History part 2

Canada automatically entered World War I in 1914 with Britain's declaration of war, sending volunteers to the Western Front, who played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 erupted when conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden brought in compulsory military service over the objection of French-speaking Quebecers. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain; in 1931 the Statute of Westminster affirmed Canada's independence.

The Great Depression brought economic hardship to all of Canada. In response, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in Alberta and Saskatchewan presaged a welfare state as pioneered by Tommy Douglas in the 1940s and 1950s. Canada declared war on Germany independently during World War II under Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, three days after Britain. The first Canadian Army units arrived in Britain in December 1939.[19] Canadian troops played important roles in the Battle of the Atlantic, the failed 1942 Dieppe Raid in France, the Allied invasion of Italy, the D-Day landings, the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. Canada is credited by the Netherlands for having provided asylum and protection for its monarchy during the war after the country was occupied and the Netherlands credits Canada for its leadership and major contribution to the liberation of Netherlands from Nazi Germany. The Canadian economy boomed as industry manufactured military materiel for Canada, Britain, China and the Soviet Union. Despite another Conscription Crisis in Quebec, Canada finished the war with one of the largest armed forces in the world.[19] In 1945, during the war, Canada became one of the first countries to join the United Nations.

In 1949, Newfoundland joined Confederation. Post-war prosperity and economic expansion ignited a baby boom and attracted immigration from war-ravaged European countries.[20] The Constitution Act, 1982 during the official signing ceremony by Queen Elizabeth II in Ottawa on April 17, 1982 The Constitution Act, 1982 during the official signing ceremony by Queen Elizabeth II in Ottawa on April 17, 1982

Under successive Liberal governments of Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, a new Canadian identity emerged. Canada adopted its current Maple Leaf Flag in 1965. In response to a more assertive French-speaking Quebec, the federal government became officially bilingual with the Official Languages Act of 1969. Non-discriminatory Immigration Acts were introduced in 1967 and 1976, and official multiculturalism in 1971; waves of non-European immigration changed the face of the country. Social democratic programs such as universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Student Loans, the Foreign Investment Review Agency, and the National Energy Program were established in the 1960s and 1970s; provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Alberta, opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions. Finally, constitutional conferences led by Prime Minister Trudeau resulted in the patriation of the constitution from Britain, enshrining a Charter of Rights and Freedoms based on individual rights in the Constitution Act of 1982. Canadians continue to take pride in their system of universal health care, their commitment to multiculturalism, and human rights.[21]

Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes during the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. Quebec nationalists under Jean Lesage began pressing for greater autonomy.[22] The radical Front de liberation du Quebec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis in 1970 with bombings and kidnappings demanding Quebec independence. The more moderate Parti Quebecois of Rene Levesque came to power in 1976 and held an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980. Efforts by the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney to constitutionally recognize Quebec as a "distinct society" with the Meech Lake Accord collapsed in 1989. Regional tensions ignited by the constitutional debate helped fledgling regional parties, the Bloc Quebecois under Lucien Bouchard and the Reform Party under Preston Manning in Western Canada, relegate the Progressive Conservatives to fifth place in the federal election. A second Quebec referendum on sovereignty in 1995 was rejected by a slimmer margin of just 50.6% to 49.4%.[23] In 1997, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession by a province to be unconstitutional, and the Liberal government of Jean Chretien passed the "Clarity Act" outlining the terms of a negotiated departure.[23] The Reform Party expanded to become the Canadian Alliance and merge with the Progressive Conservatives to form the Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. The Conservatives were elected as a minority government under Stephen Harper in the 2006 federal election. Later that year, Canada's parliament passed a symbolic motion to recognize the Quebecois as a nation within Canada.[24]

Years of neglect and abuse by government agencies prompted aboriginal First Nations in the 1960s to use federal courts to press land claims and initiate negotiations with federal and provincial governments to recognize historical treaty rights. In the 1990s, frustration at the slow pace of negotiations gave way to violent confrontations in Oka, Ipperwash, and Gustafsen Lake. However, in 1999 Canada recognized Inuit self-government with the creation of Nunavut, and settled Nisga'a claims in B.C. In 2008, Canada's government officially apologized for the creation of residential schools set up to culturally assimilate aboriginal peoples which resulted in multiple abuses towards aboriginal people in these schools.