The Global War And Global Crisis

 The third gallery goes from the First World War through to the present, and starts with a bust of Wilfrid Laurier, seventh prime minister of the country from 1896-1911.

Canada was in the Great War from the start, sending troops to Europe to fight in what was supposed to be the war to end all wars.

The cost was enormous. More than one in ten who served died. 

And yet Canadians rose to the occasion, developing a reputation as elite shock troops, doing things that others couldn't do. The photograph at left features Canadian soldiers after their momentous victory at Vimy Ridge.

This crucifix was fashioned from the ruins of a church at Passchendaele, Belgium, where Canadians had won a bloody battle, a place that could be summed up as hell on earth.

In the wake of that war, Robert Borden, the Canadian Prime Minister who had seen the country through the war, pushed for the country to have a seat at the table at Versailles.

The Group of Seven was an art group who began exhibiting together after the war. Members came and went, but there were always seven. They are integral to Canadian art and culture of the 20th century. At left is an untitled painting by A.J. Casson, dating around 1930. At right is Eskimo Summer Camp by A.Y. Jackson, from around 1927.

The Depression hit the country as hard as it did elsewhere, causing enormous societal pressures.