Unit 4

After Confederation - Part 2

Skill Builders Targets

Lesson 1

The Rise of Industry and Technology

  • assembly line
  • cottage industries
  • division of labour
  • industrialization
  • mass media
  • mechanical power
  • technology
 
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You will learn answers to the following questions as you work through Lesson 1.

  1. What was life like in Canada in the early 1900s?
  2. What kinds of jobs did people do?
  3. What forms of communication did they have?



Watch

Click the link to watch the video of early 1900s life in pictures. Although these pictures show life in America, life in Canada was similar.

Many forms of technology including light bulbs, telephones, cars, airplanes, mechanized farm equipment, and radios emerged in the early 20th century (about 100 years ago). Each technological development had a significant influence on Canadian society.

Prior to the 1900s, most Canadians worked in primary industries related to fishing, farming, logging, and mining.

Canadians became known as "hewers of wood, carriers of water" because we harvested natural resources in Canada and sold them around the world.

However, after Confederation, Canada experienced the Industrial Revolution, which had many lasting effects on Canadian society.