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  • The 1919 sedition and deportation ammendments in Canada were not merely the product of anti-radical hysteria induced by the Winnipeg General Strike, but were consistent with the ideological propensity of the Conservative-Unionist and Bennett governments to suppress alien and left-wing dissent. This tendency was reflected in earlier, anti-radical enactments by Borden's government under the War Measures Act, providing, among other things, for the summary internment and deportation of suspected alien radicals. For the most part the stringent measures passed in 1919 represented the conversion of wartime powers to peace-time legislation. The conservative ideology that inspired these amendments was manifested in the vigorous application of deportation powers by immigration and other officials during the Red Scare of 1919-20 and the depression of the early thirties. It was further sustained by the stubborn refusal of the Conservative majority in the Senate to approve repeal legislation repeatedly passed by the House of Commons, even in the context of domestic stability in the 1920s. Ultimately, conservative reaction was superseded by liberalism in the form of civil liberties legislation passed by Mackenzie King's government. The emergence of the repeal of Section 98 of the Criminal Code as a major issue in the 1935 Dominion election and Bennett's corresponding defeat had demonstrated the Canadian public's desire that its governments address themselves, not to the suppression of radicalism, but to the solution of economic problems underpinning social unrest.

  • While realizing the necessity of being aware of the work of others, in order to get a reasonably adequate view of the events of May 1918 in Winnipeg, it has been necessary to make extensive use of primary sources, contemporary newspapers, interviews, and archival material. Wherever possible the information closest to the source has been used. Contemporary newspapers have been particularly valuable primary sources because they tended to report in depth about meetings, speeches, agreements, and announcements. Fortunately, by making comparisons with official documents, now available, it has been possible to verify that in general, newspaper reports were reasonably accurate. Except for the Telegram, most newspapers kept their news gathering function quite sharply separated from their editorial function. Interviews have been conducted with the realization that elderly people do not always remember the past as it really was. Their perceptions are, nevertheless, interesting...

Last update from database: 3/13/25, 4:10 AM (UTC)

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