LetStudyEU - Informative. Dynamic. Swift.

In the late 19th century and the early 20th century the population of Canada grew rapidly. The Canadian economy also expanded rapidly helped by the spread of railways. A transcontinental railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in 1885.

Many Britons migrated to Canada and in the early 20th century many Eastern Europeans also migrated there. Vast areas of land were turned over to farming and manufacturing industries boomed.

Meanwhile in 1896 gold was found in the Klondike district of the Yukon and a gold rush ensued.

More than 60,000 Canadians died in the First World War.

The 1920s were, in general prosperous years for Canada. However like the rest of the world Canada suffered in the depression of the 1930s. Canada suffered from a huge drop in exports of timber, grain and fish. By 1933 unemployment had soared to 23%. The government introduced relief works but economic hardship continued throughout the 1930s. The depression only ended when the Second World War began in 1939. However during World War II 45,000 Canadians were killed.

In the late 20th century the population of Canada grew rapidly. In 1951 it was 16 million. By 1961 it had risen to 18 million. After 1945 people from Southern and Eastern Europe flocked to live in Canada. From the 1960s many immigrants came from South Asia.

Meanwhile during the 1950s and 1960s the Canadian economy boomed and Canada became an affluent society. However things turned sour in the 1970s. In the early 1980s Canada suffered a deep recession and unemployment rose to 11%. There was another recession in the early 1990s. Yet Canada recovered and today it is a prosperous nation.

In 1999 North West Territories was divided into two and a new territory called Nunavut was created.