Canada A People's History E11

Summary

Highlights

• Petros Zvaric's journey from Europe to the vast prairies of Canada is a tale of ambition and perseverance 🌾
• The Klondike Gold Rush fuels both dreams of riches and the harsh reality of the wilderness 🌨️
• Wilfrid Laurier's leadership style and challenges reveal the complexities of Canada’s diverse society 🌐
• The rise of women's suffrage in Canada led by trailblazers like Nellie McClung ignites change 🔥
• Montreal's growth epitomizes Canada's shift from a rural to a more urbanized nation 🏗️
• Tensions between English and French Canadians underscore the nation's evolving identity 🇬🇧🇫🇷
• Canada's commitment to the British Empire is put to the test as World War I looms on the horizon ⚔️

Key Takeaways

• Witness the dramatic impact of immigration on Canada's social and economic landscape in the early 1900s 🇨🇦
• Experience the dreams and challenges of immigrants like Petros Zvaric as they seek new lives in the 'Last Best West' 💼
• Relive the era of the Klondike Gold Rush with its allure and ultimate disillusionment 💰
• Understand the delicate balance of power in Canada with leaders like Wilfrid Laurier navigating English-French tensions ⚖️
• See the role of women activists like Nellie McClung in the fight for suffrage and social reform 💪
• Explore the burgeoning urbanization and industrial growth in cities like Montreal and Toronto 🏙️
• Feel the nation’s rallying call as Canada enters World War I, marking its rising stature internationally 🌍

Overview

Chapters

• 00:00 - 15:00: Introduction and Petro's Journey The chapter begins with a depiction of life on the eastern edge of Europe, where peasants experience a medieval standard of living and bleak prospects. Petrosvaric, a young student, stands out as ambitious and confident amidst this backdrop. He is captivated by posters advertising the promise of free farmland, which sets the stage for his journey.
• 15:00 - 31:00: Klondike Gold Rush Petrol Zvaric is drawn to a faraway land across the ocean, motivated by a belief that his destiny lies halfway around the world. Despite skepticism from friends who believe he's lost his mind, he is determined to venture to Canada, a land perceived by many as inhabited only by buffalo, Indians, and Eskimos, surrounded by ice and snow. He remains resolute, with the conviction that life in Canada will offer better prospects as the new century begins.
• 31:00 - 46:00: Wilfred Laurier's Rise "Wilfred Laurier's Rise" explores a transformative period in Canadian history when many immigrants embarked on journeys to an unknown land, ultimately shaping Canada's future. The chapter delves into the ambitions and aspirations that drove these individuals and examines how their dreams contributed to the cultural and demographic shifts in the nation. The narrative is punctuated by music, emphasizing both the hopefulness and uncertainty of the era.
• 46:00 - 61:00: Immigration and Settlements This chapter discusses the immigration and settlement patterns in a burgeoning country characterized by vast opportunities and development. It focuses on the allure of free land and the promise of jobs that attracted a great migration. The narrative highlights the transformation brought by bustling factories, great cities, and agricultural advancements, particularly the 'western empire' built on wheat. The chapter paints a picture of progress and expansion in a new age.
• 61:00 - 84:00: Industry and Urbanization The chapter 'Industry and Urbanization' discusses the transformative period in Canada's history as it experiences significant industrial growth and urbanization. This era is marked by a clash of visions between political leaders, symbolizing the tensions and dynamics of a rapidly evolving socio-political landscape. The narrative reveals how Canada is redefined by fresh perspectives and ideas while grappling with the costs associated with its evolution, indicating a complex interplay between progress and its repercussions.
• 84:00 - 105:00: Struggle and Labor Movements The chapter begins with a focus on strength and how it plays a crucial role in labor movements and struggles. It emphasizes the resilience and determination required by workers and labor unions to achieve their goals and stand against challenges.
• 105:00 - 134:00: Cultural and Industrial Changes The chapter titled 'Cultural and Industrial Changes' seems to introduce with musical elements playing at both the start and end, suggesting a possible thematic or mood setting approach. The actual content of the chapter, however, is not revealed in the given transcript snippet. Therefore, a detailed summary cannot be provided without further information on the chapter's content.
• 134:00 - 157:30: The Women's Suffrage Movement The chapter titled 'The Women's Suffrage Movement' does not have a relevant excerpt provided in the transcript. Therefore, a summary based on the given transcript is not possible.
• 157:30 - 185:00: Laurier's Declining Influence In this chapter titled 'Laurier's Declining Influence', the narrative follows Martha Purdy, a 31-year-old socialite from Chicago. Martha, driven by dreams of wealth and adventure, leaves her two young children with relatives to join her husband on a quest for gold. The allure of the world-famous gold fields captivates her imagination, reminiscent of treasure hunting fantasies like Treasure Island or Aladdin's lamp. This chapter highlights the personal stories and motivations behind those who participated in the famous stampedes of the era.
• 185:00 - 211:30: Diverse Canada and Social Issues The chapter "Diverse Canada and Social Issues" discusses the historical movement of thousands of Americans to Canada, symbolizing a significant migration driven by dreams of a better future. The individuals include professionals like bankers as well as farmers, highlighting the diverse backgrounds and aspirations of those seeking new opportunities amidst the northern frontier.
• 211:30 - 245:00: Prelude to World War I The chapter begins with a description of adventurers, eagerly preparing to document their journey before embarking on the quest. There's a particular focus on the aspirations and expectations of Martha Purdy, who visualizes a future of luxury for herself and her family. The narrative takes the reader on a journey from Seattle to Skagway, Alaska, highlighting the adventurous spirit of the period.
• 245:00 - 257:09: WWI and John McCrae's Legacy The chapter explores the historical context of World War I and the enduring legacy of John McCrae, the Canadian poet and soldier best known for his poem "In Flanders Fields." It delves into the impact of the war, McCrae's role in it, and how his poetry captured the emotional and physical toll of the war on soldiers and the world at large. McCrae's work not only served as a reflection of the war's horrors but also as an enduring tribute to those who fought and died. The chapter also examines the broader literary and cultural influence of McCrae's writings in the post-war period.

Canada A People's History E11 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] on the eastern edge of europe peasants endure the lowest standard of living in the western world life is medieval and prospects are bleak [Music] petrosvaric is a restless ambitious and confident young student he reads posters promising free farmland
• 00:30 - 01:00 in a country far across the ocean and decides his destiny lies halfway around the world friends thought i had lost my mind i was planning to go to canada where only buffalo indians and eskimos inhabited the land of ice and snow but i am confident that life in canada is better than it is here as a new century dawns petrol zvaric and
• 01:00 - 01:30 hundreds of thousands more board ships destined for an unknown land [Music] the face of canada is about to change forever [Music] it is a story of dreams and dreamers [Music]
• 01:30 - 02:00 of a place where almost anything is possible a country of bustling factories great cities all the marvels of a new age fields of gold and a western empire built on wheat this is the story of a great migration drawn by the lure of free land work
• 02:00 - 02:30 and hope a new canada shaped by the clamour of new voices by a bitter clash of visions between a political master and his one-time protege [Music] as canada makes its way in the world it pays a terrible price for its newfound [Music]
• 02:30 - 03:00 strength [Music]
• 03:00 - 03:30 [Music] [Music]
• 03:30 - 04:00 july 1897 the news from the distant northwest corner of the continent captures the imagination of the world the klondike gold rush is on
• 04:00 - 04:30 in chicago 31 year old socialite martha purdy leaves her two small children with relatives she and her husband join the stampede to me it was a quest that had all the allure of a treasure island or aladdin's lamp i had only to go to the world famed gold fields and collect the gold
• 04:30 - 05:00 thousands head to the northern frontier with dreams of changing their destiny [Music] it is one of the largest movements of americans ever onto canadian soil bankers dawn buckskin farmers bundle in furs
• 05:00 - 05:30 and almost all make sure they are photographed before starting out to stake their claim [Music] martha purdy thinks it will all be so simple i pictured myself and children living in luxury the rest of my days the trip from seattle to skagway alaska takes eight days [Music] and then the adventurers come face to
• 05:30 - 06:00 face with the treacherous chilkoot pass tappan adne a writer for harper's weekly has also made it to the forbidding chilkoot there is nothing but the gray wall of rock and earth but stop look more closely the mountain is alive there is a continual moving train they are perceptible only by their
• 06:00 - 06:30 movement just as ants are they are human beings but never did men look so small early april 1898 an unexpected storm turns the chilkoot pass into a death trap like most duncan clark a farm boy from iowa stayed behind in camp but his brother went up hoping to pack another load to the
• 06:30 - 07:00 summit then an avalanche in seconds 60 people were buried duncan clark joined the rescue it was a horrible sight to see big robust men the very picture of health dug from the snow put on a sled and hauled to the morgue 40 of the dead were found the first day
• 07:00 - 07:30 my brother john among that number martha purdy reaches the base of the chilkoot alone and suspects she is pregnant her husband has abandoned her but she carries on [Music] as i looked directly before me at the fearful mountain pass
• 07:30 - 08:00 i thought of my new england forebears women who had bravely faced the hardships of pioneering once again i knew that my path lay ahead that there was no turning back now i had made it to the top of the world
• 08:00 - 08:30 we had now entered canada to the surprise of most of the americans the northwest mounted police have set up a customs house on the top of the mountain [Music] for those who survive the pass there is still another 500 miles until dawson city they pack mule trains build rafts all in a race to be the first to the
• 08:30 - 09:00 gold fields the summer of 1898 dawson city rises almost overnight with 30 000 fortune hunters it is the largest canadian city west of winnipeg tappan adne gazes in wonder [Music] it is a motley throng every degree of person gathered from every corner of the
• 09:00 - 09:30 earth australians with upturned sleeves and a swagger young englishmen in golf stockings and tweeds would-be miners in mackinaws and rubber boats and women too everywhere it is a vast herd they crowd the boats and fill the streets looking at dawson looking at dawson because they cannot look for gold the richest riverbeds near dawson have already been staked
• 09:30 - 10:00 and claimed some try their luck farther afield but most return to town lonely homesick and desperate [Music] in dawson the entertainment business becomes the gold mine [Music]
• 10:00 - 10:30 there is montreal marie snake hips lily and the flame dance of klondike kate who hypnotizes lonesome miners by slowly unraveling 200 yards of tightly wrapped chiffon martha purdy now four months pregnant finds shelter in a makeshift log cabin i
• 10:30 - 11:00 did have what sporting editors would call a ringside seat we did not know that we had established ourselves above the red light district [Music] it is said even an angel couldn't keep good in dawson [Music] by the summer of 1899 the rush is over
• 11:00 - 11:30 and so are the dreams of gold [Music] in days half of dawson is emptied [Music] martha purdy could have returned to the comforts of chicago to raise her newborn son but she stays i could not shake the lure of the klondike
• 11:30 - 12:00 my thoughts were continually of that vast new rugged country its stark and splendid mountains its lordly yukon river its midnight sun [Music] she remarries brings her other children north and as martha black becomes known as the first lady of the yukon the second woman elected to the canadian parliament parliament where at the turn of the
• 12:00 - 12:30 century dreams of power overshadowed dreams of gold with an ever-present diamond horseshoe in his cravat for good luck wilfred laurier epitomizes grace and elegance
• 12:30 - 13:00 he is as welcome in the palaces of london as in the parlors of ottawa sandy hill [Music] but it was not always so when i bound myself in friendship to wilfred i saw very quickly that this young deputy was still in certain ways only the little green horn
• 13:00 - 13:30 emily laverne takes credit for shaping a french canadian country lawyer into one of canada's most influential public figures [Music] he did not even know the correct way to eat an orange at the table i made him understand that this lack of etiquette would hamper him among the english elite [Music] wilfred laurier is the son of a rural quebec surveyor
• 13:30 - 14:00 [Music] he is thin and sickly with chronic bronchitis a brilliant student he studies law at mcgill then moves to the cleaner air of the countryside east of montreal [Music] he is elected to parliament and builds his political career under the watchful eye of amy lee laverne his law partner's very
• 14:00 - 14:30 sophisticated wife [Music] they meet almost daily sharing a common passion for english literature laurier is also married to a shy piano teacher zoe lafontaine wilfred and zoe will never have children but small town rumors spread that laurier is the father of amy lee's son our mom with whom he bears
• 14:30 - 15:00 an uncanny resemblance [Music] but rumors do not stop laurier's rise through the ranks of the liberal party no longer opposed to confederation he forges a vision that french and english can work together the unity between the people is the secret of the future there is glory in this fraternity of
• 15:00 - 15:30 which canada can never be proud enough mighty nations indeed may well come to us to seek a lesson in justice and humanity for more than two decades he learns the system forms alliances and impresses colleagues with his charm and emerging charisma liberal mp chubby power recalls [Music]
• 15:30 - 16:00 one of the things that endeared him to the younger members of the party was his habit of meeting us in the corridors inviting us into his office to smoke a cigarette laurier had a natural and unaffected charm of personality he had the gift of being loved his wife zoe is at his side in ottawa but for years he faithfully writes to emily [Music] i would like to see you my friend simply
• 16:00 - 16:30 to see you to look into your eyes to listen to your voice to feel that it is you to be sure of it to enjoy the consciousness of it spring 1896 an election is called laurier has been leader of the liberal party for almost a decade in opposition he has witnessed a string
• 16:30 - 17:00 of conservative prime ministers stumble over one divisive issue the manitoba schools question manitoba now has a majority of english protestants the province has abolished the official use of french and funding for catholic schools to french manitobans this is a violation of their constitutional rights laurier promises he can convince manitoba's premier greenway to compromise
• 17:00 - 17:30 if it were in my power i would try the sunny way i would approach this man greenway with the sunny way of patriotism asking him to be just and to be fair asking him to be generous to the minority he gained support across the country especially in quebec and in june 1896 wilfred laurier becomes canada's first french canadian prime minister within
• 17:30 - 18:00 months he comes to an agreement with premier greenway but french separate schools are not restored and french loses its status as a language equal to english teaching in french will be provided only where numbers warrant in a single public school system for laurier it is compromise enough the agreement which we have obtained from the government of manitoba satisfies every sensible man in canada
• 18:00 - 18:30 but anger erupts in french canada archbishop adelaide longevity of saint boniface has led the fight for french rights in the west to him the deal is a betrayal today is the saddest day of my career as a bishop it is with a broken heart that i stand before you i protest with all my strength against the use of that word agreement instead of negotiating with us
• 18:30 - 19:00 the government dealt with those that oppressed us west of quebec the french language never again achieves the status it once had in manitoba within a few years similar restrictions are imposed in alberta and saskatchewan and later in ontario but laurier's compromise has helped make peace with manitoba's english majority [Music]
• 19:00 - 19:30 now after 25 years laurier breaks off his relationship with emily laverne the prime minister cannot afford any [Music] scandal [Music]
• 19:30 - 20:00 the diamond jubilee in 1897 the british empire celebrates queen victoria's 60th year on the throne the canadian prime minister is chosen to ride directly behind the queen in the grand procession wilfred laurier is the toast of london as the french canadian celebrates canada's links to the british empire if a day were ever to come when england
• 20:00 - 20:30 was in danger let the bugle sound let the fires be lit on the hills whatever we can do shall be done by the colonies to help her [Music] that summer he returns triumphantly to canada as sir wilfred laurier but his attachment to the empire is soon tested [Music]
• 20:30 - 21:00 1899 the boer war in south africa a conflict between dutch settlers and the british army english canadians insist canada should help the british war effort most french canadians claim it is an aggressive war of british imperialism so wilfred laurier is caught in the middle i have no hesitation in admitting that i was not enthusiastic for this war
• 21:00 - 21:30 i have no sympathy for that mad noisy dull wicked and short-sighted throng who clamor for war at first laurier resists sending troops but after intense pressure in english canada he devises a compromise canada will send volunteers but britain will pay for them a young member of laurier's caucus stands in opposition
• 21:30 - 22:00 anri borasa is an emerging force in french canada i admire england i admire many pages of her history but this war will not add announce to the greatness of the english nation or to the glory of her flag [Music] in fact it is the tattered flag of the patriot that hangs in the chapel of borasaa's family estate
• 22:00 - 22:30 sixty years before his grandfather luis joseph papino led a rebellion against british rule and four french canadian rights now his grandson takes up the cause it is not a mission of compromise conciliation is never good it is not even possible between two contrary principles to wish to obtain the goodwill of our english fellow citizens by sacrificing
• 22:30 - 23:00 our incontestable rights is to doom ourselves in advance to scorn and slavery laurier admires borasah's determination he even sees him as a protege but they cross swords almost immediately [Music] as the first canadian volunteers set out for south africa the most important french canadian liberals gather at laurier's home to voice their opposition to the boer
• 23:00 - 23:30 war on rivera confronts the prime minister do you take into account the opinion of the province of quebec my dear only the province of quebec does not have opinions it has only sentiments the circumstances are extremely difficult it is because they are difficult that i
• 23:30 - 24:00 ask you to respect your word to govern is to have the courage at a given moment to risk defeat in order to maintain a principle [Music] laurier rises from his chair and puts his arm on borassa's shoulder ah my dear young friend you have not a practical mind within the week andre borasa quits the liberal party to sit as an independent member of
• 24:00 - 24:30 parliament like his grandfather before him he will not abandon his principles [Music] the first month of the new century twenty-two-year-old petros vaaric says
• 24:30 - 25:00 goodbye to his friends in galicia later part of ukraine and with his family sets out for canada wish us well on our long journey and do not forget us pray for us so that we may arrive safely at the promised land grief tightened my chest tears flowed down my cheeks and i wept like an old woman
• 25:00 - 25:30 the canadian west the land of the cree blackfoot ojibwe is declared open for business and immigration new arrivals come from britain and america but not enough wilfred laurier's new minister of interior clifford sifton wants settlers who can endure i think a stalwart peasant in a sheepskin coat born on the soil whose forefathers
• 25:30 - 26:00 have been farmers for ten generations with a stout wife and a half dozen children is good quality i am indifferent as to whether or not he is british born the posters across europe are enticing [Music] 160 acres of free land in the last best west
• 26:00 - 26:30 petrosvaric and his family head west towards a place called edmonton we all crowded at the windows what we saw were endless flat prairies no trees no creeks this is canada which draws us like a magnet out here we shall live the rest of our lives did we do the right thing shall we be happier here than we were in the old
• 26:30 - 27:00 country such thoughts came to all of us as the train took us deeper and deeper others come as well adding new names to the prairie map the icelanders of gimli [Music] the ukrainians of edna star
• 27:00 - 27:30 [Music] the dukabours of langham the germans of humboldt [Music] the poles of cook's creek the mennonites of the west reserve the jews of edenbridge
• 27:30 - 28:00 hardships await every group a year before petros varric arrives scarlet fever swept through another group of ukrainian settlers [Music] fifty children died on their way to a settlement in manitoba
• 28:00 - 28:30 [Music] heading deeper into the unknown is another immigrant maria adamowska we were afraid we were coming to the end of the world the heart of many a man sank to his heels
• 28:30 - 29:00 and the women and children raised such cries as defies description edmonton is the end of the line zvaric and his family continue in the direction of edna star the free land
• 29:00 - 29:30 they come across recent homesteaders living in primitive conditions i could not believe my eyes the house was like a little big stay covered with sod our hearts sank with what we saw and what obviously awaited us too finally six thousand miles from their home they come face to face with their
• 29:30 - 30:00 destiny each male member of the savaric family is about to select a quarter section 160 acres of free land we felt in our hearts the eagerness of suitors about to meet their brides for the first time and somewhat nervous hoped to make the right choices on the horizon some four miles away
• 30:00 - 30:30 i could see a fair-sized forest and there my eyes and my hopes rested [Music] by the fall of 1900 after only six months on their new farm petrol's parents take in their first harvest the total yield was three times as much
• 30:30 - 31:00 as they would have had in the old country my father now felt like a wealthy man and would not return to his old farm in the old country for anything for if he accomplished this much in one year imagine how much he would have in 5 or even ten years [Music] maria adomoska's family chooses land in saskatchewan winter was setting in my father built a
• 31:00 - 31:30 cave in a riverbank covered with turf oh how fortunate we felt we would not have traded that root cellar for a royal palace petrossvaric will need money to start his farm he leaves his land with his parents and works on the railways and in the mines and is determined to improve his english [Music]
• 31:30 - 32:00 that first winter svaric writes back to his sister in eastern europe you've been harsh with us canada but it was so much worse in the old country here we can work for ourselves and live in prosperity someday for in canada there is much land enough to work on as long as one has strength petros and thousands like him
• 32:00 - 32:30 are about to transform their new country cape breton island at the turn of the 20th century where gaelic is still more common than english or french
• 32:30 - 33:00 [Music] and here too a new era is dawning fishermen are trading in their nets for a pickaxe coal is king and we have every reason to feel that at no distant date glace bay will take its place among the leading cities of canada in the new city of glace bay mayor david virtual stokes the engine of progress
• 33:00 - 33:30 underground there is employment for everyone willing to work wages are good and good order is maintained fourteen-year-old tyus tutti takes a job in the coal mines when his father drowned tyus became the first in five generations to leave the sea i had a lot of accidents there's no question about it
• 33:30 - 34:00 i had this hand smashed i had that skull fracture i said look i got to make a living and there's no other place to go i said i'm not a coward if i die down there well i'll die down there [Music] in glace bay one company dominion coal not only owns the mines but controls almost every aspect of a miner's life at the company store tyus has to pay for
• 34:00 - 34:30 his own food explosives and safety equipment all deducted from his pay at the end of a month tyus can take home as little as 70 cents [Music] digging in the deeps tyus is surrounded by many child miners some as young as nine we had been working 12 hours a day
• 34:30 - 35:00 loading in a low seam on our hands being cursed at from morning to night by a greedy boss and seeing daylight only on sundays [Music] we face the prospects of a dismal and unhappy existence dismal unhappy and dangerous there was an explosion it was eight men killed the manager his name was johnson
• 35:00 - 35:30 all they found was his lamp his fingers still on the hook meanwhile directly above the miners heads a technological revolution is taking place on the shores of cape breton island [Music] from these transmission towers a struggling italian inventor guliamo marconi is about to change the way the world communicates
• 35:30 - 36:00 he is trying to convince skeptics that he can connect europe and north america with nothing but radio waves a reporter from the sydney record takes note excitement around town is intense and all kinds of news is going arounds concerning events the future will unfold december 1902 marconi sends his first full wireless message
• 36:00 - 36:30 across the atlantic glace bay's mayor beams with pride while the eyes of the foremost men in science and industry are today turned upon the brilliant inventor a small measure of attention is directed to the spot we love as our home obscure and out of the world though it may appear nearby at the deck on his magnificent
• 36:30 - 37:00 cape breton estate inventor alexander graham bell is experimenting again 25 years before bell had patented the telephone now he is trying to launch people into the sky the wright brothers had beaten bell off the ground but the great inventor wants to go farther faster and higher
• 37:00 - 37:30 on a february afternoon in 1909 belle's silver dart is wheeled out onto the frozen lake outside his estate a reporter looks on [Music] before some people realized what was taking place the buzz of the engine could be heard and the machine was seen advancing rapidly she had gone about 90 feet along the ice when she rose gracefully into the air
• 37:30 - 38:00 everyone seemed dumbfounded radio waves and people in flight above ground while below tyus tutti continues the back-breaking work [Music] for tyus and the thousands who would go below in the coming years the new age of invention and industry would mean a new era of strikes and struggle
• 38:00 - 38:30 [Music] [Applause] [Music] white gold flows over the falls at niagara electricity the waters spark a charge
• 38:30 - 39:00 that will fuel canada's rapidly growing cities [Music] [Applause] adam beck a cigar box maker from london ontario sees the potential the man who will create the world's largest electric company vows to light up the towns
• 39:00 - 39:30 the poorest working man will have electric light in his home nothing is too big for us nothing is too expensive to imagine in toronto affordable electricity ignites an industrial boom [Music]
• 39:30 - 40:00 family-run shops evolve into giant department stores small plants become huge factories [Music] it is an era of urbanization as many immigrants now stay in the cities as take up land in the west montreal triples in size in 20 years
• 40:00 - 40:30 and by 1912 is the first canadian city to reach half a million people [Music] it is said two-thirds of canada's economy is controlled by fewer than 100 people who live in old world splendor in montreal's square mile
• 40:30 - 41:00 the merchant princes of canada live on a hill looking down on the city the van horns the molsons the berks and the allens with a domestic staff of 19 to care for six members of the family
• 41:00 - 41:30 [Music] canadian pacific railway decorator kate reed casts a wry eye on her neighbors and clients went to mrs hugh graham's at home a housewarming in her new house lovely house but hideous decorations i don't see how they can live long with that wallpaper
• 41:30 - 42:00 but for most montrealers the square mile may well be a world away the italians of mile end the irish of griffintown the blacks of san antoine the jews of the maine
• 42:00 - 42:30 israel medrish is 16 years old when he arrives alone from biello russia [Music] like many jewish immigrants he gets work in a tailor shop the tailors officially worked 59 hours a week unofficially during the busy season they worked from dawn until dusk the workers were embittered by poverty and misfortune there was perpetual class struggle
• 42:30 - 43:00 between the workers and their employers in the yiddish language newspaper madrish writes about the emerging voices of the workers and their new revolutionary ideas immigrants were confident that the socialists could organize the impoverished tailors and cloak makers into unions to fight for better working conditions in the factories and sweatshops the tailors call a strike the strike
• 43:00 - 43:30 lasted nine weeks and ended in victory for the workers the 59-hour workweek was abolished from then on they never worked more than 49 hours a week [Music] montreal is swelling with workers and not all are immigrants many are french canadian farmers looking for work
• 43:30 - 44:00 the city is now 60 french in 1900 the average pay is 13 cents an hour a pound of butter costs 20 cents in the working neighborhoods one child in four will die before the age of one [Music] an adult is not expected to live beyond fifty
• 44:00 - 44:30 [Music] sixteen-year-old alfred charpentier is an apprentice bricklayer working with his father [Music] we were 15 at the dinner table i was the only one with my father to provide for the needs of all he taught me my first notions of labor unionism i met the labour leaders of the time
• 44:30 - 45:00 their speeches impressed me a lot i dreamt of being able one day to follow their example at 23 charpentier becomes secretary of the montreal bricklayers union local number one though this does not guarantee employment economic depression frequently forced my father and me out of work not to mention the unemployment due to
• 45:00 - 45:30 strikes in our field financial straits permeated our family for many years to come a humiliation which many bricklayers had to accept there are other barriers for the working class here among the columns of st james street in montreal's banking district french canadian workers deposit their savings
• 45:30 - 46:00 though the province of quebec is overwhelmingly french the english control the banks [Music] alphonse desjardins has been researching the bank's practices of not lending money to the working class and farmers this is an extremely perilous situation since the english will use the influence given to them by the savings of our compatriots to strangle them whenever needed
• 46:00 - 46:30 from his home in levi overlooking quebec city desjardins opens the first case populaire a credit union he hopes will ensure french canadians have access to loans and advice it is truly the people's bank where the honest hard-working drifty worker and farmer can hold their heads high with no fear of being turned down deja dan's case populaire spread quickly
• 46:30 - 47:00 across quebec and into montreal [Music] industry technology and workers it is an era of progress as a new century begins to take shape the cities of canada are awakening a new urban nation is being born
• 47:00 - 47:30 [Music] growing along with the prairie wheat are new towns like dauphin prince albert vulcan just as prime minister sir wilfred
• 47:30 - 48:00 laurier had hoped they came last year 100 000 strong and still they come in greater numbers already they are at work sowing harvesting and reaping by 1904 petros varric has staked a claim
• 48:00 - 48:30 in canada after four years of working in the west he saves enough to settle on his land [Music] he marries and begins a family [Music] i built on my homestead opened up a store in the post office and became a postmaster i built a big barn for the livestock and
• 48:30 - 49:00 dug a deep well during the fall and winter i thrashed [Applause] the harvests are plentiful the rail service is not [Music] western farmers organize farm co-ops and become a political force [Music] there are more than half a million people in the northwest territories
• 49:00 - 49:30 and now they want their own government the prime minister promises that if re-elected he will create two new provinces laurier never a healthy man needs to rest daily but he enters the election of 1904 with renewed vigor and passion
• 49:30 - 50:00 let me tell you my fellow canadians that all the signs point this way that the 20th century shall be the century of canada canada shall be the star towards which all men who love progress and freedom shall come the re-elected prime minister makes good on his promise two new provinces alberta and
• 50:00 - 50:30 saskatchewan are carved out of the northwest territories [Music] september 1st 1905 the prime minister stands to address the crowd in alberta's new capital edmonton i see everywhere hope i see everywhere calm resolution courage enthusiasm to face all difficulties to settle all problems
• 50:30 - 51:00 we do not want that any individual should forget the land of their origin or their ancestors let them look to the past but let them also look to the future let them look to the land of their ancestors but let them also look to the land of their children this is laurier's canada a nation of immigrants and wheat of industry
• 51:00 - 51:30 and railways but this is not the canada of angry borasa laurier's rival wants a canadian west with a significant french-speaking population transplant in the west a branch of the old french canadian trunk and surround it with an atmosphere that will preserve its native sap and its original qualities then
• 51:30 - 52:00 let come the american the duke aboard the galician [Music] through laurier's open door have already passed more than a million immigrants by 1905 more than half are from the united states and great britain
• 52:00 - 52:30 most of the others are from europe and they are still coming almost none speak french henri borassa's vision of canada is shaken i regret to find developing that feeling that canada is not canada for all canadians we are bound to come to the conclusion
• 52:30 - 53:00 that quebec is our only country [Music] in quebec immerses himself in a new role mentor to a group of young and articulate french canadians the national east in their new newspaper journalists like olivar aslan are calling for radical changes
• 53:00 - 53:30 it will take a benevolent revolution to sweep away the abuses by which we are being dishonored and brought to rune the first duty of the french race is to give herself a government thinking for her acting for her laurier can no longer dismiss the attacks from burasa and his new group [Music] our friend burasa has begun in quebec a campaign which may well cause us some trouble laurier has led
• 53:30 - 54:00 the country into the 20th century the prime minister will now need more than his charm and good luck to keep his vision alive [Music] in the new canada new voices are being heard new conflicts come to the fore women demanding equal rights
• 54:00 - 54:30 immigrants seeking their place in the teeming cities a bitter debate over canada's place in the british empire and the path that leads to a horrifying war
• 54:30 - 55:00 [Music] at the turn of the century women around the western world are on the march for women's rights and for the vote [Music] in canada a young school teacher will
• 55:00 - 55:30 rise from the prairies of manitoba to ignite the movement for the women's vote her name is nelly mooney our worthy opponents will emphasize the fact that women are the weaker vessel well i should think that a woman who cooks for men washes and bakes and scrubs and sews for her family could stand the extra strain of marking a ballot every
• 55:30 - 56:00 four years most men show little sympathy manitoba premier sir rodman roblin is typical the majority of women are emotional and if given the franchise would be a menace rather than an aid by getting the vote women's groups hope to enact prohibition laws banning the sale of [Music]
• 56:00 - 56:30 alcohol we had all the arguments no one could deny that women and children were the sufferers from the liquor traffic [Music] any fun that came from drinking belonged to men exclusively and the men themselves would be the first to admit that nelly mooney knew at an early age she was not destined for a traditional future
• 56:30 - 57:00 at 16 the young school teacher met the woman who would transform her life annie mcclung the wife of the new methodist minister was circulating a petition asking that women be allowed to vote nelly was attracted to both the movement and to the woman who had become her mentor [Music] i wanted to be like her with her quiet dignity and her well-cut clothes in fact i said she is the only woman i
• 57:00 - 57:30 have ever seen whom i should like to have for a mother-in-law having decided on a mother-in-law nelly set off to the local drug store in search of annie's eldest son wes a young pharmacist whom she was determined to marry i made no pretense of being the victorian maiden who sits on the shore waiting for a kindly tide to wash something up at her feet not at all having seen something that
• 57:30 - 58:00 looked like a treasure i plunged boldly in and swam for it within the year nellie mcclung was married and a mother petition after petition the women's christian temperance union collects signatures to ban the bottle and get women the vote mcclung joins the cause and discovers
• 58:00 - 58:30 she has the power to inspire prohibition is a hard sounding word worthless as a rallying cry it could never fire the heather and yet the heather must be fired we the temperance women would have to make our cause attractive we must fight fire with fire
• 58:30 - 59:00 i saw faces brighten eyes glisten and felt the atmosphere crackle with new power i saw what could be done with words for i had the vision of a new world when i talked [Music] mcclung's oratory brings her widespread fame she travels across north america speaking to women's groups not only about the vote
• 59:00 - 59:30 our insane way of dressing has much to do with shaping women's thought the absurdly tight skirts which prevented the wear from walking like a human being made a pitiful cry to the world it says i am not a useful human being see i cannot walk i dare not run i am not of use i am made to be supported
• 59:30 - 60:00 my sex is my only appeal [Music] by 1914 women in australia new zealand and parts of the united states can vote across canada women embrace the dream of equality in quebec there is marie jeren in british columbia helena guttridge in ontario emily howard stone but still
• 60:00 - 60:30 no canadian province or the federal government allows women to cast a ballot in manitoba premier sir rodman roblin continues to argue against granting the vote to women placing women on political equality with men would cause domestic strife i believe women's suffrage would break up the home january 28 1914
• 60:30 - 61:00 walker theater winnipeg a sold out audience on stage is nelly mcclung and a small group of women they are staging a play a women's parliament mcclung plays a female premier in a make-believe country where men want the vote if men were to get the vote who knows what would happen it's hard enough to keep them at home now
• 61:00 - 61:30 politics unsettles men and unsettled men means unsettled bills broken furniture broken vows and divorce there is no use giving men votes man has a higher destiny than politics the women's parliament is a huge success and while conservative premier roblin
• 61:30 - 62:00 will not give in the liberals promise that if they are elected women will get the vote in the 1915 election the liberals under tc norris are elected [Music] [Applause] on january 27 1916 nelly mcclung and the women of manitoba become the first in the country to win the right to vote in provincial elections and to hold elective office
• 62:00 - 62:30 [Music] winnipeg the largest city in the west chicago of the north charlie chaplin appears at the walker
• 62:30 - 63:00 groucho marx at the bijou by 1911 winnipeg has the highest percentage of foreign-born residents of any city in canada most crowd into the north end north of the cpr tracks the foreign quarter [Music]
• 63:00 - 63:30 conservative member of parliament dr thomas spruell leader of the protestant orange order voices a common concern [Music] canada is today the dumping ground for the refuse of every country in the world ori borasah leader of the french canadian nationalist once welcomed the immigrants but not anymore
• 63:30 - 64:00 it was never in the minds of the founders of this nation that one day canada would become a land of refuge for the scum of all nations to such an extent that our two founding races would be drowning amidst the flood of intruders but there are new sounds coming from the pulpit [Music] james shaver woodsworth is a methodist minister the son of prairie missionaries he feels
• 64:00 - 64:30 it is his duty to improve the conditions of these new immigrants ignorance of the language low standards of living incompetency drunkenness and other evils are producing conditions as bad as are to be found in the slums of the great cities woodsworth preaches the protestant church's new social gospel which strives for the kingdom of god on
• 64:30 - 65:00 earth the effort must be not merely to preach to the people but to educate them and to improve the entire social conditions woodsworth moves his young family to the north end to the all people's mission his goal he believes is noble assimilation
• 65:00 - 65:30 our problem is to canadianize and christianize these people it is a herculean task and we haven't begun to appreciate its magnitude or importance much less planned for its accomplishments [Music] for woodsworth language is the key the all people's mission organizes english kindergartens [Music]
• 65:30 - 66:00 he raises funds for a permanent school and starts evening classes for working adults to learn english if canada is to become in any real sense a nation if our people are to become one people we must have one language hence the necessity of national schools where the teaching of english our national language is compulsory
• 66:00 - 66:30 woodsworth gets to know his neighbors john klemhile and wife and six children and from 15 to 20 borders live in four rented rooms the place is beastly dirty [Music] michael yakov and his wife are russians peter
• 66:30 - 67:00 the oldest boy eight years old has to go out along the streets and lanes where he can find sticks of wood empty barrels for which he gets a few cents to help keep the family of course he does not go to school in 1909 after two years working and living in the north end woodsworth publishes his views on immigration strangers within our gates instead of simply teaching his neighbors
• 67:00 - 67:30 he has learned from them [Music] what does the ordinary canadian know about our immigrants he classifies all men as white men and foreigners the foreigners he thinks of as the men who dig the sewers and get into trouble at the police court they're all supposed to dress and outlandish garb and speak a barbarian tongue and smell abominably woodsworth's book sells ten thousand copies and brings him national
• 67:30 - 68:00 recognition [Music] he calls for people to stop using the word foreigner to welcome these new canadians [Music] within the two decades has come an inrush of over 2 million immigrants some would gladly return to the simpler joys of earlier
• 68:00 - 68:30 days but for good or ill we are launched upon a larger life its perils may be great but its possibilities are boundless [Music] [Music] british columbia was part of guimsan
• 68:30 - 69:00 gold mountain to the thousands of chinese men who first crossed the pacific with dreams of a better life [Music] leaving my parents wife and children i have come to kim sun because i am poor [Music]
• 69:00 - 69:30 i have always yearned to go to the gold mountain but instead it is hell full of hardships in the early 1880s 15 000 chinese came to build the most difficult and dangerous sections of the canadian pacific railway one chinese worker died for every mile
• 69:30 - 70:00 of track laid between vancouver and the rockies [Music] when the line was finished unemployed railway workers spilled into the emerging china towns [Music] the chinese here congregate in one part of the city for companionship besides
• 70:00 - 70:30 the chinese know that the white people have had no friendly feeling towards them [Music] juan alexander kumiao was the first chinese person born in canada he works at his father's store in vancouver's chinatown this unfriendliness and want of respect has caused a feeling of want of confidence among the chinese
• 70:30 - 71:00 and it has certainly not tended to induce them to abandon their own ways and modes of life [Music] the chinese perform the only jobs available to them in hand laundries as cooks domestics street vendors outside chinatown many are suspicious of this unknown seemingly mysterious
• 71:00 - 71:30 society typical is the view of w leslie clay a presbyterian minister in victoria [Music] canada would be strengthened by exclusion of the chinese race it has a tendency to deter white immigration they depress wages lower the standard of living they ignore our religious services i think they are injurious in present
• 71:30 - 72:00 numbers [Music] to try to stop chinese immigration the government sets an entry fee a fifty dollar head tax juan alexander kumiao begins speaking out now in his thirties he's doing unusually well an official courtroom interpreter he marries one of the few
• 72:00 - 72:30 single chinese women in vancouver and starts a family unless we have a vote and exercise other privileges where we reside we will always be looked upon as nobody but once we have a vote we have the power instead of giving them rights the government decides to raise the head tax to 500. two-year salary at a sawmill or
• 72:30 - 73:00 [Music] cannery in just one year 1905 immigration from china drops from nearly 5 000 to just eight people businesses too find ways to cut chinese workers a new fish canning machine replaces a crew of 30 the iron [ __ ]
• 73:00 - 73:30 keeping british columbia white is still proving difficult while chinese immigration has almost stopped thousands continue to arrive from japan and india a vancouver newspaper informs readers about the latest immigrants [Music] 1177 of the little brown men were on the
• 73:30 - 74:00 steamer the decks were crowded with the swarming japanese who covered her from stem to stern like a swarm of ants on a saturday night in september 1907 the newly formed asiatic exclusion league calls a huge protest rally at city hall half the city turns out part of the crowd turns on chinatown
• 74:00 - 74:30 [Music] a reporter witnesses the mob soon left the chinese quarter and headed in the direction of [ __ ] town the crash of glass was continuing window after window was shattered in stores and boarding houses as the riot has gang pushed farther into the thoroughfare lined with nests of japanese for three days asian homes and businesses are vandalized
• 74:30 - 75:00 on saturday night we get all the windows smashed and sunday we have a few windows broken again and on monday night we were informed there was a party going to set fire to chinatown so this is the night chinese merchants get very afraid [Applause] there are no deaths but bitter feelings simmer for decades in the mid 1920s chinese immigration is banned outright the exclusion of chinese people
• 75:00 - 75:30 becomes federal law on july 1 1923 dominion day the chinese would call it humiliation day [Music] another 25 years will pass before asians are permitted to become canadians [Music] in 1949 an elderly man becomes the first chinese person in canada to cast a ballot
• 75:30 - 76:00 88 year old juan alexander [Music] kumiao so when john mccrae was 13 years old he traveled abroad with his father a pilgrimage from their home in guelph
• 76:00 - 76:30 ontario to the center of their universe london england the venerable westminster abbey had a profound impact heroes have lived and died thrones risen and fallen empires grown old and decayed but through it all unchanging in their majesty those towers have kept steadfast watch
• 76:30 - 77:00 john returned to canada and became an award-winning cadet and as the century turns the young lieutenant leads 54 volunteers from his hometown to fight in the boer war prospect of defending the british empire holds all the adventure and excitement he has read about as a child a strange thing it is that britain can call up from the farthest fields of
• 77:00 - 77:30 the empire men who have nothing in common but the brotherhood of the union jack [Music] after a year in south africa john mcrae returns a war hero [Music] the young doctor who graduated at the top of his class from the university of toronto moves to montreal
• 77:30 - 78:00 dr john mccrae waltzes in the ballrooms of the city's finest mansions and becomes a most eligible bachelor [Music] but beneath the facade of a carefree bachelor lies a darker brooding side of john mcrae
• 78:00 - 78:30 he is an aspiring poet and artist and in his simple drawings and early poetry reveals he has never recovered from the death of his first love alice in the cold moist earth we laid her when the forest casts a leaf and we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief
• 78:30 - 79:00 her death haunts him for the rest of his life he will never marry in 1906 the first dreadnought plows through the english channel others follow and germany responds with its own massive fleet there is an arms race in europe britain
• 79:00 - 79:30 builds germany builds the atmospheric change is felt in canada many english canadians are caught up in the swelling emotion of patriotism canada they say now has a role to play in international politics at britain's side dr john mcrae might need his uniform again he writes a poem not of patriotism but
• 79:30 - 80:00 of dread singing or sad intent they go they do not see the shadows grow there yet is time they lightly say before our work aside we lay their task is but half done and low cometh the night the night cometh europe is sliding closer to war
• 80:00 - 80:30 and canada is being pulled along at her [Music] side in 1910 sir wilfred and lady laurier the former country lawyer and the piano teacher are canada's biggest celebrities
• 80:30 - 81:00 laurier's image adorns everything from cigar boxes to fine china [Music] but after 13 years in office he suspects his luck may be running out this year more than ever i will need the comfort of my friends as i advance in years difficulties appear to resurface constantly under my feet
• 81:00 - 81:30 until now i have been fortunate enough to overcome them all but it is the law of life and one cannot always succeed the demands of the empire britain's cry for more warships is heard across the atlantic english canadians insist britain be given gifts of warships and money the french canadian nationalist insist
• 81:30 - 82:00 nothing be given it is a decision that rests heavily on laurier's aging shoulders i ask you to consider this we are british subjects but we are an autonomous nation we are divided into provinces we are divided into races and out of these confused elements
• 82:00 - 82:30 the man at the head of affairs has to sail the ship onwards january 1910 laurier tables the naval services bill the creation of canada's own navy warships operated by canadians and only available to britain in an emergency laurier hopes this will satisfy both french and
• 82:30 - 83:00 english canadians henri borassa is incensed with laurier's latest compromise upon his arrival at the gates of paradise mr laurie's first action will be to propose an honorable compromise between god and satan burasa starts a new newspaper le devoir where he launches a fierce campaign against laurier's navy
• 83:00 - 83:30 it is the most complete backwards step canada has made in half a century it is the gravest blow our autonomy has suffered since the origin of responsible government in english canada laurier is attacked for not doing enough to help britain a critic calls laurier's creation a tin pot navy and the term sticks laurier struggles to defend himself
• 83:30 - 84:00 i do not pretend to be an imperialist neither do i pretend to be an anti-imperialist i am canadian first last and all the time ari borassa vows to dethrone the man who was once his mentor laurier has now driven not one nail in his coffin but many on sunday i speak at the church door in sarel
• 84:00 - 84:30 next sunday i speak at another church and it will go on till he's finished for laurier the summer of 1910 comes as a welcome relief he sets off to the western reaches of canada a chance to leave his political troubles
• 84:30 - 85:00 behind from his private car laurier's eyes gaze upon a country he has helped to build he crosses triumphantly through manitoba into the newly created province of saskatchewan at every stop he's hailed by crowds of new canadians laurier is also besieged by friendly yet
• 85:00 - 85:30 determined farmers with one unanimous request that laurier negotiate freer trade with the united states they want better markets for the products they sell and lower prices for the goods they buy continuing west laurier stops in vegreville alberta a town which had not existed four years
• 85:30 - 86:00 [Music] earlier there he is greeted by a welcoming committee which includes a 33 year old businessman named petros varich now the proud co-founder and manager of the first ukrainian cooperative laurier sees the west transformed
• 86:00 - 86:30 when my eyes are closing in death if i can look upon a united people upon all the races which have been gathered here by our policy if i can look upon them as true canadians all having in their heart the greater pride of a canadian nationality then i will feel my life has not been lived in vain and i shall die a happy man
• 86:30 - 87:00 at prince rupert he reaches the most western point of his trip the terminus of canada's second transcontinental railway the immensity of this country is the subject of perpetual amazement however one is prepared for it we now have traveled across the whole continent everybody agrees that this trip abunded with happy results and i am starting to believe it myself
• 87:00 - 87:30 laurier returns to ottawa in september rejuvenated by his western tour i left home a canadian to the core i returned ten times more a canadian i imbibed the air spirit and enthusiasm of the west
• 87:30 - 88:00 but his enthusiasm is short-lived two days after his return laurier leaves for montreal where he will preside over a monumental event which will thrust his rival into the [Music] spotlight
• 88:00 - 88:30 september 1910 notre dame church in montreal the spiritual center of the french in north america and the setting for the 21st eucharistic congress the most important roman catholic gathering outside the vatican the theme the future of the church in north america prime minister laurier opens the congress
• 88:30 - 89:00 [Music] inside the church the pews are filled with priests and pilgrims from around the world the archbishop of westminster monsignor francis born the most powerful english catholic in the world rises to speak his words will shake the catholic church in french canada
• 89:00 - 89:30 henri borasah listens from a prominent position though fluent in french the archbishop chooses to speak entirely in english god has allowed the english tongue to be spread over the civilized world and it has acquired an influence which is ever growing it is his view that english be the dominant language of the catholic church in north america until the english
• 89:30 - 90:00 language english habits of thought english literature in a word the entire english mentality is brought into the service of the catholic church the saving work of the church is impeded and hampered many french canadians in the church see burasa as the only one who can rise to the challenge he abandons his prepared notes and confronts the bishop
• 90:00 - 90:30 i do not wish to say that the catholic church ought to be french in canada no but say with me that among three million catholics descendants of the first apostles of christianity in america the best safeguard of the faith is the conservation of the french language the french canadians in the church begin to cheer [Applause]
• 90:30 - 91:00 from this province of quebec from this minute french colony whose language it is said is doomed to disappear have come three quarters of the clergy of north america now two english bishops walk out let one beware let one be carefully aware of extinguishing this fire with its intense light which has illuminated the whole continent for three centuries but it is said
• 91:00 - 91:30 you are only a handful you are fatally destined to disappear why persevere in the struggle we are only a handful it is true but we count for what we are and we have the right to live [Applause] in french canada this one event transforms on riborasa from protector to apostle now he is poised to take on
• 91:30 - 92:00 the prime minister one last time [Music] by 1911 laurier's navy consisting of two ships is in the water rough seas are behind
• 92:00 - 92:30 him or so he thinks but now the prime minister initiates another policy which will divide the nation he negotiates reciprocity with the united states free trade in natural products farmers in the west are pleased but the prospect of free trade raises old fears reciprocity will transform canada into a commercial annex of the united states the issue of free
• 92:30 - 93:00 trade thrusts robert borden into the spotlight a nova scotia lawyer and the conservative party leader he voices his opposition should we at the time of our greatest successes and realizations lose hope and abandon the battle for our national existence laurier can perhaps deal with borden and other critics in canada but he is not able to contain his new
• 93:00 - 93:30 partners to the south champ clark the speaker of the u.s house of representatives unveils his reason for supporting free trade i am for it because i hope to see the day when the american flag will float over every square foot of the british north american possessions clear to the north pole now even the prime minister's friends are turning against him
• 93:30 - 94:00 clifford sifton once laurier's closest ally in the west has moved to ontario and organizes a campaign against laurier sifton rallies business leaders who are afraid free trade will cut off their markets in western canada and great britain it would weaken the ties that bind canada to the empire and make it more difficult to avert political union with the united states
• 94:00 - 94:30 in quebec henry borassa makes good on his promise to rally french canadians against laurier formerly i also cried a wrath of laurier but laurier has sacrificed his own in the west laurier imposes upon us a costly navy which will serve no purpose except to kill our sons in the wars of england
• 94:30 - 95:00 lorie forces me today to choose between him and the country i choose the country [Music] the prime minister has a history of fending off enemies one at a time but now the aging patriarch is being attacked from all sides [Music] i am branded in quebec as a traitor to the french and in ontario as a traitor to the english
• 95:00 - 95:30 in quebec i am attacked as an imperialist and in ontario as an anti-imperialist i am naida i am canadian canada as being the inspiration of my life september 1911 still confident of his charm and his luck prime minister laurier goes to the people hoping for his fifth straight election victory on the 23rd of september laurier and his
• 95:30 - 96:00 supporters gather at marche saint-pierre in quebec city his riding for the past 37 years as the election results begin to arrive there are waves of shock disbelief and eventually silence robert borden and the conservatives have defeated laurier's liberal government liberal mp
• 96:00 - 96:30 chubby power remembers all through that evening i was impressed by his dignity and sportsmanship and the memory remains with me till this day with laurier the predominant element the cement that held his people together was the affection he inspired to an extraordinary degree thousands of now grown men and women will tell you that their parents shed
• 96:30 - 97:00 bitter tears of sorrow on that night in september 1911. laurier returns to his ottawa home alone his luck has finally run out [Music] in may 1914 a [ __ ] steamer the komagata
• 97:00 - 97:30 maru enters vancouver harbor carrying 376 immigrants from india for two months the ship sits not permitted to land then word comes the rainbow one half of the new canadian navy is given one of its first assignments to escort the kamagata meru and its
• 97:30 - 98:00 human cargo back out to sea the open door shuts and with it ends the era of sir wilfred laurier
• 98:00 - 98:30 late july 1914 prime minister sir robert borden is on holiday in the muskoka lakes area of ontario when an urgent telegram calls him back to ottawa [Music] war is breaking out in europe germany and the austro-hungarian empire against britain france and russia
• 98:30 - 99:00 canada is also going to war there is no choice if britain is at war its dominions including canada are automatically included prime minister borden rises to the occasion we stand shoulder to shoulder with britain in this quarrel not for love of battle not for lust of conquest not for greed of possessions but for the cause of honor across the country the response
• 99:00 - 99:30 is immediate [Music] a rush to volunteer mostly by british-born canadians [Music] october 3rd 1914 31 000 canadians set sail to the battlefields of europe it is the largest convoy ever to cross the atlantic
• 99:30 - 100:00 [Music] on board is 41 year old dr john mcrae a veteran officer an accomplished poet i am really rather afraid but more afraid to stay at home with my conscience it will be a terrible war and somebody's finished when all is said and done mccrae befriends 22 year old alexis helmer
• 100:00 - 100:30 lex is engaged to be married and has just graduated from mcgill university [Music] by the spring of 1915 the german army has swept through neutral belgium in april the canadian first division including mcrae and helmer takes up position at the front alongside french troops
• 100:30 - 101:00 near eep the last belgian city not captured by the germans [Music] the canadians are about to see their first action [Music] there is constant bombardment then silence in minutes a mysterious green cloud rises from the german trenches
• 101:00 - 101:30 and moves slowly with the wind over the french lines it is the germans secret weapon chlorine gas the french soldiers retreat choking and dying suddenly old-fashioned warfare has turned modern [Music] outgunned and outnumbered canadians are sent into the sights of the german army alexis helmer mans a gun battery john
• 101:30 - 102:00 mccrae treats the wounded [Music] 17 days of hades gunfire never ceased casualties of half the men in the firing line lieutenant helmer was killed at the guns a very nice boy his diaries last words
• 102:00 - 102:30 were it is quieted a little and i shall try to get a good sleep his girl's picture had a hole right through it and we buried it with him i said the committal service over him as well as i could from memory the next day john mcrae looks at helmer's grave and writes a few lines of verse in flanders fields the poppies blow
• 102:30 - 103:00 between the crosses row on row that mark our place and in the sky the larks still bravely singing fly scarce heard amid the guns below we are the dead short days ago we lived felt dawn saw sunset glow loved and were loved and now we lie in flanders fields
• 103:00 - 103:30 take up our quarrel with the foe to you from failing hands we throw the torch be yours to hold it high if ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep though poppies grow in flanders fields john mccrae will be one of sixty thousand canadians
• 103:30 - 104:00 who never return home [Music] in the last two decades canada has been transformed beyond recognition the population has doubled it has been an era of promise of hope and unlimited growth now in the crucible of a horrific war canada will come of age in an ordeal
• 104:00 - 104:30 by fire [Music]
• 104:30 - 105:00 so
• 105:00 - 105:30 [Music] [Applause] [Music]
• 105:30 - 106:00 foreign
• 106:00 - 106:30 [Music] you