Canadian Life in the 1900s

• Country of Economic Contrasts
• 1st millionaires appear
• Cities have slums
• Stark contrast between the rich and the poor (upper and lower class)
• 1/4 + of babies die before their 1st birthday
• New technology makes life easier (for those who can afford the luxury)
• Technology in the Home
• 1900s was a time of “gadgets”
• New “gadgets include:
• Safety razors
• Electric irons
• Vacuum cleaners
• Push lawnmowers
• Automobiles

EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY

• MORE TIME OFF
  • Term “weekend” is first used
  • Vacations
  • *Note: Many people could not afford to take time off.  This, like gadgets was a luxury for the wealthy elite.

CHANGES IN FAMILY

• Middle/Lower class families need additional income to support themselves
• Wives are sent to work (aside from their regular duties – caring for the household, raising children)
• Children are forced to work (most children only achieve a grade 3 education

SLUMS

• No electricity                        Garbage littered streets
  Little Ventilation                   Polluted air
  Outdoor toilets                     Unpasturized milk
  Tainted Water Supply          High death rate/ disease

TYPICAL HOUSING

• Large families in small houses (1 to 2 rooms)
  • Could you be a “slum dog millionaire”?
  • It was very difficult to move from lower to upper class.
  • Average wage was $425 / year (women and children earning much less)
  • Rent = $12/month/room (basement appt.)
  • Food = $13.38 / month (little meat, few vegetables)

Changes in the Workplace

• Mass Production
• Service Sector
• Rural Depopulation
• Mass Production
• Workers specialize in one area (able to make things faster) as opposed to creating entire product
• Introduction of the assembly line
• Assembly Lines and the Model T
• Service Sector
• Creation of jobs in the service sector (people who “serve” others)
• Taxi Drivers
• Mailman
• Railroad
• Bank Teller
• Accountant
• Sales Person
• Cleaner
• Clerical work
  increases
  -invention of
  telephone & typewriter
• Many clerical jobs are given to women as the economy expands
• -women are better at detail
• -women have nimble hands making it easier for them to use the machines
  • Rural Depopulation
  • As farms become more and more mechanized, there
  • are less jobs in rural areas (less farm hands and farmers are needed)
    • Fewer people live are living in rural areas
    • Young people head toward the “city” in hopes for a better future
    • Women (unable to own/inherit land, are often not paid for farm work) in need of supporting themselves must move to the city for employment
    • Working Conditions
    • Working Conditions
    • Hard labour / long hours/ low pay
    • 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week
    • Companies hire women & children because they can pay them much less than men

FACTORY WORK

• Poor lighting, ventilation, noisy, dirty, dangerous (from the machines)
• Poor work conditions saves the companies $
• No safety regulations
• workers forced to retire because of poor health that was a direct result from the work environment
• Job security is non-existant and unemployment is common
• Little to no compensation for work place related injuries (or deaths)
• The physically disabled are deemed unemployable (will not be able to find jobs)
• Unstable Job Market
• Jobs are not stable
  • Seasonal jobs = job shortages
  • More people than jobs
  • Good for employers
  • Large work force
  • Easily threaten employees
  • Low wages
  • Fire people easily
  • Large inflow of immigrants
  • Able to pay even lower wages
  • Constant labour force
  • Use immigrants as strike breakers
  • Reform Movements
  • Social Gospel
  • Urban Reform
  • Education Reform
  • Struggle for Equality
  • Labour Movement
  • Social Gospel
  • Since the government does not do anything to remedy common problems (exploitation of workers, poverty, crime, disease) private charities help the poor/sick and social reformers leap into action
    • Religious revival
    • Believe that it is everyone’s duty to help the less fortunate

CHURCH GROUPS:

• Women’s Christian Temperance Union
• Young Men’s Christian Association
• Salvation Army
  • Urban Reform
  • Poor city planning is becoming a problem
    • Need to improve living conditions
    • Creation of Public Works
    • Building of infastructure
    • Sewers, gas lines, water lines
    • Telephone / Electrical wires
    • Public Transit
    • Children’s Aid Society
    • Education
    • Begin to provide free schooling
    • Begin educating labourers in work camps far from cities (1899 – Frontier College on Georgian Bay, ON) provides workers with basic literacy skills through evening classes
    • Education is viewed as a means to “Canadianize” immigrants through assimilation (& teaching them “Canadian” customs)
    • Movements to educate rural women
    • Women’s Institute
    • Fights for legislation regarding education, cleanliness and nutrition

• The Struggle for Equality:
  The Women’s Movement
• Campaign for women’s sufferage (right to vote)
• Launched by the Toronto Women’s Literary Club
• Run by Emily Stowe
• Denied access into university in Canada
• Became a Doctor in the United States
• Denied entry into the College of Physicians and Surgeons

William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)

William completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in 2013. He current serves as a lecturer, tutor and freelance writer. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, walking his dog and parasailing. Article last reviewed: 2022 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2025 | Creative Commons 4.0

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