Social Studies 7: Canada in the 20th Century

Explore life for Japanese-Americans in WWII.

Some refugees from WWII escaped the Nazis but were put in internment camps in Canada.

Zacharias Kunuk directed this documentary of the High Arctic Relocation in 1953 where the government relocated communities with promises of resources to improve land claims on a international stage.

An article that looks at how Canada used internment of it's own citizens in both world wars.

The story of the Reserve 107 in Saskatchewan that was taken away from a Chippewayan tribe and how the community exists now.

Developed by the ATA, this resource discusses the government's actions in forcing the relocation of Indigenous peoples away from their traditional lands.

A collection of photographs related to Japanese internment camps in BC.

This article examines Canada role in the Cold War and provides a timeline of events.

Learn about the service of the elite unit of Cree Code Talkers who served in World War II.

Learn about the Canadian Indigenous peoples who voluntarily served in the Canadian military forces.

It is "a journey through those years, with images and stories from the home front and the front lines of battle."

An article that details the many reasons why conscription was not popular during WWI in Quebec.

This video reminds us of the contributions to WWI made by Black soldiers in Canada.

This interactive adventure game allows intermediate students to experience life in the trenches during the First World War. Part history and part adventure story.

Thousands of Indigenous Canadians fought in WWI, WWII and the Korean War. Read the stories and accomplishments of some who fought in these wars and how the veterans are being honoured.

This CBC article from April 2015 provides some background about Canada's involvement in the Vietnam War.

An American perspective of Canada's role in WWII

A three-minute video narrated by the CBC's Peter Mansbridge explains the ins and outs of the Meech Lake Accord.

This timeline provides key dates in the history of Indigenous suffrage. The timeline moves from 1885 to 2016.

This is a 1974 CBC archive video about Nellie McClung's mock parliament of 1914 and her work as a suffragist.

Paul Cowan's film the legal battle over abortion waged by Dr. Henry Morgentaler in Quebec and in federal courts between 1970 and 1976. This docudrama unravels the complexities of the case that began as a challenge to Canada's abortion laws and turned into a precedent-setting civil rights case.

See the past, present and future of the electoral process in Canada. Take a journey through time using the timeline of events.

Learn about the interrogations and firings of thousands of Canadian civil servants and soldiers.

Learn about the Supreme Court decision that established human rights for LGBTQ people in Alberta.

This timeline of residential schools in Canada begins in January 1831 and provides many significant events through to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

An encyclopedia article that examines the acts of genocide against Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Watch the story of Chanie "Charlie" Wenjack, whose death sparked the first inquest into the treatment of Indigenous children in Canadian residential schools.

Here you will find the text and video of the apology issued by Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the existence of residential schools.

A short video from CBC that explains the Sixties Scoop across Canada.

What is the Sixties Scoop and how can understanding its impacts contribute to reconciliation?

A museum site that share objects, photographs; and documents brought by immigrants into Canada.

Learn more about immigration to Canada as you explore this timeline, from 1753 up to 2016.

This article provides a brief overview of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec and includes a 3 minute video. There are also links to related articles for further learning.

This article explains the discontent that led to the Quebec referendum on independence from Canada in 1995 and what happened after the referendum failed.

This video covers modern events such as French becoming an official language in Canada and Bill 101 in Quebec.

At the height of the FLQ crisis, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is confronted by the media and responds with perhaps his most famous line.

Learn about a 2015 that revealed previously unknown information about the 1995 referendum in Quebec.

A multipage article that explains the context and the events of the October Crisis in Quebec.

This 2020 article in the Montreal Gazette looks back at the 1980 Quebec Referendum and the sharp divisions it exposed in Quebec society.

An interview with some of the major players to look back at the FLQ's campaign of violence that threatened to tear Canada apart in 1970.

An overview of the League of Nations (which later became the Unite Nations) and Canada's role as a founding member of the League.

Canada was a founding member of the United Nations. Learn more about our history with this lasting form of international government.

In 1956, facing a possible international war in Egypt, Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson stood in the United Nations and proposed the creation of the UN Emergency Response Force (which later became the UN Peacekeepers). His proposal was accepted, the UNERF was deployed to Egypt, and a war was diverted.

A teaching resource that looks at the effects of assimilative policies on French language and culture in Canada.