Conditions In The Great Depression 1929-1939. BIG 3 REVIEW QUIZ Who were the two Prime Ministers...
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Transcript of Conditions In The Great Depression 1929-1939. BIG 3 REVIEW QUIZ Who were the two Prime Ministers...
Conditions In The Great Depression
1929-1939
BIG 3 REVIEW QUIZ
Who were the two Prime Ministers during the Depression? What parties were they from? (/2)
In the Supply and Demand concept, if Demand goes down and Supply remains constant, what happens to prices? (/1)
Name one initiative taken to try to solve the depression by each Prime Minister. (/2)
Bonus: What years was Bennett in office?
1933- The worst year GNP in 1933 had dropped 40% from
pre-crash levels Canada’s exports declined by half Over-dependence on natural
resource exports 26.6% unemployment In some regions of Canada
unemployment was 30-50%
Richard Bedford Bennett
Relief Most relief funds came in the form of
public works Disorganized attempt meant that only $4
million of the $20 million went in direct relief to people
Registering for relief was humiliating and difficult
Relief usually came in vouchers (food stamps)
Soup Kitchens
Depression in the Prairies Record low prices for grain Most severe and prolonged drought in
history 1929-1937 drought in Palliser’s Triangle
WWI $2 a bushel for wheat 1932-33: 39.375 cents
The Dustbowl
Labour Camps Riding the Rails made government nervous Work camps for unemployed, single men Under the jurisdiction of the Department of
National Defence 20 cents a day 1932 saw the establishment of the first
labour camps Lack of funds Single men could not get relief
Relief Camps
Unrest in the camps In the four years of the camps there
were 359 strikes, riots and disturbances
RCWU was associated with the Communist party and began to organize protests for decent wages
On to Ottawa began in BC
On to Ottawa Trek
The On to Ottawa Trek April 1935 - 3000 relief camp workers
converged on Vancouver riots and protests for weeks
1800 got on trains for Ottawa June 14, 1935 - 2000 men converged on
Regina Arthur “Slim” Evans and seven of his men
agreed to a meeting with the Prime Minister
The Six Demands of the workers 50 cents an hour wage for unskilled labour
and union rates for skilled labour All workers must be covered by the
Compensation Act and adequate first aid for the jobs
Elected committee of relief workers Department of National Defence no longer be
in charge of the camps A genuine system of social and unemployment
insurance All workers guaranteed the right to vote
Regina Riot The meeting ended in a stalemate Evans returned to Regina July 1, 1935 rally in Market Square Riot ensued 1 police office dead and 100
protesters arrested 8, including Evans were sent to jail
Regina Riot
Confronting the Depression Tariffs for protection Smoot-Hawley tariff devastated
Canada (30-60%) In July 1932 Bennett makes a half
hearted attempt at free trade at the Imperial Conference in Ottawa
Bennett’s New Deal 1935 election year Proposed a “New Deal” like FDR’s in the
US Proposed a government program of
unemployment insurance Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act The Canadian Wheat Board The Natural Products Marketing Board
New Deal Thwarted in the courts, but also
proposed UI and national health insurance
Bank of Canada Act- created a central bank
Canadians did not trust Bennett
1935 Election Mackenzie King made few promises Promised to disband the work camps 1935 the Conservatives lost 3/5 of
the vote capturing only 40 seats King won 125 seats King adopted some New Deal
policies, but not much changed for Canadians
New Political Parties Social Credit- William Aberhart $25 a
month to make up for the lack of purchasing power
56/63 Albertan seats 15/17 seats in Ottawa from Alberta “Bible Bill” (William) Aberhart
New Political Parties The Co-operative Commonwealth
Federation formed in 1932 Regina Manifesto- social democracy Government control of key industries Welfare state- medicare, welfare and UI J.S. Woodsworth 1944 Tommy Douglas elected in
Saskatchewan
New Political Parties In Quebec the Church pushed for reform Anti-socialist but proposed programs to
regulate monopolies and improve conditions
Some Liberals broke away and formed the Action Liberale nationale
Maurice Duplessis of the Conservative party formed an alliance to create the Union Nationale in 1935
Maurice Duplessis
The Communist Party Tim Buck leader Communist Party found an audience
during the Great Depression The Party was outlawed in 1931 Tim Buck and other leaders jailed
from 1932-1934 Protests, marches and hunger
strikes
The Communist Party of Canada
Aboriginal Peoples in the Depression Services cut back to bare minimum
as outlined by Treaties Birthrate twice as high Death rate 4x as high Metis had it worse as there were no
treaties 1934 90% of Metis in Alberta had
TB, paralysis, blindness or syphilis
Confronting the Outsider Relief for Chinese $1.12 versus $2.50 a
week for non-Chinese Sections 40 and 41 of the Immigration Act
allowed for deportation of unemployable recipients of relief
In Alberta 1930-1934 2547 immigrants were deported
This discouraged many from applying for relief
Immigration Even before the Depression,
immigration was discouraged Jews were especially discouraged Canada not welcoming to Jews
escaping Nazi Germany Frederick Blair “none is too many”
Jewish RefugeesCountry admitting Jewish Refugees from the Nazis 1933-45
Number of Refugees
United States 240 000
Great Britain 85 000
China 25 000
Argentina 25 000
Brazil 25 000
Columbia and Mexico 40 000
Canada 5000 (pathetic)
Conclusion The demand for goods in World War
II finally pushed Canada out of the Great Depression
The growth of the welfare state and gov’t supervision of vital aspects of the economy continued into the 1980s as a result of the Great Depression