Modern Canada

Medium

Postwar prosperity, Quebec, arts, sports, and the inventions list — which does get asked.

Guide pages 24–27

Prosperity and the social safety net

1947 — the discovery of oil in Alberta began Canada's modern energy industry.
1951 — for the first time a majority of Canadians could afford adequate food, shelter and clothing.
The Canada Health Act ensures common elements and a basic standard of coverage.
Unemployment insurance (now employment insurance) was introduced in 1940; Old Age Security was devised as early as 1927; the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans came in 1965.
Publicly funded education is provided by the provinces and territories.

The Cold War began when liberated countries of eastern Europe became part of a Communist bloc under Josef Stalin.
Canada joined NATO (a military alliance) and NORAD (with the United States).
Canada joined the United Nations and fought in the Korean War (1950–53) with 500 dead and 1,000 wounded.
Canada has taken part in UN peacekeeping missions in Egypt, Cyprus and Haiti, and operations in the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

The 1960s in Quebec were an era of rapid change known as the Quiet Revolution.
1963 — Parliament established the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.
1969 — the Official Languages Act guaranteed French and English services in the federal government across Canada.
1970 — Canada helped found La Francophonie, an international association of French-speaking countries.
Quebec sovereignty was defeated in a referendum in 1980, and again in a second referendum in 1995.
1982 — the Constitution was amended without the agreement of Quebec.

1948 — Japanese-Canadians were the last Asian-Canadians to gain the right to vote.
1960 — Aboriginal people were granted the vote. Today every citizen over the age of 18 may vote.
About 37,000 Hungarians escaping Soviet tyranny came in 1956; over 50,000 Vietnamese sought refuge after 1975.
By the 1960s, one-third of Canadians had origins that were neither British nor French.

The Group of Seven, founded in 1920, developed a style of painting to capture rugged wilderness landscapes.
Emily Carr painted the forests and Aboriginal artifacts of the West Coast.
Les Automatistes of Quebec pioneered modern abstract art in the 1950s, most notably Jean-Paul Riopelle.
Kenojuak Ashevak pioneered modern Inuit art with etchings, prints and soapstone sculptures.
Writers include Stephen Leacock, Robertson Davies, Margaret Laurence, Mordecai Richler, Joy Kogawa, Michael Ondaatje and Rohinton Mistry.

Basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith in 1891.
1972 — Paul Henderson scored the winning goal for Canada in the Canada-Soviet Summit Series, “the goal heard around the world.”
1980 — Terry Fox, who lost his right leg to cancer, began the Marathon of Hope to raise money for cancer research.
1985 — Rick Hansen circled the globe in a wheelchair to raise funds for spinal cord research.
1996 — Donovan Bailey became a world record sprinter and double Olympic gold medallist.
Chantal Petitclerc became a world champion wheelchair racer and Paralympic gold medallist.
Wayne Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers from 1979 to 1988.

Alexander Graham Bell — hit on the idea of the telephone at his summer house in Canada.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier — invented the snowmobile.
Sir Sandford Fleming — invented the worldwide system of standard time zones.
Matthew Evans and Henry Woodward — invented the first electric light bulb, later selling the patent to Thomas Edison.
Reginald Fessenden — contributed to the invention of radio, sending the first wireless voice message in the world.
Dr. Wilder Penfield — pioneering brain surgeon at McGill, known as “the greatest living Canadian.”
Dr. John A. Hopps — invented the first cardiac pacemaker.
SPAR Aerospace / National Research Council — invented the Canadarm.
Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie of Research In Motion — the BlackBerry.
Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best — discovered insulin, a hormone to treat diabetes that has saved 16 million lives worldwide.