CANADA IN THE 1920’sLet’s Talk about the Good

CHC2P1 – Miss Vuong

AGENDA1. Learning Goals2. Quote of the Day3. Person’s Case4. 1920’s Culture, and Technology

Learning GoalsStudents will be able to…

1. Identify the situations women had to overcome to gain suffrage, and right to sit in the senate

2. Analyze and discuss the development of gender roles

3. Understand the contributions made in the 1920’s towards Canadian identity

1920’s in CANADA: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY

PRO’s CON’s

PRO’s (THE GOOD) Women’s Rights Movement Canadian Culture Technology Manufacturing and Exports

(Consumerism and Economy)

CON’s (THE BAD) Postwar Conditions Winnipeg General Strike Prohibition

CON’s (THE UGLY) Residential Schools Treatment of Minorities French-Canadian Relationships

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Quote of the Day

“No woman, idiot, lunatic, or criminal shall vote.”-Election Act of the Dominion of Canada, 1916

Women’s RightsDefinition:

Suffrage – Right to vote and to stand for electoral office

Women’s RightsWhy should women be able to vote?

THINK, PAIR, SHARE:1. Come up with 3 reasons.

2. Share with a partner – pick the best 3 out of the 6, and share with the class

Women’s RightsPink TeasGatheringsHush hushTalk about women’s issues,

suffrage, etc.Men would storm these gatherings

Notable WomenNellie McClungAuthor, speaker, and feminist

She led the fight to enfranchise North American women, and her efforts led to Manitoba becoming the first province to grant women the right to vote in 1916.

Nellie was the first female Director of the Board of the Governors of the CBC. Her national esteem led to her being chosen as a delegate to the League of Nations in Geneva in 1938.

Notable WomenLouise McKinneyMember of Alberta Legislature, and feminist

Louise’s activism helped lead to women getting the vote in Alberta, and to the Prohibition of alcohol in 1916.

She also championed the first Dower Act in Alberta — a bill that ensured a women the right to prevent the sale or mortgage of her home without her knowledge.

In 1917, Louise was elected to the Alberta Legislature. This made her the first woman elected to sit as a Member of any Legislative Assembly in the British Empire.

Notable WomenHenrietta Muir EdwardsArtist, legal expert, and feminist

Women often came to her for help with legal issues affecting women and children.

In 1893, she helped found the National Council of Women of Canada – an organization that continues to this day to work to improve the quality of life for women, families and society.

Henrietta believed, among other things, that women should not be slaves to fashion as it distracted from more important goals. She refused to wear corsets.

She published Canada’s first women’s magazine and established the prototype for the Canadian YWCA.

She also helped found the Victorian Order of Nurses in 1897.

Notable WomenIrene ParlbyArtist, legal expert, and feminist

An aristocratic English woman who became a Western Canadian farmer’s wife, Irene Parlby was a firm advocate for rural farm women in Alberta.

She organized and became the first President of the United Farm Women’s Association in 1916. 

She was elected to the Alberta Legislature in 1921 as a member of the governing United Farmers of Alberta party. She became the first female cabinet minister in Alberta (and the second in the entire British Empire). Irene used her influence to champion the rights and welfare of women and their families. 

In 1930, she was asked by Prime Minister R.B. Bennett to stand as one of three Canadian delegates to the League of Nations meeting in Geneva.

Notable WomenEmily MurphyMagistrate and feminist

She championed the right of wives to share ownership in their husband’s property — giving them and their children security in case they were abandoned. Her efforts helped create The Married Women’s Protective Act, passed in Alberta in 1911.

She was a judge and advocate on behalf of the social welfare of women and children. This led to many organizations and individuals calling for her appointment to the Senate.

Nellie was the first female Director of the Board of the Governors of the CBC. Her national esteem led to her being chosen as a delegate to the League of Nations in Geneva in 1938.

Person’s Case• Emily Murphy (judge) was challenged

by a lawyer

• British law stated that “women were not persons in the matters of rights and privileges”

• 1928 – Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Section 24 of the British North America Act (BNA) did not include women in its definition of a “person”

• Murphy banded with 4 others, and took it to Supreme Court in Britain (British Privy Council)• Women won the right to sit in senate

Person’s CaseEmily Murphy

This was not possible, however, because the government deemed women not to be “qualified persons” as required for Senate appointments. Emily was tough, no nonsense and never backed down. One of her trademark quotes was:

“Whenever I don’t know whether to fight or not, I fight.”

Naturally, she saw the Senate issue as an injustice against all women. So she enlisted the help of four other equally brilliant, equally determined women to fight it.

CultureAmerican Influences

◦Music and dance trends◦Talking movies◦Silent films

◦Fashion (Flappers):◦https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARN6agiW7o

CultureArt

◦The Group of Seven

◦“After 1919, most creative people, whether in painting, writing or music, began to have a guilty feeling that Canada was as yet unwritten, unpainted, unsung…. In 1920, there was a job to be done.”

Technology & DevelopmentAviationBanting and Best – insulin

(diabetes)Telephone lines (coast to coast)Radio stations

◦Batteryless radio◦Led to establishment of the CBC