Modern Canada

Table Of Content

Trade & Economic Growth

Post-WWII, Canada enjoyed strong economic growth.

• Prosperity driven by trade, especially with the U.S (1945 - 1970).

• Supported by global treaties like GATT (now WTO).

In 1947, oil was discovered in Alberta (start of the modern energy industry).

By 1951, the majority of Canadians had adequate food, shelter, and clothing.

The Canada Health Act ensures basic health coverage.

Social programs expanded:

• Employment Insurance (1940)

• Old Age Security (1927)

• Canada & Quebec Pension Plans (1965)

International Engagement

Canada is a member of:

• UN (United Nations)

• NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

• NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command)

Participated in:

• Korean War (1950–53): 500 dead, 1,000 wounded

• UN peacekeeping: Egypt, Cyprus, Haiti, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan

Canada & Quebec

Quiet Revolution (1960s) - Quebec experienced an era of rapid change

Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in 1963.

• Led to the Official Languages Act (1969).

  • French & English services in the federal government across Canada.

La Francophonie (Association of French-speaking countries) was founded in 1970.

Referendums on Quebec sovereignty:

• First in 1980 — failed.
• Second in 1995 — again defeated (still a lively topic today).

A Changing Society

Voting rights expanded:

• In 1948, Japanese Canadians gained the right to vote.
• In 1960, Aboriginal peoples gained full voting rights.
• Today, every citizen over the age of 18 may vote.

Welcomed refugees:

• 37,000 Hungarians (1956).
• 50,000+ Vietnamese (1970s).

The idea of multiculturalism grows:

• By the 1960s, 1/3 of Canadians had origins that were neither British nor French.

Arts, Culture, & Literature

Literature:

• Notable authors: Stephen Leacock, Louis Hémon, Robertson Davies, Margaret Laurence, Joy Kogawa, Michael Ondaatje, Rohinton Mistry.

Music:

• Renowned musicians: Sir Ernest MacMillan, Healey Willan.

Visual Arts:

• Group of Seven (1920) – wilderness painters.
• Emily Carr – forests & Aboriginal artifacts of the West Coast.
• Les Automatiste (Notabel: Jean-Paul Riopelle) – abstract art.
• Louis-Philippe Hébert – sculpture of historical figures.
• Kenojuak Ashevak – pioneer of modern Inuit art (soapstone sculptures).

Film & Performance:

• Notable Directors: Denys Arcand, Norman Jewison, Atom Egoyan.

Sports & National Icons

• Basketball was invented by James Naismith (1891).
• Wayne Gretzky – hockey legend (played for Edmonton Oilers from 1979 - 1988).
• Donovan Bailey – Double Olympic gold & world record sprinter.
• Chantal Petitclerc – World Champion wheelchair racer & Paralympic gold medallist.
• Terry Fox – “Marathon of Hope” hero (raised money for cancer research).
• Rick Hansen – Circled the globe in a wheelchair (raised funds for spinal cord research).
• Mark Tewksbury – Olympic gold medalist & Activist for Gay and Lesbian Canadians.
• Paul Henderson – Scored the winning goal for Canada in the Canada-Soviet Summit Series in 1972 (“The goal heard around the world”).
• Catriona Le May Doan – Gold Medalist in speed skating (2002).
• Canadian Football League (CFL) – Grey Cup since 1909 (donated by Lord Grey).

Science, Technology & Innovation

Nobel Prize-winning Scientists:

• Gerhard Herzberg
• John Polanyi
• Sidney Altman
• Richard E. Taylor
• Michael Smith
• Bertram Brockhouse

Inventions & Contributions:

• Alexander Graham Bell – telephone.
• Joseph-Armand Bombardier – snowmobile.
• Sir Sandford Fleming – Worldwide system of standard time zones.
• Matthew Evans & Henry Woodward – early electric light bulb.
• Reginald Fessenden – radio pioneer.
• Dr. Wilder Penfield (the greatest living Canadian) – brain surgery at McGill University.
• Dr. John A. Hopps – first cardiac pacemaker.
• SPAR Aerospace – Canadarm (space robot arm) .
• Lazaridis & Balsillie – BlackBerry.
• Sir Frederick Banting & Charles Best – discovered insulin (saved 16 M+ lives).