Population and People

January 1, 1925

As in 1900, Canada's population is still largely British and French.

Things are beginning to change, however. Immigrants are arriving in record numbers from Eastern Europe. The economy is evolving into a modern industrial one, and people are leaving the farms and moving to the cities.

Alberta and Saskatchewan joined Confederation 20 years ago; only Newfoundland has yet to come aboard. The Dominion government has ceded some land to Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, filling out the northern parts of those provinces.

Constitutionally speaking, Canada is still a dependent nation. And yet...Canada is growing up.

The Boer War, now understood to be pointless and brutal, and the First World War (the Great War, the "War to End All Wars"), were a heavy price for Canada to pay for its involvement in what were basically European matters. Yet with these sacrifices - on the fields of Flanders, at Ypres, at Vimy Ridge - was born a new Canadian nationalism.

In response to popular demand, King George has granted Canada its own coat of arms.

Women's fashion

Short haircuts and flat stomachs are in. So are sack dresses, pudding-basin hats and monocles worn in one eye. In short, it's hip to look less like a woman and more like a man.

Society is moving toward gender equality. Women can vote, are joining the workforce in larger numbers, and are pursuing different and better jobs. The middle class is growing, and wages are rising. The economy is booming, after years of strikes and labour disputes.

WWI gave Canadian soldiers a chance to experience the more sophisticated ways of the European nations. It accelerated the process of industrialization and unrestrained capitalism

The war caused friction between the working classes and their upper class employers. Workers were expected to produce heroic amounts and so in return, expected to be treated with more fairness and respect. It all culminated in the bloody Winnipeg General strike, which was supported by many veterans. Russia's Bolshevik communists used the war to seize power, introducing a whole new dynamic, internationally and at home.

WWI pushed governments to give women the vote, starting with those who had male relatives serving in the army. It caused political conflict between those who supported conscription - mostly the English - and those who opposed it - mostly the French.

The war helped spread the deadly Spanish Influenza, which killed almost as many Canadians as the War itself.

Statistics

Prime Minister: William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal)

Population (Total) : 9,294,000

By Province:

Males 4,783,000
Females 4,511,000

Young people aged 10 to 19: 4,015,000 (est) (43%)

People per square mile: 2.75

Average number of people per household

• in 1925: 3.7
• In 1900: 5.
• In 1976: 3.1.