex-soldiers.
 The number of trade union members
had doubled during the war. Unions
were preparing to demand higher
wages and better conditions
 One Big Union formed. Winnipeg
strike was the first test.
PROHIBITION
 The ban on the sale of alcohol .
 Officially the ban was part of the war effort.
 The grain used to make alcohol could be used
for food instead.
 People expected there would be social benefits
from the ban. They thought family life would
improve.
 For a few years after the war, prohibition was in
force in every province.
 Prohibition did not work. Bootlegging – making
and selling liquor illegally.
 By 1924 most provinces decided liquor control
was better than liquor ban.
 The government could make money from the
liquor taxes.
1920’S
 The 18th Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution
banned the manufacture,
sale, and transportation of
alcohol.
 Quebec was the 1 st
province to get rid of
prohibition.
 Many people from the USA
started to take the train to
Montreal on weekends for
entertainment.
MONTREAL
In the 1920’s, black musicians and dancers
became very popular around the world. Louis
Armstrong was the most popular musician
amongst white and black fans.
Because of prohibition in the USA, popular
black entertainers started to perform in
Montreal.
Montreal was then referred to as “Little
Harlem” or “The Canadian Harlem”
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SPORTS
 In 1928 Canadian women went to the summer Olympic Games
for the first time. The track and field team won medals in
nearly every event.
 The Bluenose was built in 1921 and competed in races
against the best schooners. She won almost very race. She is
remembered on the back of the dime.
BLUENOSE
H T T P : / / W W W. YO U T U B E . C O M / WAT C H ? V = U X Z W F H S L 7 VO
FLAPPERS
THE BOOM YEARS
 Early 1920s, businesses started to make profits and jobs were
available again.
 This time is called the Roaring Twenties.
 People wanted to invest in the future. They bought shares on
the stock market.
INVENTIONS
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Electric Stoves
Washing machines
Irons
Vacuum cleaners
Toasters
ENTERTAINMENT
 Radio: Listening to Hockey Night in Canada
 Phonographs
 Now that people only worked 8 or 9 hours a day,
they had more time for entertainment.
 Many theatres were built across Canada and were
controlled by a Toronto businessman, Ambrose
Small
 Vaudeville was a type of variety show that
travelled and performed in the theatres.
 Burlesque show were also popular
 Motion Picture Shows were the most popular
 Jazz was the latest music fad
 Dance Halls were filled and dances like the
tango, Charleston and the Black Bottom were all
the rage.
AUTOMOBILES
 Model T Ford: Henry Ford invented the assembly line
 The Tin Lizzy cost $495 in 1917 and by 1925 the price
dropped to $424.
 1 in 4 Canadian families owned a car by 1928.
BRAIN POPS: CAUSES OF THE GREAT
DEPRESSION & THE GREAT DEPRESSION
THE STOCK MARKET
 In the 20 th century, businesses were too big to be owned by
one person. Big companies financed themselves by selling
shares on the stock market.
 The price of shares was determined by supply and demand. If
a lot of people wanted to buy, the price was high. If more
wanted to sell, the price was dropped.
 Daring investor took risks. They bought “on margin.” They
paid the stock broker 10% or 15% of the price of the shares.
Later, when the price had risen, they sold. They then could
pay the stock broker and still make a profit.
 The stock broker would make a margin call if the stock fell
and the investor would have to pay all money owned.
 1929, the stock market had reached its peak.
THE CRASH
 1929, the stock market had reached its peak.
 Stock Brokers started to make margin calls and investors
couldn’t pay up. The brokers were forced to sell them out.
 On Oct. 24 th thousands of shares bought on margin were
dumped onto the stock market. There were no buyers and
prices fell.
 When the news hit the papers, other investors panicked
 Oct. 29 th , Black Tuesday: Small sellers rushed to sell out
before they lost everything. Companies and individuals were
broke all over the world.
 This triggered the Great Depression.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
By 1933 1 in 5 Canadian workers had no job.
There was no system of unemployment insurance.
2 million people were “on relief.”
Bennett Buggy: Vehicle created by people who could no
longer af ford gas, oil, etc. They removed the motor from the
car and hitched horsed to it. Named after PM R.B. Bennett.
 Food vouchers: paper given to people on relief to exchange
for basic food supplies.
 Train hobos: Men hitching rides on trains looking for work
and the next towns. This was called “ riding the rods.”
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THE PRAIRIE DUST BOWL
 By 1929 wheat had fetched $1 .60 a bushel, but by 1932
famers could hardly get rid of it for 38 cents.
 There was a drought and the prairie topsoil turned to dust.
 Grasshoppers hatched by the millions and ate everything.
 Families went barefoot, & dressed in flour bags. They burned
wheat instead of wood, as it was cheaper. They ate gopher
stew.
 Many lost their land.
RELIEF CAMPS
 They were set up to get
drifters of f the road, out of
the cities and out of trouble.
 Men in camps worked 8
hours a day. They build
roads, dug ditches, planted
trees.
 In return each received work
clothes, a bed, food and 20
cents a day.
 The camps were run by the
Department of National
Defence.
 Conditions were terrible.
ON-TO-OTTAWA TREK
 June 1935 over 1000 camp workers from Vancouver jumped
some empty freight cars.
 They were going to complain directly to the Prime Minister.
 On the way, discontented workers joined them.
 The terrified the government.
 The trekkers were met in Regina by the RCMP.
 8 delegates were allowed to go onto to Ottawa to meet with
PM Bennett.
 The meeting did not go well and the delegates returned to
Regina to continue the trek.
THE REGINA RIOTS
 July 1 , Dominion Day, the trekkers held a meeting to raise
money in the market square.
 The police thought things were going to get out of hand.
 Four furniture trucks pulled up at each corner of the square
and at the sound of a whistle, they opened up and Mounties
and city police poured out.
 The riot lasted until the late evening.
OTHER FACTS
 The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was
established in 1932.
 People wanted an escape and flocked to the movies during
the depression.
 In 1931 , the British parliament passed the Statute of
Westminister. This act declared that the British parliament
had no power over the laws of the dominions.
 MacKenzie King defeated Bennett in the 1935 election
 1937, the Trans Canada Airlines was formed (Air Canada)
 1939, the National Film Board was set up.
 Insulin was discovered by Frederick Banting and Charles Best