Discover Canada study notes: Modern Canada

This chapter explains how Canada changed after the Second World War. These simple notes cover the economy, Canada's role in the world, Quebec, a more open society, and famous Canadians in arts, sports and science.

A stronger economy after the war

After the Second World War, Canada became richer than ever before. Countries agreed to lower trade barriers through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which is now the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 1947, oil was found in Alberta, which started Canada's modern energy industry. By 1951, most Canadians could afford enough food, a home and clothing for the first time. From 1945 to 1970, Canada had one of the strongest economies among industrialized countries. Canada's high standard of living depends on trade, especially with the United States.

Social programs

As the country grew richer, it built programs to help people. The federal government started unemployment insurance in 1940; today it is called employment insurance. Old Age Security was first planned in 1927, and the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans started in 1965. The Canada Health Act sets basic common standards for health coverage. Provinces and territories pay for public education.

Canada in the world

Like Australia and New Zealand, Canada slowly gained more independence and began to play a bigger role in the world. During the Cold War, when the Soviet Union controlled much of Eastern Europe, Canada helped create NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization), a military alliance of Western democracies. With the United States, Canada formed NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defence Command). Canada also joined the United Nations.

In the Korean War (1950–1953), Canada helped defend South Korea; about 500 Canadians died and 1,000 were wounded. Canada has taken part in UN peacekeeping in places such as Egypt, Cyprus and Haiti, and in other security missions in the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

Canada and Quebec

In the 1960s, Quebec changed quickly in a period called the Quiet Revolution. Some Quebecers wanted to separate from Canada. In 1963, Parliament created the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. This led to the Official Languages Act of 1969, which guarantees federal services in French and English across Canada. In 1970, Canada helped found La Francophonie, a group of French-speaking countries.

Quebec voters rejected sovereignty (separation) in referendums in 1980 and 1995. In 1982, the Constitution was changed without Quebec's agreement. Quebec's place within Canada is still an important topic.

A more open society

Canada became more open, and more women entered professional careers. The right to vote also grew. Most Canadians of Asian background could once not vote. Japanese Canadians were the last group of Asian Canadians to win the vote, in 1948. Aboriginal people got the vote in 1960. Today every citizen 18 or older may vote.

Canada welcomed refugees, including about 37,000 Hungarians in 1956 and more than 50,000 Vietnamese after 1975. By the 1960s, one-third of Canadians had origins that were not British or French, and the idea of multiculturalism grew.

Arts and culture

Canadian artists have succeeded at home and abroad. Famous writers include Margaret Laurence and Mordecai Richler. The Group of Seven, started in 1920, painted Canada's wild landscapes. Emily Carr painted West Coast forests and Aboriginal objects. Jean-Paul Riopelle was the best-known member of Les Automatistes, a Quebec group of abstract painters in the 1950s. Kenojuak Ashevak was a pioneer of modern Inuit art.

Sports

Ice hockey is Canada's national sport. James Naismith, a Canadian, invented basketball in 1891. In 1972, Paul Henderson scored the famous winning goal against the Soviet Union. Wayne Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers from 1979 to 1988. Donovan Bailey won two Olympic gold medals in 1996, and Chantal Petitclerc is a Paralympic wheelchair racing champion. Terry Fox, who lost a leg to cancer, began his Marathon of Hope in 1980 to raise money for cancer research. Rick Hansen went around the world in a wheelchair in 1985. Canadian football teams play for the Grey Cup, given in 1909 by Governor General Lord Grey.

Science and inventions

Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin, which treats diabetes. Since 1989, the Canadian Space Agency has taken part in space exploration, often with the Canadarm, a robot arm built in Canada. Other Canadian inventions include the telephone (Alexander Graham Bell), the snowmobile (Joseph-Armand Bombardier), standard time zones (Sir Sandford Fleming), radio voice messages (Reginald Fessenden), the pacemaker (Dr. John A. Hopps) and the BlackBerry (Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie).

Key facts to remember

• 1947 – oil discovered in Alberta.
• 1940 – unemployment insurance (now employment insurance).
• 1965 – Canada and Quebec Pension Plans.
• NATO – military alliance Canada helped create; NORAD – air defence with the United States.
• 1950–1953 – Korean War: about 500 Canadians killed.
• 1960s – Quebec's Quiet Revolution.
• 1969 – Official Languages Act (federal services in English and French).
• 1970 – Canada helps found La Francophonie.
• 1980 and 1995 – Quebec referendums on sovereignty fail.
• 1948 – Japanese Canadians win the vote; 1960 – Aboriginal people win the vote.
• Every citizen 18 or older can vote.
• 1956 – about 37,000 Hungarian refugees; after 1975 – over 50,000 Vietnamese refugees.
• 1920 – Group of Seven founded.
• 1891 – James Naismith invents basketball.
• 1980 – Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope.
• Banting and Best – insulin; Bell – telephone; Bombardier – snowmobile; Fleming – time zones.
• Canadarm – robotic arm used in space.