To what degree is Canada a country to be proud of?
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Course
Canadian civics
Institution
10th Grade
The essay highlights Canada's early leadership in granting women the right to vote, emphasizing its progressive stance compared to other countries during the early 20th century.
To what degree is Canada a country to be proud of?
I think Canada is a country to be proud of, and I can gladly say that I am proud of the country that I was
born in. Throughout the history of Canada in the 20th century, Canada has been loyal to its allies and
has proved its place in world history as well as independence as a country. In the 20th century, Canada
was one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of established equality and human rights.
However, even though Canada has its human rights achievements, the history of Canada contains a
fair share of rights violations and abuses. In this essay, I will discuss Canada’s human rights
achievements, Canada’s contributions to the world, and lessons that we learned in our history.
In terms of humans rights, Canada in the early 20th century was ahead of many European countries.
Canada allowed women to vote in the federal election in 1917, 2 years after Denmark but 3 years
before the United States. Prior to that, Manitoba and Saskatchewan granted women the right to vote in
provincial elections in 1916. Last year, Canada recognized the historical importance of the civil rights
movement by having Viola Desmond, printed on the Canadian ten-dollar note.
Canada was heavily involved with the two major wars of the 20th century: World War I and World War
II. When World War I was declared by Britain in 1914, Canada was automatically brought into the war
by its legal obligation to Britain. Aside from this, the Canadian government was able to determine the
extent of Canada’s involvement in the war. For a country of eight million people, the war effort of
Canada was outstanding. More than 650,000 men and women served. Over 66,000 died and 172,000
were wounded. The Canadian Corps was one of the most respected and effective armies on the
Western front, and the world remembers the sacrifices Canada made in World War I with memorials in
Europe, one of the most prominent being Vimy Ridge in France. In World War II, over 1.1 million
Canadians served in the Armed Forces out of a population of about 11.5 million. The Forces were
eventually active in all areas of warfare. Canada played a major role in the Allied invasion of Juno
Beach, and Canada proved once again to be a reliable and prepared ally.
Although Canada in some ways was ahead in establishing equality compared to a lot of countries, there
are prominent human rights abuses that have occurred in its history, some of which the federal
government has apologized or even compensated for. In World War I, 4,000 Ukrainian men and some
women and children were kept in internment from 1914 to 1920 (for the duration of the war and an
additional two years) under the terms of the War Measures Act. Many internees were forced to do hard
labour. In 1916-1917 most were paroled as a result of a shortage of farm labour and many went on to
the custody of local farmers. Some were sent to work at railways and mines. A second mass internment
occurred in World War II of over 22,000 Japanese Canadians in British Columbia. Starting with the
attack of Pearl Harbour, and lasting until 1949, Japanese Canadians were separated from their homes
and sent to internment camps and farms. The program was funded partly by the sale of property
belonging to the displaced population. Japanese Canadians were promised to have property and
belonging returned, but this almost never happened for assets were cheaply auctioned away by the
government. Perhaps the most infamous rights abuse done by Canada was the residential school
system, a system created as an attempt to assimilate children of Indigenous peoples into the dominant
Canadian culture. The schools harmed children by removing them from their families, attempting to
deprive them of their languages and culture, and exposing many to physical and sexual abuse. Many
children who graduated out of school found themselves unable to fit into either community. The system
has resulted in increased PTSD, alcoholism and substance abuse, and suicide within Indigenous
communities, the consequences of the system are still visible to this day within those areas.
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