Canada Through the 20th Century

The 20^th century was a time of great change for Canada. Canada evolved in many ways during the 20^th century. These changes had its ups and downs; however, Canada is a great country today with a strong economy, stable political system, and a fair society. Throughout the 20th century, Canada developed Economically, Socially, and Politically.

In the time period of 1900-1928, Canada developed a lot economically. This development occurred due to three reasons: immigration, industrialization, and the creation of the assembly line. In the beginning of the 20^th century, Canada was bringing in a lot of immigrants to try to settle western Canada, in order to prevent the US from doing so. Due to this increase in population, the economy grew rapidly, and this influx of immigration to the west made Canada one of the primary exporters of wheat. This developed our economy by diversifying it. World War 1 developed our economy by industrializing it. During the War, Canada started industrializing in order to create materials for the war. World War 1 effectively industrialized Canada’s economy, and after World War 1, munitions factories turned into factories for consumer goods. This developed our economy by establishing Canada as an industrialized nation. Industrialization also created a middle class. The creation of the assembly line was probably one of the most significant creations in history. The assembly line allowed for mass production, which meant that all types of new goods were available to the middle class. This resulted in all types of goods being purchased, thus expanding the economy. The creation of the assembly line not only greatly improved productivity, but it also improved the quality of life, and developed the economy by allowing for mass production. Due to these events, Canada’s economy developed greatly from 1900 to 1928.

In the years 1929-1945, Canada developed a lot politically. In this time period Canada was going through the great depression, and new political parties emerged. The great depression also resulted in more government interference in the economy, while the Statue of Westminster made Canada almost independent. During the great depression, the government was unable to deal with the economic collapse, so naturally, new political parties emerged offering solutions to the problem. The Canadian Commonwealth Federation was a socialist party which emerged under JS Woodsworth, this party later developed into the NDP. Other political parties were the Social Credit Party and the Union Nationale. The Social Credit Party wanted to give out money, while the Union Nationale was a Quebec-based party. These developed Canada’s political landscape by creating political alternatives, and the NDP is now the official opposition. The Government also started interfering in the economy more since the great depression. Since most of the causes of the great depression were due to lack of government intervention, today, there are strict regulations imposed by the government in order to avoid another depression. This developed Canada’s political landscape because it changed the duties of the government. In 1931, The Statue of Westminster was signed, which gave all former British Dominions full independence. It made it so that these countries would be bound by no laws other than their own. The statue of Westminster gave Canada almost full control of its internal affairs, with the exception of the Constitution and the Privy Council being Canada’s court of last resort. This changed Canada’s political landscape by giving a lot more power to the Canadian Government. Due to these events, Canada’s political landscape changed a lot from 1929-1045.

In the years 1946-1969, Canada developed a lot socially. This was a result of the Baby Boom, the British Invasion, and the Quite Revolution. The Baby Boom occurred after World War 2, it occurred because people were really happy and were having lots of sex. The baby boom generation grew up in a very conservative society, and when the baby boom started to get political power, great social change occurred. Politicians who could relate to the baby boom generation go elected, and these politicians liberalized a lot of laws. This revolutionized Canada’s social world because people became more accepting and friendlier to each other. Things also became much more liberal. The British Invasion was period in history when a lot of the popular music was sung by British artists. The most prominent of these were the Beatles, who brought about great social change by speaking out against society, and rebelling against the norms of society. The Beatles would have long hair and dress very liberally. Since the Beatles had a lot of influence, they brought about a lot of social change through their music. This changed Canada’s social landscape because it made society much more liberal. The Quite Revolution was a time in Quebec’s history in which Quebec went from being a very religious and conservative province to being the least religious province in Canada. This not only changed Quebec, but it Changed Canada as a whole, because since the Quite Revolution, half of the prime ministers came from Quebec. Because of this, Quebec’s views got represented the most. This brought about social change because the prime ministers from Quebec liberalized a lot of laws, and made Canada a more liberal country. Because of these events, Canada’s society changed a lot in the years 1946-1969.

Throughout the 20th century, Canada developed Economically, Socially, and Politically. These changes made Canada the beautiful country it is today, with a Strong economy, a stable political system, and a just society.