Modern Canada: Postwar Prosperity, International Engagement and Quebec

The decades after the Second World War brought Canada record prosperity, a growing role on the world stage and profound domestic change — especially in Quebec. The social programmes Canadians rely on today were built during this era. Canada joined new international alliances and went to war again under the United Nations banner. And through the Quiet Revolution, the sovereignty referendums and the patriation of the Constitution, the question of Quebec’s place in Canada became one of the defining issues of the second half of the 20th century.

Postwar Economic Growth

Postwar Canada enjoyed record prosperity and material progress. The world’s restrictive trading policies from the Depression era were opened up by treaties such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) An international trade treaty that liberalised world trade after the Second World War. It has since evolved into the World Trade Organization (WTO). , now the World Trade Organization (WTO) The successor to GATT, an international organisation that oversees and regulates global trade. . The discovery of oil in Alberta in 1947 launched Canada’s modern energy industry. By 1951, for the first time, a majority of Canadians could afford adequate food, shelter and clothing. Between 1945 and 1970, Canada drew closer to the United States and other trading partners and enjoyed one of the strongest economies among industrialised nations. Today, Canadians enjoy one of the world’s highest standards of living, sustained by hard work and by trade — particularly with the United States.

Social Programmes

As prosperity grew, so did the capacity to support social assistance. The Canada Health Act Legislation ensuring common elements and a basic standard of health care coverage across Canada. ensures a national standard of health coverage. Unemployment insurance A federal programme providing income support to Canadians who lose their jobs, now called 'employment insurance,' introduced in 1940. (now called employment insurance) was introduced in 1940. Old Age Security A federal pension programme for elderly Canadians, devised as early as 1927. was devised as early as 1927, and the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans were established in 1965. Publicly funded education is provided by the provinces and territories.

Canada on the World Stage

Canada developed its international influence gradually. The Cold War The prolonged period of tension between the Western democratic nations and the Soviet-led Communist bloc that followed the Second World War. began when several countries liberated from Nazi occupation fell under Communist control, forming a bloc under the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin The dictator of the Soviet Union who controlled the Communist bloc in the early Cold War period. . Canada joined with other Western democracies to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) A military alliance of democratic nations formed after the Second World War to provide collective defence, which Canada helped to establish. and partnered with the United States in the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) A joint Canada–United States military command responsible for the aerospace defence of North America. .

Canada joined the United Nations (UN) The international organisation founded after the Second World War to promote peace and international cooperation. Canada is a founding member. and participated in the UN operation defending South Korea during the Korean War A conflict (1950–53) in which Canada participated as part of the UN defence of South Korea, at a cost of 500 dead and 1,000 wounded. (1950–53), with 500 dead and 1,000 wounded. Canada has since taken part in numerous UN peacekeeping missions in places as varied as Egypt, Cyprus and Haiti, as well as in international security operations in the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

Canada and Quebec

French-Canadian society and culture flourished in the postwar years. In the 1960s, Quebec experienced an era of rapid social and political transformation known as the Quiet Revolution A period of rapid change in Quebec in the 1960s during which many Quebecers sought greater autonomy or even separation from Canada. . Many Quebecers sought to separate from Canada.

In 1963, Parliament established the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism A commission established in 1963 to examine the state of French and English relations in Canada, which led directly to the Official Languages Act of 1969. , which led to the Official Languages Act (1969) Legislation that guarantees French and English services in the federal government across all of Canada. — guaranteeing federal services in both French and English across the country. In 1970, Canada helped found La Francophonie An international association of French-speaking countries, co-founded by Canada in 1970. , an international association of French-speaking countries.

The movement for Quebec sovereignty was defeated in a provincial referendum in 1980. After extensive negotiation, the Constitution was amended in 1982 — without the agreement of Quebec. Sovereignty was defeated again in a second referendum in 1995. The question of Quebec’s autonomy within Canada remains a lively and ongoing part of the country’s political life.