Search for ""

The Women’s Memorial March (WMM) is held every year on 14 February, Valentine’s Day, in cities across Canada and the United States. The WMM started in 1992 in Vancouver, BC, following the murder of Indigenous woman Cheryl Ann Joe. The first Women’s Memorial March began as a small memorial for Joe, but grew to become an annual march to honour all missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The Vancouver march draws thousands of people, while women’s memorial marches have spread to more than 20 cities across Canada and the United States.

The Canadian disability rights movement arose in the latter half of the 20th century. It includes multiple social movements that take a similar but distinct approach advocating civil rights for almost four million people with physical, sensory and cognitive impairments — nearly 14 per cent of the Canadian population.

The Elizabeth Fry Society is a not-for-profit social service agency that provides support for women and girls involved in the Canadian justice system. The Society provides a range of services to women who are criminalized and to women who are at risk of being criminalized. It works to reduce the impact of criminalization, to provide equal opportunities for women in the justice system and to empower marginalized women.

Friendship Centres are non-governmental agencies that provide various programs and services to urban Indigenous peoples. As of 2017, the National Association of Friendship Centres represents 118 Friendship Centres nationwide.

Sustainability is the ability of the biosphere, or of a certain resource or practice, to persist in a state of balance over the long term. The concept of sustainability also includes things humans can do to preserve such a balance. Sustainable development, for instance, pairs such actions with growth. It aims to meet the needs of the present while ensuring that future people will be able to meet their needs.

The Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) was a militant Quebec independence movement that used terrorism to try and achieve an independent and socialist Quebec. FLQ members — or felquistes — were responsible for more than 200 bombings and dozens of robberies between 1963 and 1970 that left six people dead. Their actions culminated in the kidnapping of British trade commissioner James Cross and the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte, in what became known as the October Crisis.

For 45 years, the Canadian government investigated unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Several of its departments and agencies collected sighting reports of UFOs in Canadian airspace from 1950 to 1995. These investigations started during the Cold War, spurred by fears of Soviet incursions. What began as a military question eventually became a scientific one. From the start, however, the government was reluctant to study this topic. It devoted few resources to it, believing UFOs to be natural phenomena or the products of “delusional” minds. By contrast, many Canadian citizens were eager for information about UFOs. Citizens started their own investigations and petitioned the government for action. In 1995, due to budget cuts, the government stopped collecting reports altogether. For their part, citizen enthusiasts have continued to investigate UFOs.

L’Arche is a not-for-profit social service agency that creates and runs supportive communities for people with intellectual disabilities. Founded in 1964, L’Arche builds communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities work, play, live and learn together. L’Arche Canada is part of the International Federation of L’Arche Communities. L’Arche International operates 153 communities worldwide in 38 countries. The organization has over 10,000 members with and without intellectual disabilities worldwide. In Canada, L’Arche operates 31 communities in nine provinces as of 2020.

The temperance movement was an international social and political campaign of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was based on the belief that drinking was responsible for many of society’s ills. It called for moderation or total abstinence from alcohol. This led to the legal prohibition of alcohol in many parts of Canada. The Canada Temperance Act (Scott Act) of 1878 gave local governments the “local option” to ban the sale of alcohol. In 1915 and 1916, all provinces but Quebec prohibited the sale of alcohol as a patriotic measure during the First World War. Most provincial laws were repealed in the 1920s in favour of allowing governments to control alcohol sales. Temperance societies were later criticized for distorting economic activity, and for encouraging drinking and organized crime.

Lobbying is the process through which individuals and groups articulate their interests to federal, provincial or municipal governments to influence public policy or government decision-making. Lobbyists may be paid third parties who communicate on behalf of their clients; or they may be employees of a corporation or organization seeking to influence the government. Because of the possibility for conflict of interest, lobbying is the subject of much public scrutiny. At the federal level, lobbying activities are governed by the Lobbying Act. Provinces and municipalities have their own lobbying laws and by-laws.

Human beings have practised birth control throughout history. However, in 19th-century Canada, this practice was largely forbidden or taboo. It was only in the 1920s that groups of citizens formed to defend birth control. The information, services and products related to this practice became increasingly accessible after the war. During the 1960s, Canada decriminalized contraception and abortion. In the 1970s, the number of organizations and services promoting access to contraception and family planning began to increase. From then on, birth control became an integral part of the public health approach to sexual health.

 The scouting movement was founded in England in 1907 by Robert Baden-Powell, then a lieutenant-general in the British army.

Automobile clubs grew in popularity as automobile sales and production increased. In the early 20th century, the first Canadian automobile clubs were formed. By 1913, the not-for-profit Canadian Automobile Association was established to represent motorists. (See also Automobile; Associations.)

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (formerly known as the Eskimo Brotherhood of Canada) is a national advocacy organization that promotes awareness about political, social, cultural and environmental issues that impact Inuit communities, from the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Northwest Territories, to Nunavut, Nunavik in Northern Québec, Nunatsiavut in Northern Labrador and land claims regions.

The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was the largest strike in Canadian history (see Strikes and Lockouts). Between 15 May and 25 June 1919, more than 30,000 workers left their jobs (see Work). Factories, shops, transit and city services shut down. The strike resulted in arrests, injuries and the deaths of two protestors. It did not immediately succeed in empowering workers and improving job conditions. But the strike did help unite the working class in Canada (see Labour Organization). Some of its participants helped establish what is now the New Democratic Party.

Click here for definitions of key terms used in this article.

This is the full-length entry about the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. For a plain-language summary, please see Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 (Plain-language Summary).

Co-operative marketing organizations began to appear in British North America in the 1840s when British labourers attempted unsuccessfully to start stores similar to those common in Britain. The first stable store, or society, was developed in 1861 in Stellarton, NS.

The Memory Project is a national bilingual program whose mandate is to record and share the stories of veterans and currently serving Canadian Forces members. The Memory Project has two branches: a Speakers Bureau and an Archive.

​Most adult Canadians earn their living in the form of wages and salaries and are therefore associated with the definition of "working class." In Québec, working people and unions have played an essential role in the province's development.

​Most adult Canadians earn their living in the form of wages and salaries and are therefore associated with the definition of "working class." Less than a third of employed Canadians typically belong to unions. Unionized or not, the struggles and triumphs of Canadian workers are an essential part of the country's development.

Action française, L' , a monthly magazine published 1917-28 in Montréal. It was the voice of a group of priests and nationalists who comprised the Ligue des droits du français, an organization formed in