Here’s a very cool tourist giveaway comic book I found a short while ago. It was created, printed and published in Canada by G.W. Hogarth and the Division of Publicity, Department of Travel and Publicity, in authority with Baptist Johnston, Printer to the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty (no pressure) Toronto, Ontario. There is no mention of artist although there could be a signature hiding in a panel somewhere and my guess is it was published circa 1952. If anyone has any additional information, please be sure to let me know.
Reproduced below is the entire comic book of Our Vacation in Ontario, cover to cover.
In the early 20th century Sir Wilfred Laurier, one of our longest serving Prime Ministers, famously announced: “The twentieth century shall be the century of Canada. . . . For the next hundred years, Canada shall be the star towards which all men who love progress and freedom shall come.” Whether you feel that Laurier was on the mark or not, at the time of this renowned speech in 1904, Canadians were very optimistic about the future.
A Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard showing the Canadian Wheat Arch, erected in Whitehall (London, England) to honour Edward VII’s coronation in 1902. Note the “Free Homes for Millions” ad.
One of the main reasons for the country’s optimism was the enormously successful campaign to lure immigrants to Western Canada and the economic prosperity that soon followed. No doubt taking advantage of the worldwide interest in the Canadian West triggered by the discovery of gold in the Yukon in 1896, Laurier’s government embarked on an ambitious advertising campaign in Europe and America to populate this vast, near empty region. Homesteaders were offered 160 acres of free western farmland provided the land was worked and permanent residences were established on it.
“Homes for Millions in Canada” are advertised in this King’s Printer (government) postcard targeting Uncle Sam in 1903. This postcard is one of a series of 12 cartoon-type cards primarily focusing on immigration from the USA.“Thousands of Settlers are Moving to Canada” 1903 postcard.
