Creation of the Social Safety Net Canada in the 1950s & 60s and the Creation of a Social Safety Net

Canada “Booms” Economic Boom: – Post-WWII, Canada’s vast resources were in high demand, creating an upsurge in all industries and leading to more jobs – Large oil deposits made us almost self-sufficient – Uranium (now in high demand) was discovered in Canada – The gov’t began a massive building program to improve transportation for people and industry The Trans-Canada Highway (1950) The St. Lawrence Seaway (1951)

Population Boom: – WWII had delayed many young people from marrying and starting families – When WWII ended, the young men returned and soon the “Baby Boom” began – In 10 years ( ), Canada’s population grew from 13.5 million to 17.5 million – These new families purchased homes, cars and lots of consumer goods – The government spent money on building new schools, libraries, hospitals and other new facilities to accommodate the growing population

Things to Think About…. What might a sudden, massive rise in population do to a nation? What might a government have to do to deal with this rise? How might this effect the economy? What might be the effect on a society’s priorities when so many people become parents?

A New Mindset Some worried that the end of WWII might bring an end to economic prosperity Many remembered the Great Depression and what it was like to be out of work or poor The CCF (later the NDP) became prominent under its leader Tommy Douglas The CCF supported programs that benefited workers, protected families and increased government involvement in the economy Although they never formed a gov’t, the popularity of the CCF influenced the Liberals (and later the Conservatives) to support programs that strengthened Canada’s social safety net

Government Social Programs National Housing Act (1946): – Created the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.(CMHC) – Created to improve housing conditions (building codes, renovations) – Helped to create decent, affordable housing – Helped families to secure mortgage loans Family Allowance (1945) – The “Baby Bonus” was a small, fixed amount of money given to families for every child – It was provided regardless of income

Employment Insurance (1941): – Employed people paid a certain amount of their wages into the fund as “insurance” – If they lost their jobs, the fund would provide them with money to live on – This was to avoid the crushing poverty experienced by many during the Depression Old Age Security Act (1951) & The Canada Pension Plan (1966) – These were programs to provide for the elderly when they could no longer work – People pay into the CPP while they work and then get a fixed amount of money once they reach the age of 60 – This was one of the first examples of “co-operative federalism” where both Federal and Provincial gov’t work together to achieve a goal

SUBURBS Read pages What are suburbs? “a district or area, located just beyond or just within a city’s boundaries”(351) What are its features? – “Wide-open, secure and healthy”: how they were advertised – To keep down COST(so that young families could afford them) developers built “nearly identical houses…or..us[ed] prefabricated units”(350) – Higher proportion of detached homes – Lower population density – Homes isolated from shopping centres and services Why were they created? – No more room to build in cities – Population explosion demanded lost cost homes What impact did it have on the Canadian lifestyle? – made the car a necessity—had to travel everywhere to get necessities and to work – less social interaction – “There are simply not enough people to support variety” Cities can have the “standard with the strange”(351)

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE(UHC) Read pages Universal Health Care=all people have equal access to medical care. Every man, woman and child can see a doctor and receive health care, paid for by the gov’t no matter where they live and no matter how much money they have.(389)

Influences pre-1950 The Depression – Cdns began to see a need to help those who couldn’t help themselves Britain created a model welfare state and Canada was still very much influenced by her “mother” country The UN declared health care as a basic human right(1948) – as a member of the UN, Canada would have been pressured into putting UN goals into practice

TOMMY DOUGLAS: PREMIER OF SASKATCHEWN 1944 provided free medical, hospital and dental care for senior citizens; – also funded treatment for those suffering from cancer and other diseases – He still managed to reduce the provincial debt by 20 million despite those who doubted he could given the money he spent on health care

ON the PATH to UHC 1947 Douglas introduced universal hospital insurance For $5 per resident, they had all hospital bills covered 1957: Federal Gov’t agreed to share costs 1959: Douglas introduced the Universal Health Care system to Saskatchewan

UHC GOES NATIONWIDE 1961: Tommy Douglas becomes leader of NDP and intended to bring UHC to all Cdns 1962: PM Diefenbaker(PC) sets up a Royal Commission which declares adequate health care “was a right of citizenship”(391) 1963: Diefenbaker loses to Lester B Pearson(L) in federal election, but Pearson forms a minority government and needed the NDP to stay in power Pearson agrees to support UHC 1966: Medical Care Act created a nonprofit universal Health Care System for all Canadians