We have hit another major year in Canada’s history. This one saw many changes come to Canada, and the end of a devastating war.
On Jan. 28, John McCrae died of pneumonia. Born in 1872, McCrae graduated from medical school in 1898 and began teaching at the University of Vermont from 1901 to 1911 and then at McGill University. He was also the resident pathologist at Montreal General Hospital, and later worked at the Royal Victoria Hospital. He also set up his own practice.
When the First World War began, McCrae volunteered for service despite being 41. He wrote to a friend,
“I am really rather afraid, but more afraid to stay at home with my conscience.”
He treated the wounded at the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915 in a small bunker at the front lines. It was in that battle that his friend Lt. Alexis Helmer died. This inspired him to write In Flanders Field on May 3, 1915. On Dec. 8, 1915, the poem appeared in Punch, a popular magazine. From there, it began to spread in popularity.
When he died, he was given a funeral with full military honours. Mourners included General Sir Arthur Currie. Today, in Flanders Field is one of the most famous poems in Canadian history.
On Feb. 22, Sid Abel was born in Melville, Saskatchewan. He played hockey with the Flin Flon Bombers before joining the Detroit Red Wings in 1938. During his first two seasons with the Red Wings he also split his time with their affiliates in the International American Hockey League. In 1942, he was named captain of the team. One year later, he left hockey to serve with the RCAF in the Second World War. In 1946, he returned to the Red Wings and regained the captaincy.
In 1947, he was placed on a line with Ted Lindsay and rookie Gordie Howe. This line became known as The Production Line for its consistent production of goals and points. In 1948, Lindsay, Abel and Howe finished first, third and fourth in team scoring. In 1949, that line led the Red Wings to their first of seven consecutive first place finishes.
In 1949, Abel won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP. He remained with the team until 1952. His last two seasons were with the Chicago Black Hawks. He served as a player-coach and was the last player-coach in NHL history. He retired in 1954. During that time, he was a two-time NHL first team All-Star and a two-time NHL second-team All-Star. He also won three Stanley Cups during that time. In his NHL career, he had 472 points in 612 games.
After his retirement, he coached Detroit from 1957 to 1970, during which time they went to four Stanley Cup Finals, but lost each one. They also finished first in the league in 1964-65. In 1969, Abel was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1995, his number was retired by the Red Wings. Abel died in 2000. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 greatest NHL players in history.
On March 1, Harlan Brewster, the premier of British Columbia, died in office. Born in 1870, he came to British Columbia in 1893 and owned a canning company. He joined provincial politics in 1907, serving until 1912. He then came back to politics in September 1916, and was made premier in November of that year. As premier, he brought in women’s suffrage, combatted government corruption and instituted prohibition.
Five days later, John Oliver became the premier of British Columbia. He had first joined provincial politics in 1900, serving until 1909. He returned to provincial politics in 1916. He remained as premier until his death in office in 1927. During his time as premier, he held many portfolios, prioritized agricultural development in the Okanagan, and reduced rail freight rates to improve the province’s economy.
On March 28, the Easter Riots began in Quebec. After conscription was implemented by the federal government, the move received a great deal of backlash among French Canadians, especially in Quebec. Eventually this led to riots in the province over efforts to conscript people into the army to fight in France.
Now called the Quebec Easter Riots, they began when police detained a French-Canadian man who failed to present draft exemption papers. The man was released but a mob of 200 people descended on the St. Roch Police Station where he had been held.
Calgary Herald reported on March 28,
“Serious disorders occurred here tonight when a squad of Dominion police, engaged in apprehending deserters under the provisions of the Military Service Act was attacked by a crowd of civilians.”
This riot soon began to grow and by the next evening, 15,000 people were ransacking the conscription registration office and attacking two pro-conscription newspapers in Quebec City.
As the registration office burned, the crowd apparently sang O Canada.
The Calgary Herald reported,
“Rioting broke out afresh in Quebec tonight at 9 o’clock and mobs of young men paraded the main streets of the city. The unruly elements in the throng soon got the upper hand and attacks were made upon the newspaper offices.”
The mayor of Quebec City contacted Ottawa to ask for reinforcements and using the War Measures Act, Borden and his government took over law and order in Quebec City.
The next day, 780 soldiers were deployed in the city, with 3,000 more coming from the Prairies and 1,000 from Ontario.
This did not stop the rioting, and on March 30, rioting continued as Easter Monday approached.
On that day, crowds in Quebec City stood in defiance of the 1,200 soldiers in the city who had been ordered in by Borden. These soldiers had all come from Ontario.
Armed rioters in concealed positions began to fire on the soldiers, who returned fire into the crowds causing the rioters to flee from the area.
It is not known how many died for sure that day, but five deaths among civilians are listed in official reports. Among the soldiers, 32 were injured but none were killed.
In all, the riots had caused $300,000 in damages and resulted in 150 casualties.
On March 30, the Battle of Moreuil Wood was fought. In the battle, soldiers from the Canadian Calvary Brigade took part in a key battle as the war began to come to an end. The brigade was led by Lt. Gordon Muriel Flowerdew, and they forced the withdraw of the 23rd German Division from Moreuil Wood. The victory came at a cost though, with 24 Canadians dying and Flowerdew being wounded. He later died of his wounds and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
On April 16, Murray Westgate was born in Regina. After serving in the Royal Canadian Navy, he began to act in local theatres in Vancouver before moving on to CBC Radio. In 1952, he started to appear in Esso commercials that appeared on Hockey Night in Canada. He continued in that role until 1968. He also appeared in various television series in his career including Seaway, House of Pride and Seeing Things. In 1979, he won an Actra Award. He retired from acting in 1991 and in 2002 was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He died in 2018 at the age of 100.
On April 21, the Red Baron was shot down near the Somme River. That day, he had been pursuing Canadian pilot Wop May in a dog fight after May fired on The Red Baron’s cousin Lt. Wolfram von Richthofen. During the aerial battle, Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown dived sharply to attack The Red Baron. During this stage of the battle, a single .303 bullet hit The Red Baron in the chest, critically injuring his heart and lungs. Within a minute, he was dead. Today, it is not known exactly who killed The Red Baron. Many believe it was Arthur Brown, while others state it was Australian troops on the ground.
On May 15, Joseph Wiseman was born in Montreal. He made his Broadway debut in1 938 and began to act in films in the 1950s beginning with Detective Story. In 1961, he was cast in his most famous role as Dr. No in the first James Bond film. It was his performance a decade earlier in Detective Story that got him the part. For the next few decades, he continued to act in television and films. His last television appearance was in Law and Order in 1996. He last acted on Broadway in 2001.
He died in 2009 at the age of 91.
On May 24, 1918, all female citizens except Indigenous and Asian women, who were over the age of 21 were given the right to vote. Even if the province the women lived in did not have the vote, the women in that province could still vote in federal elections. Despite this being a momentous day, it passed without out much news with the vote just being part of many other votes, including for the implementation of Daylight Saving Time.
On May 28, Johnny Wayne was born in Toronto. In the 1930s, he began working with Frank Shuster to form the comedy duo of Wayne and Shuster. He often portrayed the straight man in the duo’s comedy routines. During the Second World War, he and Shuster were assigned to the Army Show to entertain troops. In 1946, the joined CBC Radio, producing 39 half-hour shows each year until 1953. They then moved over the television. They appeared for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958 and would perform on that show dozens of more times. He died of brain cancer in 1990.
On June 23, 1918, Madeleine Parent was born in Montreal. After attending McGill, she became involved in union work, joining the Montreal Trades and Labour Council as a secretary.
In 1943, she became a key union organizer.
In 1946, she and Kent Rowley organized 6,000 textile workers into a union in a strike against Dominion Textile in Quebec. The strike lasted 100 days.
At the time, the very anti-union Maurice Duplessis was premier and Parent was enemy number one. Madeleine was called many things in the press, including a communist.
She was arrested on Aug. 13, 1946 but the workers were successful in forming their union. She then led 700 wool workers in a strike that lasted five months in 1947.
Madeleine was arrested during that strike and charged with seditious conspiracy. Rowley was sentenced to six months in prison, Parent was sentenced to two years. She fought the charge, and due to delays the case dragged on for six years before she was finally acquitted.
In 1952, with Rowley, she founded the Canadian Textile Council. One year later, Rowley and Madeleine married.
In 1960, the couple became the founding member of the Council of Canadian Unions, now known as the Confederation of Canadian Unions.
In 1983, Madeleine retired from union activism and focused on women’s rights. She was a founding member of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. She also marched in the World March of Women in 1995.
She passed away on March 12, 2012.
On Aug. 2, the Vancouver General Strike began. The first general strike in the history of British Columbia, 5,600 workers left their jobs at noon on that day. The press was highly critical of the strikers, calling most of them extremists. Several veterans were also angry over the strike and threatened to meet the strikers with violence. The next day on Aug. 3, the veterans attacked the strikers at the Longshoremen’s Hall demanding that the union leaders leave the province until the war was over. The confrontation and the strike ended when Mayor Robert Gale convinced the veterans to form a committee to negotiate with the longshoremen.
On Aug. 5, Betty Oliphant was born in London, England. A ballet dancer, she moved to Canada in 1947 and became the ballet mistress of the National Ballet of Canada. With Celia Franca founded the National Ballet School of Canada. In 1972, she was awarded the Order of Canada. She died in 2004.
On Aug. 8, the Battle of Amiens began. The first of a string of offensives known as The Hundred Days Offensive, it was a major victory for the Canadians and the Allies. The Canadians were assigned the task of attacking the German Fourth Army. To keep the assault secret, there was no bombardment. Smoke was laid down by the Royal Air Force and a heavy mist on a moonlight helped to conceal the attack. At exactly 4:20 a.m., 900 Allied guns opened fire as the Canadians and tanks began their move across the battlefield.
The Germans were caught off guard and the Allies were able to push into German lines for three days. The battle ended on Aug. 11 and it was the worst defeat for German since the start of the war. The Germans were pushed back 12 kilometres. Among the Canadians, there were 1,036 Canadians killed, 2,803 wounded and 29 taken prisoner. The Canadians were able to capture 5,033 prisoners and 161 guns. There were 3,000 medals handed out among the Canadians in the battle including several Victoria Crosses.
On Aug. 18, Henry Norwest died in France. Born on May 1, 1884 in Fort Saskatchewan, he spent his early years working on ranches and as a rodeo performer. He joined the Royal North West Mounted Police and in1 915 enlisted to fight in the war.
He enlisted as Henry Louie, was kicked out for misbehavior and then reenlisted as Henry Norwest. In three years with the 50th Canadian Infantry Battalion, he reached the rank of Lance Corporal and prove deadly as a sniper, recording 115 kills. An expert with stealth and camouflage, he was often sent behind enemy lines. In 1917, he was awarded the Military Medal for service at Vimy Ridge, and the next year he earned a bar on his Military Medal, becoming one of only 90 Canadian soldiers to have the honour. He was killed by a German sniper. His Ross Rifle is currently on display in The Military Museums in Calgary.
On Sept. 2, the Canadian Corps broke through the northern part of the Hindenburg Line, forcing Germans to the west to retreat behind the line. Three weeks later, Canadians took part in the Battle of Canal du Nord. While the battle was a success, it came at a great cost. Over 10,000 Canadians were listed as casualties in the battle. The success of this battle allowed for the eventual liberation of Cambrai one week later. That battle, which began on Sept. 27, was one of the most impressive victories of the war for the Canadians. For days the Canadians fended off German counterattacks before the community was liberated by the Allies on Oct. 11. Several Canadians received Victoria Crosses in the battle. Once again, the cost was heavy with more than 30,000 Canadians killed or wounded in the attack.
On Oct. 10 at 2:15 p.m., the A and C Squadrons of the Canadian Light Horse, 280 horses in total, made a charge as part of the Battle of Cambrai, nine kilometres northeast of the community. This was the last combat charge of Canadian calvary in history.
On Oct. 25, Bobby Gimby was born in Cabri, Saskatchewan. His family eventually moved to Saskatchewan where he grew up. A member of the local band ,he played the trumpet and became known as one of the best trumpet players in Canada. In 1945, he became a member of the radio program Happy Gang. He remained with the program until 1959. He later hosted his own show on CBC Television. In the 1960s, he started working as a songwriter. By this point he was known as the Pied Piper of Canada. In 1967 he wrote CA-NA-DA, which became the unofficial song of the Canadian Centennial. That year, more than 50 recordings of the song were made, not including 250 recorded by school choirs. It was the top song in Canada that year, selling nearly one million copies. He also wrote songs for the centennials of Manitoba and British Columbia. He also wrote songs that were recorded by artists like Peggy Lee. Gimby died in 1998 at the age of 79.
On Nov. 11, the First World War officially ended.
Thanks to the railroad and telegraph news of the end of the war trickled to communities across Canada,
In an arrangement between the Ottawa Citizen, and the Ottawa Electric and Hydro-Electric Companies prior to the end of the war it was decided that when peace was declared, all the electric lights in the city would blink four times.
Ottawa was the first city in Canada to begin celebrations as citizens were woken up when dozens of whistles at industrial plants began to blow two minutes after the news reached the capital
Celebrations started at 3 a.m. as people got out of bed and poured into the streets.
On Sparks Street which is one block away from Parliament Hill and is considered one of Ottawa’s most historic streets, an enormous fire was lit with one soldier standing guard to ensure no one hurt themselves.
In Toronto on Parliament Street a man woke up at 4 a.m. and immediately began running to bang on his neighbors’ doors to announce the end of the war.
Yonge Street was impassable due to crowds so thick a person could barely navigate their way through.
Most of the city took the day off, which added to the congestion on city streets. Only 100 of 1,500 employees of the Toronto Railway Company showed up for work. The few drivers who did go to work were accused of being pro-German since they were not part of celebrations.
From coast-to-coast Canadians celebrated.
Montreal was in the midst of hosting its Victory Loan[12] parade when news spread that the war was over. The Victory Loan program was extremely important during the war. Canadian citizens would buy Victory Loans, which helped to fund the war, while also giving residents something safe to invest their money in.
In Birtle, Manitoba, John Hatch was picking up mail at the train station when he heard that the war was over, and the Armistice had been signed.
He quickly delivered the mail to the post office and then ran to the Anglican church to ring the bells to announce the end of the war. In Vancouver Hastings Street was shut down for a parade as a public holiday was declared in the city. Lines of automobiles, decked out in banners and bunting, drove through the streets as the occupants cheered. The chaos of celebrations also led to injuries as residents were fueled by alcohol.
In Calgary, people began to gather at 8 a.m. local time and within a few hours the streets were filled with 10,000 people and automobiles throughout the downtown core. At city hall, it was standing room only, and steps and every other vantage point downtown was taken up.
At the post office, several fireworks were set off by residents with little regard for safety. As with many other places in Canada, effigies of the Kaiser were strung up and burned as residents danced around a massive bonfire. Edmonton, was alerted of the news by the scream of a railroad siren and the ringing of bells.
When news of the Armistice arrived in Selkirk, Manitoba the entire town was closed down because of the pandemic.
In Winnipeg, over 5,000 men who had fought in the front lines marched in Winnipeg in a Great War Veterans parade. Music was supplied, and veterans of past conflicts in South Africa, and on Canadian soil, joined in the march. An 18-pounder howitzer that had been captured in 1915 by the Canadians and was on a tour as part of the celebrations. Then came news that r loved ones would be coming home
While Canada saw the war at an end, for those soldiers coming home their own battles were just beginning and it would take years for them to come to terms with The Great War.
