SOCIAL, ECONOMIC & POLITICAL CHANGES IN CANADA, 1929-1945

Abstract

This series of lessons explores some of the social, economic and political changes in Canada during the Great Depression and Second World War (1929-1945). It draws on significant events and evaluates their impact on the Canadian people during this time, through to the present day. Lesson 1 explores the ways in which social expectations of women changed as a result of men fighting abroad, with Lesson 2 discussing the infamous ‘Conscription Crisis’ that saw the country divided. Next, the third lesson evaluates the leadership roles and responsibilities of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King by studying his personal diaries from this time. Labour, employment and the rise of unions are explored in the fourth lesson, while the internment and treatment of Japanese-Canadians are assessed in Lesson 5. Finally, Lesson 6 evaluates the changing international relations Canada experienced with the other Allied nations and their status today. Using plentiful primary sources, students will engage in history through the lens of the “Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts.” including: cause and consequence, historical perspectives, continuity and change, historical significance, evidence and ethical dimension.