Prosperity+at+Home

Overview
In this activity, you will explore how Canada continued to develop as a country, by looking at some important demographic trends, following the conclusion of the war.

Canadian LIfe in the 1950s
Demography is the study of the characteristics of human populations, such as size and growth. In the assignment, you will examine some of the demography of Canada in the 1950s. The dramatic shift in population during this time period was called the Baby Boom. In the period after the Second World War, Canada experienced economic growth. For the first time, a large number of consumers could afford to purchase television sets. In 1952, the first two Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) television stations (in Toronto and Montreal) went on the air, with three hours of programming per day. New cars and new houses were also in high demand during the 1950s. With the retirement of Mackenzie King in 1948, Louis St. Laurent became Prime Minister, and he and the Liberal Party won elections in 1949 and 1953.

Canadian Politics in the 1950s
St. Laurent’s government spent money on large public works projects such as the Trans-Canada Highway, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Trans-Canada Pipeline. Often, large amounts of American money poured into Canada to help finance these and other projects. When the Opposition in Parliament objected to large loans for a pipeline from Alberta to Central Canada, the St. Laurent government cut off Parliamentary debate. The so-called “pipeline debate” was bad news for the Liberal Party. The Progressive Conservative Party under leader John Diefenbaker painted the Liberals as arrogant. They had been in power since 1935, and the man known as “Dief the Chief” said it was time for a change. The voters agreed and Diefenbaker became Prime Minister after winning the 1957 election.

Task
Answer the questions below as they relate to the following table regarding Canadian birth rates.

Demographics Table Year-Total Births-Birth Rates 1945--300,587--24.3 <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1950--372,009--27.1 <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1955--442,937--28.2 <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1965--418,595--21.3 <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2002--328,802--10.5

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1. What conclusions can you draw from this information? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2. What explanations can you offer for these statistics? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">3. What questions arise about this information? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 4. Why is the “Birth Rate” statistic a more reliable measuring device than the “Total Birth” statistic? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;"> 5. Why do you think the period from 1945 -1960 was called the “Baby Boom”?