Canada in the twentieth Century

A detailed Summary of Canada in the twentieth Century

Many people look back at the twentieth century and feel that Canada did pretty well. Canada was voted best place to live several times and made an international name for itself in peace keeping. These people tend to forget the many problems Canada suffered during the twentieth century. Back in 1896, before the century even started, Sir Wilfrid Laurier proclaimed that, "The 20th century shall be the century of Canada." He could not have made a more misleading statement. Canada ended up suffering through many social problems during this time period which made Laurier's statement downright false. These problems include the mistreatment of women, the internment of Japanese Canadians, the Quebec Referendum and the Oka Crisis. All of these had a profound impact on Canadian history. Unfortunately, the impact that they all had was a negative one. In each of these situations, the government treated a certain group unfairly because of its gender, race or language. This essay will prove that due to social problems, the twentieth century was not Canada's century as Laurier said it would be.

To treat someone unequally because of their gender is totally unacceptable. However, this is what all Canadians used to do. At the beginnin

The Oka crisis was a major low point in the history of Canada. Throughout the summer of 1990 natives put up a barrier to block the expansion of a golf course just outside of the Quebec town of Oka. They claimed the expansion would go onto some of their sacred land. During the crisis, a sniper killed one police officer and the army was called in. "The standoff dragged on until Sept. 26, ending with a whimper instead of a bang" (Hornung 254). It ended when the natives of the Mohawk Tribe argued throughout the day, and then most of them surrendered to the police outside of the barricade at night. This crisis marked a turning point for the Native people. Before it, Aboriginals from across Canada viewed themselves as being separate from each other. During the crisis, they came together and rallied for a common goal. "All across Canada that year, natives held protests to support the Mohawks at Oka and draw attention to their own causes" (Hornung 216). They have continued to do this by supporting each other whenever one group is having a problem with the government. This makes them bigger and it makes it harder for the government to deal with them. This situation helps to support the fact that it was not Canada's century because it shows we completely ignored the founders of this land. The Aboriginals tried to get their voices heard but in the end they had to resort to violence. This proves there is a great problem. We have to have a system where people can bring about change without resorting to violence. If the citizens of a country cannot get their voices heard then the country has a huge problem. With such a big problem, it is impossible to think it was Canada's century. Aboriginals still feel like they are mistreated and deserve more rights. The Oka Crisis is only one example of a situation where Natives thought they were not being treated fairly. This crisis also helped to spark a series of protests by Natives for more land and rights. Canada is made up of a blend of many different cultures. When one culture feels they are being abused, then Canada is not doing its job properly. If we are not doing are job properly then how can it be our century?

g of the century, women had almost no rights

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Approximate Word count = 1503
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History