Canadian History: WWI and the Inter-War Period

World War One

• Canada joined World War One due to unconditional support for Britain.
• Women did not fight in the military during WWI; they worked in support roles.
• Trench warfare was a significant cause of hardship for Canadian soldiers.
• Battle of Vimy Ridge was a notable Canadian victory.
• Francis Pegahmagabow was a highly successful WWI sniper.
• Billy Bishop was a celebrated Canadian flying ace, shooting down 72 enemy aircraft.
• The MAIN causes of WWI: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

Inter-War Period

• New technologies like cars, radios, and airplanes greatly influenced Canadian life in the 1920s and 1930s.
• The Spanish Flu pandemic killed approximately 50,000 Canadians.
• Prohibition banned alcohol and gambling.
• Inflation caused price increases in the 1920s.
• The Winnipeg General Strike stemmed from worker demands for improved conditions.
• Dr. Frederick Banting discovered insulin in 1921.
• The 1930s economy in Canada was in depression, impacting Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
• Unemployment reached one-third of the Canadian population.
• The New Democratic Party (CCF) was established in response to the economic hardships of the 1930s.
• Canada demonstrated xenophobia by denying entry to passengers aboard the MS St. Louis.
• Appeasement, like giving Hitler part of Czechoslovakia, was a policy aimed at preventing war.
• R.B. Bennett established relief camps to combat the economic crisis.

World War Two

• Blitzkrieg involved fast, intense attacks using planes, tanks, and infantry.
• The Hitler Youth organization indoctrinated youth into Nazi ideology.
• German U-boats and Japanese balloons with bombs were warfare tactics used against Canada.
• The Dieppe Raid (Operation Jubilee) was a costly failure but provided valuable lessons for future invasions.
• Japanese Canadians were forced into internment camps in British Columbia.
• Canada contributed military forces to operations like that of Juno Beach, and the liberation of parts of the Netherlands.
• The Allied powers split Germany into four occupation zones after WWII.

Canada After the Wars

• The Cold War rivalry was between the USA and the USSR.
• Canada joined the United Nations in 1945.
• Lester B. Pearson helped establish peace during the Suez Crisis and won a Nobel Peace Prize.
• The Red Scare was the fear of communism spreading.
• The Marshall Plan supported non-communist European countries.
• Nunavut was created in 1999 to give Inuit self-governance.
• John Diefenbaker constructed bunkers due to Cold War fears.
• The Oka Crisis was a conflict between the Canadian government and Mohawk people over land rights..
• The Canadian Residential School System aimed to assimilate Indigenous children.
• The Arms race was the competition between the USA and the USSR to develop the most powerful nuclear weapons.
• The 1995 Quebec referendum involved a vote on separating from Canada.
• The FLQ committed acts of terrorism to advocate for Quebec's independence.