Canadian History since World War I

In this unit you will investigate Canada from 1914 to 1929, from the outbreak of the First World War to the eve of the Great Depression. You will examine the causes of the war and why Canada took part; life and death in the trenches and the battles from Second Ypres and the Somme to Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and Canada's Hundred Days; the home front, the Halifax Explosion, the conscription crisis and the internment of "enemy aliens"; veterans, the influenza pandemic and remembrance; Canada's steps toward autonomy (Versailles, Chanak, the Halibut Treaty, the Balfour Report and the King-Byng affair); the Winnipeg General Strike, the Red Scare and extreme ideologies; the economy, technology and popular culture of the 1920s; women's rights and the Persons Case; the Indian Act, residential schools and First Nations and Métis organizing; and immigration policy, racism and antisemitism, and the contributions of Black Canadians and many other communities. Throughout, you will practise historical inquiry and the four historical thinking concepts, ending with your own inquiry: Did Canada come of age?

Some lessons deal with war, internment, residential schools and discrimination. They are written respectfully and without graphic detail, each has a note for grown-ups, and those lessons have no joke block.

Curriculum expectations covered: Strand B, Canada, 1914–1929 (B1.1–B1.4, B2.1–B2.6, B3.1–B3.4), with Strand A, Historical Inquiry and Skill Development (A1.1–A1.7, A2.1–A2.4), of Canadian History since World War I, Grade 10, Academic (CHC2D). Ontario revised this course for 2026–27; its overall expectations B1–B3 keep the same wording, but the 2026 specific-expectation text could not be checked, so specific codes and topics follow the 2018 curriculum, with added attention to the 2026 revision's new focus on extreme ideologies, antisemitism and the contributions of Black individuals and communities.

From the stock market crash of October 1929 to the end of the Second World War in 1945, Canadians lived through the worst economic collapse in their history and the largest war the world has seen. In this unit (strand C of Canadian History since World War I, Grade 10, Academic (CHC2D), revised 2026 course), you will:

• explain the causes and effects of the Great Depression, how it affected different groups, and how governments and new political parties responded;
• analyse the rise of extreme political ideologies (communism, fascism and Nazism), the Holodomor in Soviet Ukraine, antisemitism in Canada (including the MS St. Louis), and the Holocaust;
• explain the causes of the Second World War and Canada's contribution at sea, in the air, in Italy, Normandy and the Netherlands, and Canada's connection to the Manhattan Project;
• assess the war's impact on the home front, on First Nations, Métis and Inuit, and on people labelled "enemy aliens", including the internment of Japanese Canadians;
• describe developments in science, technology and culture, and the contributions of individuals and groups, including women and Black Canadians;
• analyse how the Holocaust and the war changed Canadians' attitudes toward human rights;
• practise historical inquiry throughout (strand A): asking questions, judging sources and using the concepts of historical significance, cause and consequence, continuity and change, and historical perspective.

A note for families: several lessons deal with atrocities (the Holodomor, the Holocaust), racism and antisemitism, residential schools and war deaths. They are written accurately and without graphic detail, and those lessons do not include jokes. Each one has notes for parents on how to support your teen.

In this unit you will investigate Canada from the end of the Second World War to the patriation of the Constitution in 1982, a time when the country changed faster than at almost any other point in its history.

You will study the baby boom, suburbs and new immigrants; Canada's role in the Cold War as an ally of the United States and as a middle power and peacekeeper; new science and technology from the Avro Arrow to the Canadarm; the postwar economic boom, unions, branch plants, and the oil shocks, stagflation and recession of the 1970s and early 1980s; and the building of a social safety net, including medicare.

You will see how communities in Canada experienced these years very differently. You will learn how Black Canadians resisted and advocated against anti-Black racism and contributed to Canadian life; how women pushed for equality in the second wave of feminism; how immigration and refugee policy changed and how multiculturalism became official policy; how Quebec moved from the Duplessis years through the Quiet Revolution to the October Crisis and the 1980 referendum; and how First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples faced continuing residential schools, forced relocations and the Sixties Scoop, and organized against the 1969 White Paper to win recognition of their rights in section 35 of the Constitution.

Throughout the unit you will use the historical inquiry process and the concepts of historical significance, cause and consequence, continuity and change, and historical perspective to analyse primary sources, weigh evidence and build your own arguments.

About the expectation codes: Ontario's revised 2026 Canadian History since World War I course (CHC2D) takes effect in 2026–27. Its full text could not be read online, so the specific codes in this unit follow the 2018 wording of strand D, which the 2026 course keeps in its strand structure (D1 to D3); the new 2026 expectation on Black Canadians' resistance to anti-Black racism is tagged with its overall code, D2. Some lessons in this unit deal with residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, racism and political violence; each has a note for families.

This unit is strand E of Canadian History since World War I, Grade 10, Academic (CHC2D). It begins on April 17, 1982, when Canada patriated its Constitution and added the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and it follows the story to October 2026.

You will:

• explain how the Charter and section 35 changed rights, courts and the relationship between governments and First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples;
• analyse the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords, the 1995 Quebec referendum, and Quebec–Ottawa relations up to Quebec's 2026 election;
• investigate Oka, Ipperwash and Caledonia, landmark court cases, Nunavut and modern treaties, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the path to reconciliation;
• assess how Canada acknowledges past wrongs, including the Holocaust, the Holodomor, the Chinese Head Tax and Japanese Canadian internment, and why remembrance matters in the face of antisemitism and other hate today;
• describe changes in society, technology and the economy: immigration, multiculturalism, the contributions of Black Canadians, free trade, globalization and the 2025–2026 trade conflict with the United States;
• analyse regionalism, new political parties, and Alberta's 2026 referendum;
• evaluate Canada's role in the world, from peacekeeping in the 1990s to Afghanistan, and its changing relationship with the United States;
• explore how artists, athletes and cultural policy have shaped Canadian identity.

Historical inquiry (strand A) is woven through every lesson: you will ask questions, judge sources, use the historical thinking concepts (significance, cause and consequence, continuity and change, historical perspective) and finish with your own mini-inquiry.

A note on curriculum versions: Ontario revised CHC2D for the 2026–27 school year. The specific expectation codes used here (E1.1–E3.4, A1.1–A2.4) follow the published 2018 wording, which a 2026–27 course outline confirms is unchanged at the overall level. Lessons include the revised course's emphases: extreme ideologies, the Holocaust and antisemitism, the Holodomor, and the contributions of Black Canadians.

About recent events: facts about 2025 and 2026 were checked in October 2026. Some stories (Quebec's government, Alberta's referendum, CUSMA and tariffs) are still unfolding, so check the date of any source you use.