World War I and Aftermath

When the First World War was declared, Alberta found itself giving more than it expected, having 48,885 men enlist. On a per capita basis, Alberta was providing more than any other province. The war years brought stories of Albertan's valour, heroism, and loss. Of those who enlisted, it is estimated 6,140 were killed and about 20,000 wounded. Many communities across Alberta felt the loss of these men.

The war years were also difficult for Alberta's immigrants. German immigrants, who had earned reputations of being hard workers and good neighbours, were now viewed as the enemy. Ukrainian and Italian immigrants were suspected of being loyal to the Austro-Hungarian empire or promoters of fascism. Many were placed in internment camps around Alberta. It took decades for the wounds of the war years to be healed.

Adding to the uncertainty and change the war had brought was the Spanish Flu that arrived in Alberta on 7 October 1918 when 15 soldiers were diagnosed with the disease. Families were devastated and children orphaned as 3,259 Albertans died in less than six months.

With the end of the First World War, Canada entered an era of uncertainty. The Russian Revolution of 1917 had created a great amount of apprehension regarding the rise of socialism, and the anti-foreigner sentiment that surfaced in Canada during the war continued to intensify with postwar economic instability. Spurred on by social unrest, in 1919 the Canadian government revised the Immigration Act.

Although the Immigration Act of 1910 provided the federal government with the power to limit immigration as it saw fit, the revisions of 1919 formalized immigration guidelines based on preferred cultural and ideological traits. A new rule allowed the government to prohibit the entry of "undesirable" races and nationalities.

The aftermath of the war left Alberta, like much of the world, on shaky economic and social footing. The 1920s and 30s were marked by political change, labour strikes, and the Great Depression. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the stage was being set for the Second World War.

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Becoming a Province

The First Legislature:
1905-1910

Turner Valley: 1914

World War I and Aftermath

Railroads and Expanding Settlement