Roaring 20’s Economy

Introduction—during the war Canada’s economy grew due to all the factories producing war supplies

Great demands

Unemployment disappeared

Poor Economy after WWI End of war end of demands for goods and services Country in an economic slump Factories shut down Agriculture sector suffered drought Difficult to maintain standard of living Canadian soldiers came back to unemployment Unemployment was very high Little the government could do

War torn Europe Europe was rebuilding itself

Canadian agriculture sector rose Wheat on high demand

U.S. took an increasingly isolationist stance

Britain supplanted by the U.S. as Canada’s main economic partner

Rebuilding Economy

1920s—Canadian workers began to create unions to ensure job security.

Strikes held to improve working conditions Adjust from war economy to peacetime

economy

Roaring 20’s economy Viewed as an era of great economic prosperity driven by the introduction of

a wide array of new customer goods

Growth in Industry

The Canadian pulp and paper industry expanded rapidly during the 1920s.

Demand was huge in the American market.

During the 1920s Canada exported more pulpwood and newsprint than the rest of the world combined.

Trade—U.S. U.S becoming Canada’s main economic partner increased trade with the U.S. The US purchased most of Canada’s raw materials US set up branch plant in Canada to produce American products to avoid

Canadian Import taxes

Boom in Old and New Industry

• By 1923-24 the economic slump that followed the First World War was over.

• World economies had improved and countries were buying Canadian goods.

• Demand for Canadian wheat reached record levels in the 1920s.

• Domestic and foreign industrial demand for iron ore, nickel, zinc and copper caused a mining boom.

Tariffs

Tariff: Tax on foreign goods being imported.

The federal government introduced tariffs to protect Canada’s manufacturing and industrial base.

Example: US made farm machinery was taxed so that it was more expensive than Canadian-made farm machinery.

What did this do for Canadian companies?

Changes….

Wages were rising for many people and for the first time people could buy goods on an installment plan, or credit.

Beginning of a debt society. Workers had more income, therefore more

DISPOSABLE INCOME.

Growing Economy Factories began to produce new products,

like cars, radios and refrigerators. Unemployment dropped and peoples’

lives were back on track.

Women in the Economy During war, many women obtained jobs

Most of women retained their jobs throughout the 20’s

One in five workers were women

Innovations and Technology

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czr-98yo6RU

1920’S What the Future will look like

Canada becomes a Consumer Society

• Along with the 1920s came with a number of consumer products that many Canadian families ‘had’ to have.

• Mass Media was introduced in the 1920s, in fact, by 1929 there were 300,000 radios in Canada, up from fewer then 10,000 radios in 1924 (beginning of boom)

• Mass media = Mass Advertising

Advertising

Advertisers made luxury items seem like necessities to hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

There was an astounding range of household goods made available by places like EATONS.

Mass Production

Mass development allowed for cheaper prices of technology products

New technology Automobile Movie Radio Refrigerators

Mass Production (cont.) Cars

Before the war, cars were rare luxuries By 1920, cars were much cheaper Cars had wide effects on the economy and society

Gas stationsmotels

Source industries were broadening Unemployment dropped

The Automobile The car was initially very expensive

to build. As a result, Ford invented the “Assembly line” which allowed the car to be mass produced quickly and efficiently dramatically decreasing its cost.

The Model T’s were built in Windsor, Ont.

Canada and the United States reacted to the invention of the car by building roads, gas stations, parking lots and drive in motels.

Demand for the car was so high that Ford had a very difficult time keeping up with production.

Millions of new jobs were created. The “Roaring 20s” were in full swing

Ford’s first model

The Assembly line

Of The Model T

What did the automobile do for Canadians?

Before the 1920s only the rich could travel Canada.

After the early twenties the average Canadian could.

Canadians went on Sunday family drives.

“Miracle” Inventions

Automatic washing machines, hand operated washing machines, electric irons, electric toaster, electric stoves, vaccuum cleaners and sewing machines.

These products gave people more free time.

Radio• The first radio broadcast in North

America was in Montreal on May 20, 1920.

• The first radios were very crude with very poor sound quality.

• In 1924-25 a Canadian electronics engineer named Ted Rogers came up with the idea of creating a radio that could plug into an electric outlet. Hence, he created the first “batteryless” radio.

• Most radio stations were American. 80% of the radio stations that Canadians listened to were American. What impact did this have on Canadian culture?

• As a result of the “Americanization” of the airwaves, the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was created in 1936.

Radio The first Broadcast of

Canadian content that was widely listened to was Foster Hewitt’s Hockey Night in Canada on Mar 22, 1923

For a Video Clip of Foster Hewitt and Maple Leaf Gardens, Foster Hewitt - CBC Archives

Foster Hewitt

Hockey Night in Canada:

Leafs vs. Canadiens

The Radio and the Family

Radio was a way for families to spend time with on another.

The entire family would huddle around a radio set and listen to their favourite weekly shows of music, comedy, soap opera, education, news and preaching.

The Telephone Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) Born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Came

to Canada in 1870 at the age of 23. Invented in telephone in Brantford,

Ontario. By the 1920s, only 1 in 4 families had

a telephone. However, by 1929, 3 out of 4 Families had a telephone

The impact of the telephone is Canada was immediate. It brought Canadians closer to together; especially those who lived in isolated areas.

Alexander Graham Bell ^

In Your Notes: Using the Canadian Challenge Textbook, turn to pages 57-58

Read the section and answer the questions at the bottom of pg 58

How would the economy be different without the influence of WWI?

Would it be almost the same or would the changes be drastic?

How did War-time inventions influence within peace-time society?

How did these inventions connect the average Canadian families?

Roaring 20s—Overview United States replaced Britain as Canada’s main economic partner

technological advancements increased trade and employment rate

More women in the economy

Conclusion The economic boom made life easier for many

Canadians and in many ways it brought families together, and unified this young country.