1920s: Improving

Canadian Economy &

Prosperity

Economy Improves!

Beginning of the 1920s:

Canada in an economic
depression

By mid 1920s economy was

improving

Wheat, pulp, paper, and

Canadian mining and
manufacturing industries
began to Boom!

Forest and mining booms

increased demand for

Unites States Investments In Canada

Before WWI Canada primarily

traded with Britain

Post WWI: Britain was in debt & the

US emerged as the worlds leading
economic power

US invested in pulp and paper mills

and then most of the product were
exported to the United States

75% of newsprint in Canada was

exported to the US

Branch Plants

Britain had preferred to lend money to Canadian

business

The US set up Branch Plants

Business that were owned and controlled by US

companies

Operated in Canada

Example

CARS

General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford

By the end of the 1920s they had taken over the Canadian Auto
Industry

Discussion
Can

you think of what problems may

arise from this system?

What

are the possible long term effects

of Branch Plants?

Results

Canadians were pleased with Branch Plants

They did not think about the long term

US harvested Raw Materials (primary industries)

BUT: All the materials went to the US for

manufacturing (secondary industries)

Who benefitted the most?

THE UNITED STATES

Prohibition & Bootlegging

Prohibition was pushed into Canada

and the US by the Womans
Christian Temperance Union
during WWI

Banned the sale and manufacturing of

alcohol

Still available to those with money

Doctors and/or bootleggers

Prohibition

Was not popular

Especially among veterans used to relaxed

European style

By 1921 provincial governments started regulating

the sale of alcohol

Plebiscites resulted in Canadian controlled liquor

outlets

Prohibition in the states lasted until 1933

Rum running was extremely popular from Canada

Urbanization in the 1920s

Farms in rural areas were becoming mechanized

An increase in manufacturing meant that more Canadians were

moving to cities = urbanization

Those in Urban areas outnumbered those in rural areas for the

first time

The city became undesirable to live in

Poor workers lived there, slums became a big problem

More affluent families moved to residential areas because they

had cars that made this possible

Prosperity

Booming economy meant that people could participate in a

new lifestyle

The roaring 20s

Cars, radios, movies

Scandalous dances: The Charleston, the Shimmy, the Turkey

Trot

The Charleston

Cars made travel easier and tourism boomed Huge hotels

were built for tourists

New fashions: flappers, bob hair cuts

Cars, Cars, and more Cars

The automobile started to change the landscape of

the country

In 1913 Henry Ford had invented the assembly line

Mass production became easy and quick

A car was made every 3 minutes, all the same

Highways increased drastically in the 1920s

Drive Ins!

Communication

Telephones were everywhere

Lines were shared by many neighbours

eavesdropping

Charlie Chaplin,
1928
The Circus

Radios brought pop-culture into Canadian homes

Mostly US stations for entertainment

Movies!!! Silent Musical effects Talkies in 1927

Hollywood dominated the industry

2 million movie tickets were bought per week (10

million people)

Art: The Group of 7

US influence in Canada created a new Canadian

art movement

Group of Seven

Rather than imitating older forms of art they

interpreted Canadas landscape as they saw it

They were criticized early on but gained

popularity and acceptance by the end of the
1920s

http://
groupofsevenart.com/Large-Frame-Group-Of-SevenArt/AJ-Casson-Country-Store

Emily Carr
Victoria
West

Coast forests and

Aboriginal life

Once

she saw the work of the

Group of 7 she adapted to their
style of painting for her own
works

Sports

Professional baseball
became popular over the
radio

Hockey, golf, football and

rugby

NHL had 6 teams 2

Canadian

Acrostic Poem
Write an acrostic poem about one of the following:
1. Branch

Plants

2. Womans

Christian Temperance Union

3. Assembly

Line

4. Roaring

Twenties

5. Urbanization