Engendering The State: Family, Work, and Welfare in Canada

by Nancy Christie

In the early part of this century the mother was the educator and moral centre of the Canadian household. Between the onset of the First World War and the development of the modern social security state in the 1940s, however, an ideological shift took place. While Canada endured the effects of two world wars, industrialization, and economic and political crises, welfare entitlements based on family reproduction were replaced by state policies that promoted paid labour in the workplace. To a nation gripped with new and great anxieties, the mother no longer appeared capable of functioning as its vitally adhesive force. The necessity of stabilizing the paternal position of the father as breadwinner in order to sustain the family and support economic progress became the progressively dominant view. Although this thinking effectively helped a portion of the population achieve economic autonomy, its damaging effects were wide reaching. Women, unskilled labourers, and the chronically indigent had been left resourceless. The author's explanation of gender's role in the conception of modern Canadian welfare policy takes current scholarship into novel territory. Her analyses of the perspectives of maternal feminists, clergymen, organized labour, businessmen, university social scientists, welfare administrators, social workers, and government policy makers are fascinating to read and contribute greatly to our understanding of the current debates in welfare policy making.

Genres: Canada

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

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Reviews

[Dasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christie presents a detailed analysis of the rise of the welfare state in Canada between 1900 and 1945. By focusing on the relationships between the state and social movements such as clergymen, labour organizations, and maternal feminists Christie demonstrates how welfare debates centred around the family and the gendered assumptions that upheld the family unit’s stability. In focusing on several different groups, Christie uncovers the vast and complicated networks that saw disparate groups arguing in favour of similar legislation.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a reading for my comprehensive studies. It’s a very thorough history of the development of the family welfare policies in Canada from 1900-1945, but it lacks a very much needed intersectional feminist lens. There are parts that Christie could have deepened the analysis, especially around racism, xenophobia, and patriarchy. No interrogation of how this affected Indigenous communities, or immigrants much outside of British immigrants. She also completely ignores how maternal feminism upheld eugenics, while pointing to white male engagement in eugenics. Although this was written 25 years ago, these concepts were known.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Amazing story if reading it as a fiction novel with a twist of MsChristie’s personal views. Misses the historical context and the nature of the book. Requires editing and a senior author to assist NC

[Michael Primiani · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "breadwinner" argument here to encompass the entire welfare history of Canada is a bit of a stretch at some points