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Canadian History, the 20th
century
The 1800s
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 2
Modes of Learning.........................................................................................................................2
Learning Outcomes....................................................................................................................... 2
Key Terms and Concepts............................................................................................................... 2
Canadian History Timeline.............................................................................................................2
1939-1945: The Second World War.............................................................................................. 3
A War Story: The Vancouver Asahi................................................................................................5
A War Story: The Vancouver Asahi................................................................................................6
Read the following and answer the questions below....................................................................6
A War Story: The Liberation of the Netherlands...........................................................................7
Watch the video again and follow along with the transcript below..............................................7
1939-1945: The Second World War.............................................................................................. 7
1961: Universal Healthcare........................................................................................................... 8
The Story of Tommy Douglas.........................................................................................................8
The Story of Tommy Douglas.........................................................................................................9
Put these events in the correct order. Then check your answers.................................................9
a. Tommy became a minister to help people..............................................................................10
The Story of Tommy Douglas Knowledge Check.........................................................................10
End of module............................................................................................................................. 11
References...................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
As a young country, Canada was influenced by its connections to Great Britain. In this module,
we'll learn how Canada established its independence in the Second World War. And we'll learn
about the man behind the 8th most important event in Canadian history - the establishment of
universal health care.
Modes of Learning
• Lecture Notes
• Ungraded Quizzes
• Self-Quizzes (at end of the modules)
• Media: Video
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:
• Arrange a timeline of Canadian historical events.
• Match major historical events with their historical significance.
• Identify how turning points in Canadian history are evident in current society.
• Recall leading historical figures in Canadian history and their significance.
• Analyze what makes Canadian society "Canadian."
• Recognize Canadian pop culture
Key Terms and Concepts
Second World War (WWII) - 1939-1945, it began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland
Universal Health Care - government-funded health care for everyone in Canada
Canadian History Timeline
Event #1 - First Nations life
Event #2 - European explorers
Event #3 - the British defeat the French - 1763
Event #4 - Canadian Confederation - 1867
Event #5 - Trans-Canada Railway - 1885
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Event #6 - First Stanley Cup – 1892
Event #7 - the Second World War - 1939-1945
Event #8 - Universal Medical Coverage - 1961
1939-1945: The Second World War
Canada declared war on Germany one week after Great Britain did. (The United States entered
the war 18 months later after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor). Canada was a strong
support for Great Britain and the allies. Many Canadian soldier fought, and many died, in the
war that lasted from 1939-1945.
The following passage gives a short overview of Canada in the Second World War. Read the
passage.
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Source: Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship [Link]
A War Story: The Vancouver Asahi
Canadians are rightfully proud of the role that Canada played in fighting fascism during WWII.
However, Canada was also involved in shameful racist policies. One well-known example is the
internment of Japanese Canadians in the province of British Columbia.
From 1914-1941, the Vancouver Asahi were one of city’s most dominant amateur baseball
teams, winning multiple league titles in Vancouver and along the Northwest Coast.
In 1942, after Canada declared war on Japan, 22,000 Japanese Canadians were interned in the
interior of BC, including the Asahi players.
Quote from: [Link]
Watch the following video. [Link]
A War Story: The Vancouver Asahi
Watch the video again and follow along with the transcript below.
“We were born in Canada. We spoke English. On the streets, we weren’t welcome… …but on
the field, we were the Asahi… Vancouver’s Champions. Everyone cheered for us. Our people
had a voice.
Then Canada declared war on Japan. They took us from our homes, called us enemies, forced us
into camps. But we brought the game with us. Baseball helped us get through the internment.
Narrator: The Vancouver Asahi were among the 22,000 Japanese Canadians interned during the
Second World War. The team never played another game.
Read the following.
Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King thought that Japanese Canadians might become
spies for Japan. Most Japanese Canadians lived in cities and towns on the coast of British
Columbia. The prime minister decided that they should be moved to internment camps in the
BC interior and Alberta. The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) and the military didn't
agree with this. The Canadian government sold the belongings and property of the Japanese
Canadians, including their homes, businesses and fishing boats, to pay for the internment camp
costs. After the war Japanese Canadians were not allowed to move back to their hometowns.
The Canadian government apologized to this group of people in 1988. Not one Japanese
Canadian was ever discovered to be a spy for Japan.
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A War Story: The Liberation of the Netherlands
Between 1944 and 1945, the Canadian Army was given the important yet deadly task of
liberating the Netherlands. Told through the eyes of Canadian Lieutenant Wilf Gildersleeve of
the Seaforth Highlanders and of Marguerite Blaisse, a Dutch civilian, this Heritage Minute
commemorates the sacrifice of Canadians who fought and celebrates the bond formed between
Canada and the Netherlands.
Quote from: [Link]
Enjoy this video that was released on May 5, 2020, 75 years after the events that it
commemorates.
Watch the video again and follow along with the transcript below.
Wilf: We fought our way through Italy and then headed for Amsterdam sweeping for Germans
along the way. Our worst fear was to catch a bullet in these last hours of the war.
Marguerite: I was 15 when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. More than a hundred thousand
Dutch Jews never came home. Our men were put into forced labor. By 1945, we were starving.
The food drops gave us hope. And then the Canadians came.
Wilf: Before Amsterdam I couldn't have explained why we were there, all those years away
from home. But the Dutch showed us why it mattered.
Marguerite: Papa wanted me to bring some soldiers home to thank them personally, and that's
when I first saw Wilf. And I invited him over that afternoon.
Narrator: Marguerite Blaisse married Lieutenant Wilf Gildersleeve. They moved to Vancouver
where they raised eight children. Today, the Dutch still remember the Canadians who liberated
them.
1939-1945: The Second World War
Before WWII, Canada was afraid of overseas commitments. Canada didn’t want to get involved
in international events that didn’t concern Canada. But, Canada established its identity through
action – through its active participation in fighting fascism and Nazism in the Second World War
and afterwards in helping to establish the United Nations.
Lester B. Pearson, Canada’s prime minister from 1963-1968 won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957
for the idea of United Nations peacekeepers. Since 1954, Canadian soldiers have served on
peacekeeping missions in many countries around the world.
1961: Universal Healthcare
In 2004, the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) asked Canadians to answer the question:
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Who is the greatest Canadian of all time? In other words, who is the person who has made the
most significant contribution to the country of Canada? Many famous men and women were
nominated and thousands of votes were counted. In the end, few people were surprised when
Tommy Douglas was chosen.
Read the following story to find out why Tommy Douglas was named the greatest Canadian.
There are a few questions to answer at the end of the story.
The Story of Tommy Douglas
In 1919, Tommy Douglas was a teenager standing on a rooftop in downtown Winnipeg. He was
looking down on a huge crowd of workers protesting low wages. They could not give their
families a good quality of life, even through they worked very hard. Suddenly, the police pulled
out their guns and shot over 20 of the protesting workers. Two people died. Many more were
hurt. Tommy was deeply affected by what he saw that day. He believed everyone should have a
good quality of life, whether they were rich or poor. He thought it was wrong that people who
fought for their rights were being killed.
When he was 26, he become a minister so he could help people. His first job was in
Saskatchewan. When the miners in his town went on strike, he brought them food and
blankets. Once more, the police came in. They shot and killed three people. Tommy had seen
enough. He decided to go into politics to make life better for poor people.
He joined a socialist party called the CCF. People tried to scare voters by saying he was
communist. So Tommy told a story about a place called Mouseland. In Mouseland, the mice
kept voting for fat black cats who made laws that were only good for cats. To make a change,
next time the mice voted for the fat white cats. Of course, nothing changed. Finally one day, a
mouse got the idea to vote for other mice. The story ends with everyone calling him a
communist! This story helped people understand socialism. The cats were like the rich people
who were in government at the time. On the other hand, the mice were the working class
people that Tommy wanted to see in government. With his bold ideas and ability to speak to a
crowd, Tommy connected with voters. He became premier of Saskatchewan in 1944. He had
this job until 1961.
During that time, Tommy kept his promises to make life better for everyone in Saskatchewan.
At the time, only big cities had power for heat and lights. Tommy brought in power across the
province. He made a law that bosses had to give workers at least two weeks of paid vacation.
He made a bill of rights saying people of all races and genders are equals. The biggest change of
all was that he brought in free health care for everyone in the province.
Health care was personal for Tommy. When he was a young boy, he got an infection in his leg.
His family was poor and could not afford health care. He was going to lose his leg. Thankfully, a
doctor agreed to operate on his leg for free. Most people were not as lucky as he had been in
his time of need. In 1959, Tommy brought in free health care for everyone in Saskatchewan,
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rich and poor. Before long, many people across Canada wanted the same health care rights that
people in Saskatchewan had.
In 1961, Tommy was voted into the federal government. The federal government put many of
Tommy’s ideas in place for the rest of Canada. These ideas included money for seniors,
minimum wage, and even health care.
In a country-wide vote, in 2004, Canadians named Tommy Douglas as the greatest Canadian of
all time.
Image attribution: Lieut. G. Barry Gilroy, via Wikimedia commons
The Story of Tommy Douglas
Put these events in the correct order. Then check your answers.
a. Tommy became a minister to help people.
b. Tommy made lots of changes in Saskatchewan to help working families, such as free health
care.
c. Many of Tommy’s ideas were put in place for all of Canada.
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d. Some striking miners in Tommy’s town were killed.
e. Tommy Douglas saw some workers on strike get shot by the police.
f. Tommy became premier of Saskatchewan.
g. Tommy joined the CCF.
Correction response: e, a, d, g, f, b, c
The exercise is found at [Link]
End of module
Congratulations! You have completed Module Eleven in Canadian Eh! In Module Twelve we'll
finish our Canadian History timeline as we learn about the last two events in the top ten events
in Canadian History. Let's go!
References
[Link] Discover
Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship [Link]
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andbeyond-tears-feature
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