Life in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s Chapter Notes

Culture refers to the customs and way of life of people may include art, music, literature, fashion, etc. is an important part of how a group of people define and distinguishes themselves from others

Art: The Group of Seven famous group of artists who painted Canadian landscapes Algonquin Park Georgian Bay Canadian Shield Rocky Mountains wanted to give their art a distinctly Canadian appeal “Art must grow and flower in the land before the country will be a real home for its people

Art: The Group of Seven Canadian Arctic Lawren Harris

Art: The Group of Seven A. Y. Jackson Red Maple Leaf and Canadian Shield A. Y. Jackson

Art: Tom Thomson Perhaps the most popular Canadian artist Not a member of the Group of Seven but shared many similarities Died in 1917 during a canoe trip in Algonquin Park Helped to inspire bold new style and spirit of Canadian painting

Art: Tom Thomson

Art: Emily Carr influenced by the Group of Seven captured wilderness and way of life of Aboriginal people in the Queen Charlotte Islands

Radio XWA, Montreal was the world’s first commercial radio station. Ted Rogers, a Toronto engineer, introduced the first “batteryless” radio. By 1929, Canadians owned 297 000 radios. Canadians mostly listened to American broadcasts. One exemption, Hockey Night in Canada, was first broadcast by Foster Hewitt in 1923.

Radio: CBC first created in 1932 under a different name developed and focussed on Canadian content in the electronic media offered alternatives to American shows helped to end regional isolation and foster a sense of national unity

Telephones and Automobiles By 1929, 3 of 4 families owned a telephone. By 1930, over 1 million automobiles were registered in Canada. With more automobiles came more roads. In a vast country such as Canada, these inventions helped to overcome distances between people and places.

Automobiles: Ford Model T

Technology on the Farm Trucks were useful means of transportation. Combines, which combined reaping and threshing, shortened the harvest period and replaced the work of nearly a dozen men.

Air Travel and Transport The federal government established Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) in 1937. TCA’s first passenger flight was in 1939 from Vancouver to Montreal. The planes used were manufactured in the US.

Motion Pictures In the 1920s, big American producers had emerged, and Canadian film production could not compete. Canadians loved Hollywood movies. Movie stars like Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, Mary Pickford (a Canadian) were household names. The National Film Board, a crown corporation, was founded only in 1939.

Motion Picture Stars

Jazz Age Jazz was a revolutionary music form that originated among Black American artists in New Orleans. Popular jazz artists include Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Duke Ellington. Radio helped make jazz popular in Canada.

Jazz Musicians

Professional Sports By 1927, the NHL had 10 teams in big cities in North America. “Babe” Ruth was hitting homeruns for the New York Yankees. Football, lacrosse, and track and field were also popular. The prosperity of the 1920s helped make sports more popular.

Sports in the 1920s and 1930s