A strong urban-oriented, English-Canadian reform impulse had taken hold in many parts of Canada, including the West, by the early-twentieth century. These urban, social reformers combined Protestant religious values and a strong paternalistic, ethno-centric bias to create a movement that attempted to shape how Canadian society, with all its newcomers, would develop.

Social reform efforts peaked during the First World War, as these urban, English-Canadian social reformers harnessed the powerful force of patriotism to their cause. Many were imbued with the philosophy of the "social gospel," which argued that societal salvation was more important than individual salvation and that people should work to create a Kingdom of God on earth. These social gospellers, lead by Methodist minister and labour activist J.S. Woodsworth, believed that people should try to reform society to make this worldly life better, rather than simply waiting for better times in the afterlife. These urban reformers wanted to regenerate society and often looked to immigrant groups, with their Catholicism, large "L" Liberalism, and alleged propensity to drink, as those most in need of regeneration.

By the early-1920s, social gospellers' reform efforts began to wane, as prohibition ultimately failed and political protest parties across Canada began to harness Canadians' postwar discontent. But the broader effect of these social reforms was evident in the achievement of women's suffrage and the "Canadianization" of many new immigrants.