The 1920’s
From Bust to Boom to
Bust Again!
Winnipeg General Strike, 1919
 After WWI, returning soldiers found it
difficult to find good jobs.
 Employers used the war to keep wages low
and exploited labour by not keeping work
places safe.
 1916 168 strikes 26,971 strikers
1917 222 strikes 50,327 strikers
1918 305 strikes 82,573 strikers
1919 428 strikes 149,309 strikers
1920 459 strikes 76,624 strikers
 Women were paid ½ the salary as a
male.
 In Winnipeg, phone companies hired
women to be telephone operators.
 It was a tedious job, few breaks, low
pay and long hours.
 Labour unions all over Winnipeg decided to
fight back and win the right to negotiate a fair
contract with the employers.
 When the operators and other workers
walked off the job, it started a massive
general strike that threatened to take over all
of Canada.
 The workers organized a committee of
citizens to make decisions during the strike.
 They were called the Central Strike
Committee.
One Big Union
 One of the goals of the workers was to
create a power organization to look after
workers rights, fair and equal pay and safe
work conditions.
 The name being used for this organization
was “One Big Union” or, OBU.
 The labour strike was also on the verge of
spreading to other big Canadian cities…
 The government and the business leaders
were very worried about the power workers
had discovered by sticking together…
 The strike grew and grew…more workers
quit working and the city was shut down
completely.
 Business asked government to intervene and
force the workers back to their jobs.
 The RCMP was called in to end the chaos
Bloody Saturday
 On this day, the RCMP turned loose on
the crowds that had gathered to protest.
 They rode their horses into the crowds,
beat strikers with clubs, fired shots and
arrested hundreds that day.
 After Bloody Saturday, and the arrests, the
workers dispersed and began to return to work.
 After their trials, hundreds of union workers were
banished from Canada under the Enemy Alien
Act.
 “They were a threat to Canada’s peace and
security” said the government officials.
 The Winnipeg General Strike may seem to have
been a failure in the short term, but it did show the
workers the power of uniting and joining unions.
 The strike also created new labour leaders like J.S.
Woodsworth, who would begin a whole new
political party for workers called the Cooperative
Commonwealth Federation ( which evolves into
today’s NDP party).
Women’s Rights
 During the 1920’s, women wanted to rebel
against the old-fashioned roles society had
for females.
 A new, daring fad for women began in the
1920’s…they had a name…flappers!
 Flappers cut their hair in a short bob-cut,
wore low cut dresses, smoked in public,
drank in bars and danced to the new jazz
music with men….shocking!
The Person’s Case
 Emily Murphy was denied a seat in the Senate
because as a female SHE WAS NOT
CONSIDERED A PERSON!
 4 other women joined Emily in a Supreme Court
challenge against this unequal treatment.
 Fortunately for women all over Canada, the ruling
ended in favour of the women and the verdict was
that yes, women are indeed people!
The Birth of Jazz
 A music form that originated in the US African-
American communities became popular all over
North America in the 1920’s.
 The music form is called “Jazz”
 The new music was seen as “negro music” and
caused white women to dance in a provactive
manner…quite scandalous!
Bootlegging & Rum Runners
 The US was trying a social experiment of
outlawing the: making, selling,drinking or
transporting alcohol.
 This time period was called Prohibition.
 Canadians also tried this in WWI…( to preserve
grain for food rather than for alcohol.)
 Many Canadians began making lots of
money by smuggling illegal whiskey over
the Canada/US border.
 One popular way of doing this in BC, was
to get a boat…put an airplane engine in it,
and zoom over to Washington state to
unload the cargo.
 These boats were called “rum-runners”.
 Sydney Harbour was an isolated favourite
place to do this.
 Before the US Coast Guard could catch on,
the Canadian rum-runners had already left
in their fast boats.
Criminal Gangs & Bootlegging
 Criminal gangs quickly took over the illegal
alcohol trade…lots of $$$
 Gangster like Al Capone began to corner
the illegal market and used violence to keep
control.
The Roaring 20’s
 After WWI, the Canadian economy had a tough
time adjusting to a peace-time economy.
 By the mid 1920’s, the economy began to recover
in a huge surge of growth.
 This economic growth period was also called the
“Roaring 20’s”
 The reasons for the growth were:
- demand for Canadian raw resources
like pulp for newspapers, mining ores
for metals, growth of factories due to
cheap hydro-electric power
- Investment from the USA
Mass Production/Consumerism
 During the 1920’s factory production grew
quickly.
 The order of the day was to buy, buy, buy!
 Advertising began as its own
industry…their goal? Convince the
citizens to buy things they really don’t need.
Henry Ford & Assembly Line
 Henry Ford created a whole new way to
mass produce automobiles.
 Ford’s goal was to put a car within reach of
all people.
 Ford created the “assembly line” to make
cars cheaper.
 Cars moved along a moving assembly line
and workers would install the one part they
were in charge of eg…tires, seats, engines..
 For workers, it meant boring repetition and
monotony…
 For Ford it meant incredible profits!
 Ford also hated labour unions, as he thought
that they gave too much power to workers.
 Later on, Ford also becomes a big supporter
of Adolph Hitler!
 Cars are now part of our society…and
causing massive environmental problems!
US Growth in
Canadian Economy
 After WWI, US investors began to pump
large amounts of $$$ into Canadian
companies.
 There was a tax advantage for opening these
foreign owned “Branch Plants”.
 Branch plants hurt Canada and help Canada
 Help = they hire Canadian labour
 Hurt = Most of the profits go to
headquarters not based in Canada
 Profits soared, jobs were plentiful, the war
was over…people felt positive about the
future!
 Not EVERYBODY shared in the roaring
20’s however….
Regionalism
Group of Seven
 In the early nineteen hundreds there
were a group of Canadian painters that
began noticing similar style in one
another’s works.
 The artists traveled all over Canada and
sketched and painted what they saw
using bold colors and strong decorative
brushstrokes and style.
 The Group of Seven contributed how
Canadians saw their own country and
the created a new Canadian
expression.
 In 1920 the To Group of Seven had
their first exhibition, and became
popular as the first artists to capture the
feel of the Arctic on canvas.
Those Who Missed The Roar
 Immigrants
- recent immigrants to Canada were
exploited for their cheap labour
- they lived in horrible conditions in
slums in every big city
African -Canadians
 Due to racism, African-Canadians worked
harder, were paid less money, lived in
substandard housing, had segregated movie
houses, schools, hotels etc…
 The Ku Klux Klan began Canadian chapters
during the 1920’s
The KKK Comes to CANADA
 During the entire 1920’s in the
USA, a black man was lynched
EVERY DAY by racist groups
like the KKK
Postcard depicting the lynching of Lige
Daniels, Center, Texas, USA, August 3,
1920. The back reads, "This was made
in the court yard in Center, Texas. He is
a 16 year old Black boy. He killed Earl's
grandma. She was Florence's mother.
Give this to Bud. From Aunt Myrtle."

 A postcard showing the burned body of Jesse
Washington, Waco, Texas, 1916. Washington
was a 17-year-old retarded farmhand who
was accused of raping and killing a white
woman. He was castrated, mutilated, and
burned alive by a cheering mob that included
the mayor and the chief of police. An
observer wrote that "Washington was beaten
with shovels and bricks. . .[he] was castrated,
and his ears were cut off. A tree supported
the iron chain that lifted him above the fire. . .
Wailing, the boy attempted to climb up the
skillet hot chain. For this, the men cut off his
fingers." This image is from a postcard, which
said on the back, "This is the barbeque we
had last night. My picture is to the left with a
cross over it. Your son, Joe."
First Nations
 Since colonization of Canada in the 1600’s,
the First Nations were under attack…
 Most of their land was taken away in a
questionable manner…
 Reserves were created as a “ghetto” for
First Nations.
 Racism created less opportunity for First
Nations.
 The Indian Act prevented any chance to do
anything economic on a reserve without
government permission.
 The Indian Act also discriminated against
First Nations by passing 2 levels of
laws…one for whites and one for First
Nations.
 Examples: whites could buy fishing
licenses, First Nations couldn’t
Assimilation
 The Canadian government’s goal has
always been to assimilate First Nations
to be more European…as long as First
Nations wanted to live in the
traditional ways of hunting and
gathering they were pushed off to the
side ( marginalized) and ignored.
 First Nations could not go back to
old, traditional lifestyles…nor
were they accepted in white
society.
Residential Schools
 The Canadian government passed a law
making it mandatory to send all First
Nations children aged 6-18 to residential
schools run by Christian churches.
 If the parents refused to send their children,
they could be arrested or heavily fined or
both.
 The goal of these schools was NOT
education…but assimilation!
 Make the First Nations more European!
 These schools were quite damaging to these
children.
 Physical, mental and sexual abuses towards
the children were common.
 The children were told that everything they
were was “savage” or “primitive”.
 First Nations languages were forbidden in
school…punishment was harsh if caught.
Canadian Autonomy
 Autonomy = The power for a nation to
make decisions without interference by
another nation.
 Independence in the matters of law-
making, and entering into relationships with
other nations.
 Ever since Canada became independent
from Britain in 1867, Canada had to
struggle to get away from the mother
country’s “apron strings”.
 At the Versaille Peace Treaty, Canada
successfully fought for an seat independent
of Britain.
 Halibut Treaty = On March 2, 1923,
Canada entered into a treaty to protect the
halibut from being overfished. Canada’s
Prime Minster, Mackenzie King, refused to
allow a British official to countersign this
treaty. For the first time, Canada made an
international agreement without English
approval
King-Byng Affair
 Prime Minster King asked Governor
General Byng to dissolve Parliament and
call an election in 1925.
 King had a minority government and was
hoping to gain more seats if a new election
were called.
 Governor General Byng refused to dissolve
Parliament…as he saw a new election as
unethical…King was only trying to gain
more seats!
 The big question was: “ Who has more
power in Canadian politics? A
Governor General who was
British…not
Canadian…appointed…not
elected…or…the Prime Minister…A
Canadian…elected by the people?”
 The King-Byng Affair ended with King
having to resign as PM.
 The new government collapsed quickly and
a new election was held.
 King’s Liberal party easily won the next
election and King was re-elected.
 The importance of this event was that it
settled the question once and for all…PM’s
have more power than Governor
Generals…
 Governor Generals must dissolve
Parliament if the PM calls for an election.
 This decision strengthened Canada’s
autonomy in that British Governor Generals
could no longer interfere with Canadian
elected Prime Ministers.
* Up to this time, all of Canada’s Governor
Generals were from England…not Canada.
The Balfour Report
 Canada joined all the other Commonwealth
nations in a meeting chaired by a Lord
Balfour from England.
 The Commonwealth nations were not happy
that Mother England still had powers over
them…like signing treaties
 In this meeting, Canada, as well as all the
others, were pushing England to step down
from the colonial mother role and treat all
Commonwealth nations as equals.
 This was agreed upon…Canada gained
more autonomy.
“Ready, Aye, Ready”…No!
 In the 1920’s, England was threatening war with
Turkey.
 England, as they had in WWI, asked all her ex-
colonies for help.
 Canada said “No, we’re not sending Canadian
troops to die for a war we have nothing to do
with.”
Rise Of US Influence
 All throughout the 1920’s, US influence in
Canada began to grow tremendously.
 More and more, US media like newspapers,
magazines and radio shows began to flood
into Canada.
 More US tourists began to flood into
Canada in their new cars.
 To accommodate the US drivers, BC
changed the side of the road we drove on!
( we used to drive on the left like England
does!)
 During this time, Canada and the US began
to become each others biggest trade
partners.
 Canada began to have closer relations with
the US while distancing ourselves from
England.
Love/Hate Relationship
 Our relations with the US have been up and
down…we love them and we hate them.
 Canada is worried that Canadian culture
will be taken over by the US giant.
The Bubble Bursts
 The 1920’s boom will end in an economic
tragedy.
 In October 1929, the New York Stock
Exchange collapsed.
 Too many investors were desperately trying
to sell, sell, sell their overpriced stocks.
 At the same time, NOBODY WAS
BUYING stocks.
 The stock market lost all value and
collapsed.
 Overnight, people lost their life savings.
 Banks shut down.
 The New York stock collapse spreads all
over the planet.
 From 1929 to 1939, the world undergoes
the largest, longest-lasting economic
disaster ever experienced….
 It will be called the Great Depression.