Lesson 5 of 5 · 8 min read
Canadians won fame at Vimy Ridge, women won the vote, the Depression hit hard, and in the Second World War Canada stormed Juno Beach and liberated the Netherlands. Every November 11 we remember.
When Germany attacked Belgium and France in 1914 and Britain declared war, Ottawa formed the Canadian Expeditionary Force (later the Canadian Corps). More than 600,000 Canadians served, most of them volunteers, out of a population of only eight million.
Canadians proved tough, innovative soldiers. In April 1917 the Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge, with 10,000 killed or wounded, earning a reputation as the "shock troops of the British Empire." One officer said: "It was Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific on parade... In those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation." April 9 is Vimy Day.
In 1918, under General Sir Arthur Currie, Canada's greatest soldier, the Canadian Corps fought in the last hundred days, including the Battle of Amiens on August 8, which the Germans called "the black day of the German Army." The war ended with the Armistice on November 11, 1918. About 60,000 Canadians were killed and 170,000 wounded. More than 3,000 nurses, the "Bluebirds," served in the Army Medical Corps.
Regrettably, from 1914 to 1920 Ottawa interned over 8,000 former Austro-Hungarian subjects, mainly Ukrainian men, as "enemy aliens" in labour camps, even though Britain advised against it.
At Confederation, only property-owning adult white men could vote. The women's suffrage movement in Canada was founded by Dr. Emily Stowe, the first Canadian woman to practise medicine in Canada.
After the war the British Empire evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations, of which Canada remains a leading member. The "Roaring Twenties" were boom times, but the stock market crash of 1929 brought the Great Depression, the "Dirty Thirties." Unemployment reached 27% in 1933, and Prairie farmers were hit hardest by low grain prices and drought.
People called for a social safety net: minimum wages, a standard work week and unemployment insurance. The Bank of Canada was created in 1934 to manage the money supply and stabilize the financial system. Immigration fell, and many refugees were turned away, including Jews fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939.
The war began in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland. More than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served (Newfoundland was then a separate British colony), out of 11.5 million people, and 44,000 were killed.
Regrettably, wartime public opinion in British Columbia led the government to forcibly relocate Canadians of Japanese origin and sell their property without compensation, even though the military and RCMP said they posed little danger. The government apologized in 1988.
Every November 11, Canadians remember the veterans and the fallen of all wars. We wear the red poppy and keep a moment of silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, honouring over a million who served and the 110,000 who gave their lives. Canadian medical officer Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae wrote "In Flanders Fields" in 1915; it is often recited on the day:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
Key facts
More than 600,000 Canadians served in the First World War, most as volunteers, out of a population of eight million.
The Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge in April 1917, with 10,000 killed or wounded. April 9 is Vimy Day.
Under General Sir Arthur Currie, Canada's greatest soldier, the Canadian Corps led the last hundred days of the war. About 60,000 Canadians were killed and 170,000 wounded.
Manitoba gave women the vote in 1916; most women aged 21 and over got the federal vote in 1918; Agnes Macphail became the first woman MP in 1921.
Discover Canada — Canada's History — Building a CountryUnemployment reached 27% in 1933 during the Great Depression. The Bank of Canada was created in 1934.
More than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in the Second World War, and 44,000 were killed.
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, 15,000 Canadian troops captured Juno Beach in Normandy. The Canadian Army went on to liberate the Netherlands.
On Remembrance Day, November 11, Canadians wear the red poppy and observe a moment of silence at 11 a.m.
Answer all 4 to mark this lesson done.
1. What happened at Vimy Ridge in April 1917?
2. Which beach did Canadian troops capture on D-Day?
3. Who was the first woman elected to Parliament, in 1921?
4. About how many Canadians were killed in the Second World War?
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