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← Unit 2: Canada, 1914–1929

CHC2D · Unit 2 test review

Canada, 1914–1929: Test Review

Everything for the Unit 2 test on one page: the key facts from all 8 lessons, the mistakes that cost the most marks, and a practice test that points you back to the lessons you need.

Key facts

Causes of World War I and Why Canada Was at War

  • Long-term causes of the First World War: militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism (MAIN).
  • The spark: the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914.
  • The Allies (Triple Entente: Britain, France, Russia) fought the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, later Bulgaria).
  • Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914, after Germany invaded neutral Belgium; Canada, as a dominion, was automatically at war.
  • Canada decided the size of its contribution; the first contingent of the CEF sailed from Quebec on October 3, 1914.
  • English Canadians with strong British ties tended to support the war more eagerly than French Canadians; Henri Bourassa opposed fighting for imperial interests.

Canadians on the Battlefield, 1914–1918

  • Second Ypres (April 1915): Canada's first major battle and the first large-scale chlorine gas attack on the Western Front; more than 6,000 Canadian casualties.
  • Beaumont-Hamel (July 1, 1916): the Newfoundland Regiment lost about 700 of roughly 800 men; only 68 answered roll call the next day.
  • Vimy Ridge (April 9–12, 1917): all four Canadian divisions attacked together under Byng; 3,598 killed and 7,004 wounded.
  • Passchendaele (October 26–November 10, 1917): 15,654 Canadian casualties in the mud; Currie had commanded the Canadian Corps since June 1917.
  • Canada's Hundred Days (August 8–November 11, 1918), starting at Amiens, ended at Mons on Armistice Day.
  • About 620,000 enlisted in the CEF; close to 61,000 Canadians died (about 66,000 counting later war-related deaths) and about 172,000 were wounded.

The Home Front: War Economy, Women, Internment, Conscription and the Halifax Explosion

  • The War Measures Act (1914) gave the federal cabinet emergency powers; 8,579 "enemy aliens", many Ukrainian, were interned in 24 camps from 1914 to 1920, and about 80,000 had to register.
  • The Income War Tax Act (September 20, 1917) introduced a "temporary" federal income tax that became permanent.
  • Military Service Act (August 29, 1917), Wartime Elections Act (September 20, 1917), Union Government (October 1917) and the election of December 17, 1917, split Canada along language lines.
  • Quebec City Easter riots (March 28–April 1, 1918): soldiers fired on a crowd and four civilians were killed.
  • Halifax Explosion (December 6, 1917): the Mont-Blanc and Imo collided; nearly 2,000 were killed and about 9,000 injured.

Peace and Upheaval: Versailles, the 1918 Influenza and the Winnipeg General Strike

  • The armistice ended the fighting at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918.
  • Canada won separate representation at the Paris Peace Conference and signed the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919; it became a founding member of the League of Nations.
  • The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic killed about 55,000 Canadians, many of them young adults; isolated Indigenous communities suffered extreme losses.
  • The Winnipeg General Strike lasted from May 15 to June 26, 1919; more than 30,000 workers walked out.
  • Bloody Saturday (June 21, 1919): police charged a crowd, two men were killed and about 30 injured.

The 1920s: Economy, Technology, Arts and Popular Culture

  • A postwar recession (1920–1922) gave way to a boom from about 1924 to 1929, led by pulp and paper, mining, hydroelectricity, wheat and cars.
  • American investment overtook British investment in the 1920s, often through branch plants.
  • The boom was uneven: the Maritimes declined (Maritime Rights movement, Duncan Commission 1926) and Prairie farmers backed the Progressive Party (58 seats in 1921).
  • Insulin was discovered in Toronto in 1921–1922 by Banting and Best, with Collip and Macleod; Banting and Macleod won the 1923 Nobel Prize.
  • The Group of Seven held its first exhibition on May 7, 1920; American movies, radio and magazines grew more influential.
  • Canada's urban population passed half for the first time in the 1931 census (53.7 per cent).

Women's Rights and the Persons Case; Immigration Policy and Discrimination

  • Manitoba gave women the provincial vote first (January 28, 1916); most women gained the federal vote by a law of May 24, 1918; Quebec women waited until 1940.
  • Agnes Macphail became the first woman elected to the House of Commons on December 6, 1921.
  • Persons Case: the Supreme Court said no (April 24, 1928); the Privy Council ruled women were persons (October 18, 1929); Cairine Wilson became the first woman senator in 1930.
  • Several of the Famous Five, notably Murphy and McClung, also supported eugenics and sterilization laws such as Alberta's Sexual Sterilization Act (1928), which harmed thousands of people, Indigenous people out of proportion to their numbers.
  • The Chinese Immigration Act (in force July 1, 1923) banned almost all Chinese immigration until 1947; the federal government apologized in 2006.
  • Immigration policy ranked newcomers as "preferred" (British, American, northern European) or "non-preferred", and excluded most Asian and Black immigrants.

First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1914–1929

  • More than 4,000 First Nations men volunteered in the First World War; status Indians were exempted from conscripted combat service on January 17, 1918.
  • A 1920 Indian Act amendment made schooling compulsory for First Nations children aged 7 to 15, under Duncan Campbell Scott.
  • A 1927 amendment made it illegal to raise money or hire lawyers for land claims without government permission (until 1951).
  • Fred Loft founded the League of Indians of Canada, the first national Indigenous political organization; its first congress met at Sault Ste. Marie in 1919.
  • Deskaheh took the Haudenosaunee case to the League of Nations in 1923; the RCMP imposed an elected council at Six Nations in October 1924.
  • First Nations, Métis and Inuit faced different policies: the Indian Act for status First Nations, neglect for Métis, and growing trade and police presence for Inuit.

Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster

  • 1914: Canada was automatically at war when Britain declared war; by 1939 Canada decided for itself.
  • 1919: Canada signed the Treaty of Versailles separately and joined the League of Nations.
  • Chanak Crisis (1922): King said Canada's Parliament would decide whether to send troops; Halibut Treaty (March 2, 1923): first treaty Canada negotiated and signed on its own.
  • King–Byng Affair (1926): Byng refused King's request for an election; King won the September 1926 election and argued the governor general must follow the advice of Canada's government.
  • Balfour Declaration (1926): Britain and the dominions were "equal in status"; Statute of Westminster (December 11, 1931) made this law.
  • Amending the constitution stayed in British hands until patriation in 1982.

Where marks get lost

  • Saying Canada declared war on Germany in 1914. Canada was automatically at war when Britain declared war; it only chose how much to contribute. (In 1939, Canada did decide for itself.) (Causes of World War I and Why Canada Was at War)
  • Treating the assassination as the only cause. It was the spark; the MAIN causes explain why the crisis became a world war. (Causes of World War I and Why Canada Was at War)
  • Mixing up the sides. Britain, France and Russia were the Allies; Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were the Central Powers. Italy joined the Allies in 1915 despite its earlier alliance with Germany. (Causes of World War I and Why Canada Was at War)
  • Assuming all Canadians felt the same about the war. Support was strongest in English Canada among people with close British ties; many French Canadians, recent immigrants and others were less enthusiastic. (Causes of World War I and Why Canada Was at War)
  • Placing Beaumont-Hamel in Canada's story as Canadian soldiers. It was the Newfoundland Regiment; Newfoundland was a separate dominion until 1949. (Canadians on the Battlefield, 1914–1918)
  • Saying Canadians led every battle on their own. At Vimy the Corps was commanded by British General Julian Byng within a British offensive; Arthur Currie took command of the Corps in June 1917. (Canadians on the Battlefield, 1914–1918)
  • Giving one exact death total as certain. Close to 61,000 Canadians died during the war; about 66,000 counts later war-related deaths. Say which figure you use. (Canadians on the Battlefield, 1914–1918)
  • Forgetting that machine guns and artillery, not hand-to-hand fighting, caused most casualties. (Canadians on the Battlefield, 1914–1918)
  • Assuming every Canadian who wanted to fight was welcomed. Black, Japanese Canadian and some Indigenous volunteers were turned away or segregated. (Canadians on the Battlefield, 1914–1918)
  • Thinking the income tax was always part of Canadian life. It began in 1917 as a "temporary" war measure. (The Home Front: War Economy, Women, Internment, Conscription and the Halifax Explosion)
  • Saying all interned "enemy aliens" were German soldiers. Most of the 8,579 internees were civilians, many of them Ukrainian immigrants from Austria-Hungary. (The Home Front: War Economy, Women, Internment, Conscription and the Halifax Explosion)
  • Describing the Wartime Elections Act only as a victory for women's rights. It gave some women the vote but also took the vote away from thousands of naturalized citizens, partly to win the election. (The Home Front: War Economy, Women, Internment, Conscription and the Halifax Explosion)
  • Claiming conscription transformed the army. About 24,000 conscripts reached units in France; its biggest effect was political. (The Home Front: War Economy, Women, Internment, Conscription and the Halifax Explosion)
  • Dating the Halifax Explosion to 1918 or blaming an enemy attack. It was an accidental collision on December 6, 1917. (The Home Front: War Economy, Women, Internment, Conscription and the Halifax Explosion)
  • Saying Canada signed the Treaty of Versailles as a fully independent country. It signed separately, but its names were indented under the British Empire; legal control over its own laws and foreign policy came with the Statute of Westminster (1931). (Peace and Upheaval: Versailles, the 1918 Influenza and the Winnipeg General Strike)
  • Calling the Winnipeg General Strike a revolution. Most strikers wanted collective bargaining and better wages; the fear of revolution belonged mainly to its opponents. (Peace and Upheaval: Versailles, the 1918 Influenza and the Winnipeg General Strike)
  • Thinking the strike won its goals in 1919. It ended in defeat, though it influenced labour politics for decades. (Peace and Upheaval: Versailles, the 1918 Influenza and the Winnipeg General Strike)
  • Overlooking the influenza pandemic. It killed about 55,000 Canadians, nearly as many as the war. (Peace and Upheaval: Versailles, the 1918 Influenza and the Winnipeg General Strike)
  • Treating the whole decade as a boom. A sharp recession lasted from 1920 into 1922; the boom ran from about 1924 to 1929. (The 1920s: Economy, Technology, Arts and Popular Culture)
  • Assuming all regions prospered. The Maritimes declined, which led to the Maritime Rights movement. (The 1920s: Economy, Technology, Arts and Popular Culture)
  • Giving Banting sole credit for insulin. Best, Collip and Macleod each played essential roles; Banting shared the Nobel Prize with Macleod, and the two shared their prize money with Best and Collip. (The 1920s: Economy, Technology, Arts and Popular Culture)
  • Assuming prohibition meant no alcohol industry. Canadian distilleries legally made liquor for export, much of it smuggled into the US. (The 1920s: Economy, Technology, Arts and Popular Culture)
  • Seeing the Group of Seven's empty landscapes as neutral. They left out the Indigenous peoples who lived on those lands. (The 1920s: Economy, Technology, Arts and Popular Culture)
  • Saying all Canadian women got the vote in 1918. Many Asian Canadian and status First Nations women were excluded for decades, and Quebec women could not vote provincially until 1940. (Women's Rights and the Persons Case; Immigration Policy and Discrimination)
  • Thinking the Supreme Court of Canada decided the Persons Case in women's favour. It ruled against them in 1928; the British Privy Council reversed that decision in 1929. (Women's Rights and the Persons Case; Immigration Policy and Discrimination)
  • Presenting the Famous Five only as heroes or only as villains. They won a key equality case, and several of them also promoted eugenics and racist ideas. (Women's Rights and the Persons Case; Immigration Policy and Discrimination)
  • Calling the Chinese Immigration Act a head tax. The head tax applied from 1885 to 1923; the 1923 Act replaced it with near-total exclusion. (Women's Rights and the Persons Case; Immigration Policy and Discrimination)
  • Dating the Komagata Maru to the 1920s. It was in May–July 1914. (Women's Rights and the Persons Case; Immigration Policy and Discrimination)
  • Using "Indigenous" as if all three peoples faced the same policies. The Indian Act applied to status First Nations; Métis and Inuit experienced different, often neglectful, government approaches. (First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1914–1929)
  • Saying First Nations were conscripted like other Canadians. Status Indians were exempted from combat service in January 1918, though thousands had already volunteered. (First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1914–1929)
  • Describing residential schools only as schools. They were a deliberate assimilation system that separated children from families, punished their languages and caused lasting harm. (First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1914–1929)
  • Thinking First Nations accepted these policies passively. Leaders such as Fred Loft, Deskaheh and the Allied Tribes of British Columbia organized and resisted. (First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1914–1929)
  • Saying Canada became fully independent in 1867 or in 1919. Confederation created a self-governing dominion; foreign policy independence came gradually, legally in 1931, and the constitution was patriated only in 1982. (Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster)
  • Thinking the Balfour Declaration of 1926 was a law. It was a political statement; the Statute of Westminster (1931) made it law. (Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster)
  • Confusing this Balfour Declaration (1926, about the Empire) with the 1917 Balfour Declaration about Palestine. They are different documents. (Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster)
  • Assuming every Canadian wanted more autonomy. Many English Canadians, including Conservative leader Arthur Meighen, valued close ties with Britain. (Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster)
  • Thinking Byng broke the law. A governor general does have reserve powers; the affair changed the convention (the expected practice) about using them, not the written law. (Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster)

Practice test

24 questions from across the unit. Each one shows the lesson it comes from.

  1. Causes of World War I and Why Canada Was at War
    1
    Why was Canada at war on August 4, 1914?
  2. Causes of World War I and Why Canada Was at War
    2
    How many days passed between the assassination of Franz Ferdinand (June 28, 1914) and Britain's declaration of war (August 4, 1914)? Count June 28 as day 0.
    days
  3. Causes of World War I and Why Canada Was at War
    3
    Which power was NOT one of the Central Powers?
  4. Canadians on the Battlefield, 1914–1918
    4
    Put these battles in chronological order.
    1. 1Amiens
    2. 2Passchendaele
    3. 3Vimy Ridge
    4. 4Second Battle of Ypres
    5. 5Beaumont-Hamel
  5. Canadians on the Battlefield, 1914–1918
    5
    Name the Canadian general who took command of the Canadian Corps in June 1917.
  6. Canadians on the Battlefield, 1914–1918
    6
    Which weapon caused the most casualties on the Western Front?
  7. The Home Front: War Economy, Women, Internment, Conscription and the Halifax Explosion
    7
    Put these events of the conscription crisis in chronological order.
    1. 1Riots against conscription break out in Quebec City
    2. 2The Union Government wins the federal election
    3. 3Borden forms the Union Government
    4. 4The Military Service Act receives royal assent
    5. 5The Wartime Elections Act is passed
  8. The Home Front: War Economy, Women, Internment, Conscription and the Halifax Explosion
    8
    What did the 1917 election results show about Canada?
  9. The Home Front: War Economy, Women, Internment, Conscription and the Halifax Explosion
    9
    Which statement about women on the First World War home front is most accurate?
  10. Peace and Upheaval: Versailles, the 1918 Influenza and the Winnipeg General Strike
    10
    What was significant about Canada's signing of the Treaty of Versailles?
  11. Peace and Upheaval: Versailles, the 1918 Influenza and the Winnipeg General Strike
    11
    Which group did the 1918 influenza pandemic kill in unusually large numbers?
  12. Peace and Upheaval: Versailles, the 1918 Influenza and the Winnipeg General Strike
    12
    What international organization did Canada join as a founding member after the First World War?
  13. The 1920s: Economy, Technology, Arts and Popular Culture
    13
    Which development best explains why the Maritime Rights movement arose in the 1920s?
  14. The 1920s: Economy, Technology, Arts and Popular Culture
    14
    What term describes a factory in Canada owned by an American company?
  15. The 1920s: Economy, Technology, Arts and Popular Culture
    15
    Which change in the 1920s increased American influence over Canada's economy?
  16. Women's Rights and the Persons Case; Immigration Policy and Discrimination
    16
    Put these milestones for women's rights in chronological order.
    1. 1The Privy Council rules that women are persons
    2. 2Agnes Macphail is elected to the House of Commons
    3. 3A federal law extends the vote to most women
    4. 4Manitoba women win the provincial vote
    5. 5The Wartime Elections Act gives some women the federal vote
  17. Women's Rights and the Persons Case; Immigration Policy and Discrimination
    17
    Which statement gives the most balanced view of the Famous Five?
  18. Women's Rights and the Persons Case; Immigration Policy and Discrimination
    18
    What was the purpose of organizations such as the Jewish Immigrant Aid Society and the Universal Negro Improvement Association in the 1920s?
  19. First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1914–1929
    19
    What did the 1920 amendment to the Indian Act do?
  20. First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1914–1929
    20
    Until what year did the 1927 Indian Act ban on raising money or hiring lawyers for land claims remain in force?
  21. First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1914–1929
    21
    Why is the 1927 ban on funding land claims considered so damaging?
  22. Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster
    22
    Put these steps toward Canadian autonomy in chronological order.
    1. 1The Balfour Declaration
    2. 2The King–Byng Affair
    3. 3The Statute of Westminster
    4. 4Canada signs the Treaty of Versailles
    5. 5The Chanak Crisis
    6. 6The Halibut Treaty
  23. Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster
    23
    Which prime minister told Britain during the Chanak Crisis that Canada's Parliament would decide?
  24. Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster
    24
    What did the Balfour Declaration of 1926 state about Britain and the dominions?

Endless drill

Fresh numbers every time, for the calculation questions in this unit.

Endless drillnew numbers every time

Generating a problem…

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