Video ClipAs you watch the clip, write down what your

impressions are from it, and any feelings that you may have.

What do you think the clip is trying to convey

What do you see as some causes of the Great Depression (seen in the video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gplaqa2yRgg

Lead up to Depression Canada and the US were facing an issue

of over-production because of the ability to mass produce.

When factories had to cut down on the number of products it forced owners to lay off workers.

The more people that were laid off the fewer the number of people could buy the products the factories made and so the cycle continued. (remember the business cycle?)

Canada and the Depression

The depression in Canada was made worse because of the problems American investment had created. Canada depended on American investment

which suddenly halted when the stock market crashed on Black Tuesday October 29, 1929.

Desperate YearsAs people lost jobs, they lost homes and

were evictedLoss of jobs also meant the loss of respectThousands existed on “pogey”

Pogey: Government relief payments given to those who had no alternative source of income People waited publicly in line for hours, facing

humiliation Declare financial failure Prove that they were evicted and owned nothing of

value

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

Private charities helped those who were desperate, Provided clothing and mealsSoup kitchen

The Dust BowlCollapse of the wheat marketPrairies were hit by a drought from 1928

that lasted almost eight yearsPalliser’s Triangle – semi arid area in S.

Alberta and Saskatchewan worst hitPlague of grasshoppers, stalled trains,

buses, clogged car radiators1935: Prairie Farm Rehabilitation

Administration Act – helped farmers build irrigation systems and reservoirs

The Women and MinoritiesWomen had few jobs, other than domestic

workAboriginal families on relief got $5/monthImmigrants were viewed with hostility

when they competed for scarce jobsJews were targeted, suffered from anti-

Semitism

Responding to DepressionMackenzie King believed that it was

municipal and provincial responsibility to provide financial help

King lost election in 1930 replaced by R.B Bennett (Conservatives)

Bennett’s ResponsePledged to “use tariffs to blast a way” into

the world markets and out of DepressionRaised tariffs by 50% to protect Canadian

industriesCaused trade barriers against Canada

Work CampsLocated in woods, completely isolatedBuild roads, clear land, digging drainage

ditchesPaid 20 cents/day;Given room and boardFood was terrible, bunks infested with bugs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCNKq0-9p3w

Politics of Protest: CCFCanadians looked to alternative parties

because of DepressionCooperative Commonwealth Federation

was formed in West in 1932Leader was J.S. WoodsworthAppealed to wide range; farmers, labourers,

socialists, intellectualsCCF was a socialist party Support for social programsGovernment to spend $ on public works

Provincial SolutionsProvincial leaders attempted to put

down strikes.In Quebec, Maurice Duplessis, brought

the Union Nationale party to power in 1936. In an example of worsening French and English relations: Duplessis blamed Quebec’s social and economic problems on the English minority in Quebec.

Provincial Solutions (cont.)Duff Pattullo, Premier in BC, shortened

the work day, increased the minimum wage, and increased work relief payments by 20 percent. “A Little New Deal”

Mayors and the Premier in BC were resented less than Bennett, but were still blamed for being ineffective in the fight to slow the depression.

The reactions of the provincial governments varied depending on which province you were in

Increased Tension

King created Rowell-Sirois Commission to examine federal-provincial relationsRecommended that federal government grant

equalization paymentsWealthier provinces were angered, may

thought it would be loss of provincial power

However, the economy had already made a turn around

It wasn’t all bad…Entertainment: movies, magazines,

romanceCanadians audiences preferred US shows,

federal government created a public radio service which became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Grey Owl; conservationistDevoted latter part of his life to the

preservation of northern Canadian forests and disappearing beaver