Canada: A Changing Canada: A Changing SocietySociety

Canada at the Turn of the CenturyCanada at the Turn of the Century

Life at the Turn of the CenturyLife at the Turn of the Century

• Huge inequalities between the rich and the poor.

• The rich were very rich.• Taxes were so low that they were

left with most of their money to spend.

• It went to houses, horses, carriages and luxuries.

• However, most Canadians used gas or kerosene lamps and cooked on wood burning stoves.

• Most did not have electricity or running water.

• Most lived in little wood houses and often 2 to 3 generations lived under the same roof.

Average CanadiansAverage Canadians

EducationEducation

• Wealthy children could look forward to an education.

• Children of farming or working class families often had to leave school (if they went to school at all) to work on the farms or in the factories.

• Farming families needed the extra hands during harvest times.

• In 1871 Ontario passed a law saying all children must at least get an elementary education.

• By 1900 all provinces, except Quebec, had laws that required all children between 7 and 12 to attend school

Health CareHealth Care

• Drinking water came from unpurified rivers and lakes.

• There were no sewers to take away waste, people just through it in the streets.

• Rats and lice infested houses.• These conditions led to sickness

and high death rates. • Most children died because of poor

diet and lack of medical attention.• Most of the medicines we have

today were not invented yet.

Aboriginal PeoplesAboriginal Peoples

• By 1900’s their traditional ways of life were disappearing.

• Many had been forced to move onto reserves.

• The Indian Act, introduced in 1876 was designed to eventually assimilate or absorb Aboriginal people into Canadian society.

• The Aboriginals did not want to give up their traditions or way of life.

• The government started outlawing them to force the Aboriginals to assimilate.

Residential SchoolsResidential Schools

• Aboriginal children were sent to live in special residential schools run by missionaries.

• They were not allowed to speak their own languages or follow their cultural practices.

• Rules were strict and punishment was severe.

• Few children gained a good education and most were ill-treated.

• The schools broke the connection between children, parents and culture.

• Aboriginal ways were lost and forgotten.

Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution

• The development of industrial machines was one of the greatest changes in the 1900’s.

• Electricity brought a source of power that was cheap.

• Factories could produce goods faster, cheaper and in greater quantities.

• Inventors developed new machines to increase production.

• In Canada factories pumped out clothing, shoes, canned foods, tools and farm implements.