Essay: Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Canadian History Essay

In 1904, the Prime Minister of Canada, Wilfrid Laurier stated “I believe that we can claim that the 20th century will belong to Canada.” From my viewpoint, Laurier was correct in saying this, as the 21th century was a high time for Canadian innovation with Canadian women gaining the right to vote in 1916, the declaration of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and the victory at Vimy Ridge in 1917. This quote has left a mark in Canadian History, and has also left room for many different insights that allow us to truly comprehend and understand its significance, and how exactly it was correct.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier was the 7th Canadian Prime Minister, and was in office from July 11th, 1896 until October 6th, 1911. During his time in office, Laurier had come to believe that the 20th century would be a great time for

Canadian prosperity as demonstrated by his statement “I believe that Canada will fill the 20th century.” I believe that Laurier is indeed correct, as the Twentieth Century was a grand time in Canadian History. One event that changed the face of Canada was women living in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan gaining the rights to vote in 1916. Up until this point in time, women were prohibited from contributing to the determination of who was elected Prime Minister of Canada. Before this action, Women were not considered“persons” in North America, as such, the decision to allow them to vote was a major step in favour of not only Canadian Women, but Women in general. This was the first step that allowed Gender Equality rights to expand, later allowing Women enter the workplace and eventually to have the same basic rights as Men, the rights which they most definitely deserve. Taking into account the fact that they were not allowed to work, vote or do much of anything that men could do according to the Law, this was truly a step in the right direction for Canada and paved the way for our present day society. While the country remained far from perfect, this point in 20th century Canada was a point which proved Lauriers claims, as Canada's innovation lead the course for what would become a soon equal country. This swayed the way that America viewed Women's Rights and lead to the eventual decision that Canada had made years prior.

In 1931, a bill known as the Statute of Westminster, was passed that allowed all countries under British rule, to branch away from their mother country to think and operate as their own nations.

One of said countries, was Canada. This event signified Canada, and Australia as well, breaking free of our British roots and fully dive into our independence as a Country. With the enaction of the Bill, it allowed Canada to enter any battle or war on it’s own accord. This was shown during WW2 when Canada did not directly follow Britain in its fight against Germany. Laurier claimed that the 20th century would belong to Canada, and with the inaction of the Statute of Westminster, it proved to be true. As this time period did belong to Canada. Our nation could finally operate on its own free, strong and proud will. The Statute of Westminster has certainly affected Canada as a whole, and enabled us to grow, not only as an ally of Britain, but as it’s own country. Becoming an independent country proves Lauriers claims that the 20th century would belong to Canada. Because we could finally tackle the world as our own country, and we did just

that.

During the peak of World War 1, Germany had launched offensive strikes on European Countries, one of which is France. They pressed even further and managed to claim a piece of land that had a higher view of the land below, which made attacking even simpler than before as they quite literally had the upper hand. This piece of land is called, Vimy Ridge. The German forces had fought off the French soldiers who tried to fend off the invaders, but to no avail. In order to fight off their enemies, the allies needed a strong, capable and intelligent military force to take charge. It was Canada’s time to show what we could do. 1st division commander, Arthur Currie, who previously lead the assault in the battle of The Somme, was chosen to calculate and organize a battle tactic. With the odds stacked in favor of the German army, and the odds against us, it seemed that victory was a faint dream. Nonetheless, Arthur Currie proved himself, yet again, to be smarter than the opposition, displaying his knowledge of the battlefield by leading Canada to victory.