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Chapter 4: Modern Canada

Post-war trade and prosperity

Barriers to trade had deepened the hardship of the Great Depression, so after the Second World War Canada cut many of its own barriers. It joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the body now called the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The economy grew strongly. In 1947 oil was found in Alberta, which launched Canada's modern energy industry. By 1951, for the first time, most Canadians could afford enough food, shelter and clothing. Governments also built up programs to protect people in hard times: the federal government had already introduced unemployment insurance in 1940, and the program is known today as Employment Insurance.

Canada in the world

After 1945 the world divided in the Cold War between the democratic West and the Communist bloc led by the Soviet Union. Canada stood with the West. It helped create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance of Western democracies, and it joined the United States in the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD).

Canada also sent troops to defend South Korea during the Korean War (1950–1953). Since then, Canadians have served in many United Nations peacekeeping missions, in places as different as Egypt, Cyprus and Haiti.

The Quiet Revolution and Quebec

Quebec changed quickly in the 1960s, a period known as the Quiet Revolution. Some Quebecers began to call for Quebec to separate from Canada.

In 1963 Parliament created the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Its work led to the Official Languages Act of 1969, which guarantees French and English services from the federal government across the country. In 1970 Canada helped found La Francophonie, an international association of French-speaking countries.

Quebec voters rejected sovereignty in a referendum in 1980. In 1982 the Constitution was amended without Quebec's agreement. A second referendum in 1995 also defeated sovereignty, but only by a very narrow margin. In 2006 the House of Commons recognized that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada.

A changing society

Canadian society became more open and diverse in the decades after the war. In 1960 Aboriginal (Indigenous) people were granted the right to vote.

Canada also became a place of safety for people escaping Communist rule. In 1956 it took in tens of thousands of refugees who fled Soviet tyranny in Hungary. After the Communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975, many Vietnamese escaped their country, and tens of thousands of them made new homes in Canada. These newcomers, like many before them, helped shape the country Canadians know today.

Arts and culture

Canadians have a long record of excellence in the arts, including literature, music, dance, painting and sculpture, in both official languages.

Two names from painting are worth remembering. The Group of Seven, founded in 1920, created a bold new style to show the rugged wilderness of the Canadian landscape. Emily Carr is known for her paintings of the forests of the West Coast and of Aboriginal artifacts from that region.

When you study, link each artist with the subject they painted: the Group of Seven with wild landscapes, and Emily Carr with the West Coast forests and Aboriginal art.

Sports

Ice hockey is Canada's most popular spectator sport. The Stanley Cup, given in 1892 by Lord Stanley, a Governor General, goes to the champion team of the National Hockey League. The Clarkson Cup, created by former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, is a trophy for women's hockey. In 1972 Paul Henderson scored the winning goal for Canada in a famous series against the Soviet Union.

Lacrosse, an ancient game first played by Aboriginal peoples, is the official summer sport. Scottish pioneers brought curling to Canada. Soccer has more registered players than any other sport, and Canadian James Naismith invented basketball in 1891.

Terry Fox, who lost a leg to cancer, began his Marathon of Hope in 1980 to raise money for cancer research. Rick Hansen travelled around the world in a wheelchair to raise funds for spinal cord research.

Science and innovation

Canadians have made discoveries and inventions that changed the world. Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin, which is used to treat diabetes. Alexander Graham Bell came up with the idea for the telephone while at his summer home in Canada. Joseph-Armand Bombardier invented the snowmobile, and Sir Sandford Fleming created the worldwide system of standard time zones.

Dr. John A. Hopps invented the first cardiac pacemaker. Sir Charles William Saunders developed Marquis wheat, a famous variety of the crop. The Canadarm, a robotic arm used in outer space, was developed in Canada. Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie of Research In Motion became known for the BlackBerry wireless device.

Practice questions on this chapter

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