CANADA AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION

The Dirty Thirties

So Long Good Times

The “Roaring Twenties” was a time of prosperity. Employment was high and people were spending money and enjoying themselves.

Families were buying new appliances, cars were flying off the assembly line and people were spending money out at the jazz clubs and movies.

The Stock Market Crash

People invested in the stock market and bought shares in companies.

STOCK = part ownership in a company.

If you own a stock, you have claim on part of what the company earns every

year.

If you buy stocks, you can make money selling them.

The price that stocks are bought and sold for depends on how much money the company makes...

If profits are up, the stocks are worth more!

However, October 24, 1929 prices began to slip and thousands of shares were not purchased because there were no buyers.

When the news hit the papers, people panicked and began selling their shares to get their money back.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929 the stock markets in New York, Toronto and Montreal CRASHED!

Within days, shares were worthless. The economic downturn (recession) turned into a worldwide DEPRESSION.

The stock market crash triggered the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The Canadian government thought the economy would correct itself, but it would only get worse....

Causes of the Great Depression

High Tariffs

To make money, countries would charge a tariff or tax on items being imported from other countries.

Canada’s economy was based upon selling our natural resources

Eg: Lumber, paper pulp, grains, fish and minerals

During the Great Depression, Canada couldn’t sell their natural resources because other countries couldn't afford to buy them.

This slowed down trade between countries and many companies went bankrupt.

Overstocked

Manufacturing businesses fared no better.

Companies had been overproducing and couldn’t sell their inventory.

Nobody could afford to buy clothing, new cars and appliances.

With warehouses full of stock, companies didn’t make any more.

Factories closed down and workers were laid off until the product could be sold.

Companies were forced to lower prices to sell goods. This caused Deflation

Natural Disasters

Lack of rain, high temperatures and wind caused dustbowls in Western Canada.

Farmers went bankrupt because their crops dried up. Drought!

In 1929, bushel of wheat $1.60 and by 1932 farmers couldn’t get rid of it selling it for 38cents!

Palliser Triangle, Saskatchewan

By 1926, the middle of the Palliser Triangle in southern Saskatchewan already had over 6,000 farms that had been abandoned.

The collapse of the stock market made things worse!

Grasshoppers....ewww

Grasshoppers hatched by the millions in the prairies.

They thrive in dry conditions and farmers could see black clouds of the insects in the sky.

Grasshoppers destroyed over 80% of the left over crops in the 1930’s.

Government Assistance...

Today, Canada has a system of government that supports people who are poor, sick or unemployed…

Welfare Unemployment Insurance

In the 1930s, these programs did not exist, and in fact there was opposition from the government to help!

How did this affect Canadians?

By 1933, 1 in 5 Canadian workers had no job.

There was no unemployment insurance and over 2 million people were on relief!

The Canadian government had a new Prime Minister R.B. Bennett who gave $20 million in relief to the provinces, but became very unpopular when he didn’t end the economic disaster in Canada.

The Consequences ....

Riding the Rails

With no money or jobs, people began to ride the empty freight trains or rode on top to travel in the search for work. This was known as “Riding the Rails”

Hobo jungles would emerge in the summers and you would arrive in new towns hoping to find a meal and maybe a few hours work.

Harsh Reality

Loss of pride was difficult to manage.

Every time they lined up in soup kitchens or unemployment lines their despair grew.

Women were discouraged from seeking work because men needed jobs more.

They would work long hours for $3-$4 a week!

They would wear potato sacks when their clothes fell apart and would use tea leaves, coffee grounds and soup bones over and over again to feed their families.

The Army of the Unemployed

Relief Camps were set up for young single men and controlled by National Defence. They were worried about the number of unemployed men roaming the country and wanted the drifters off the rails and out of the cities causing trouble.

Worked 8 hours/days, 6 days/week. They built roads, planted trees and were paid 20cents/day!

They were given clothes, food and shelter, but living the conditions were very similar to army and prison camps!

On-to Ottawa Trek

People became so angry, they began a strike and planned to “ride the rails” to Ottawa to confront Prime Minister Bennett.

They were upset about:The jobs assigned were pointlessThe military style of the campsCamps were overcrowded with poor

conditions

Government Responds

They got as far as Regina, Saskatchewan where Prime Minister Bennett ordered the trains to stop and a riot broke out.

A peaceful protest quickly turned violent. In the end, a citizen and a police officer were killed and many were arrested.

After the riot in Regina, the government paid to for the workers to return to the camps.

After the trek, conditions did not change.

Provinces were now responsible for controlling them and eventually paid workers higher wages.

“King or Chaos”

Bennett had won the 1930 election, but was soon criticized for not helping the Canadian people.

People couldn’t afford gas and had horses pulling their cars – called them Bennett Buggies!

Election of 1935 – Bennett’s New Deal(8 hour work weeks, min wage and

unemployment insurance ). Thought he just wanted VOTES!

Prime Minister Mackenzie King

People were tired of Bennett (Conservative) and his false promises. He didn’t believe it was the federal government’s responsibility to give out money during the depression.

Mackenzie King (Liberal) won the election in 1935.

The Great Depression didn’t end because of any government policies.....it ended because of another WORLD WAR!

Sunny Side of the Street

Not everyone poor and desperate during the Depression.

Hockey Night in Canada was the most popular radio program. Maple Leaf Gardens opened in 1931.

Jazz clubs were still popular and radio programs were nightly entertainment for families.

Escapism

• Radios had become common in Canadian homes during the 1920s

• Even during the Depression they didn’t cost a lot, so most families had one.

YouTube clip of “The Shadow”

Some of the Movies released in the 1930’s....

Dionne Quintuplets

Born in 1935 in a small town just outside of North bay, Ontario, these five babies attracted immediate national and international attention…

The Ontario government took over care of the quints in almost immediately, they had little contact with their parents or other siblings

The girls were raised in a hospital according to the latest in child care theories.

The Dionnes became a combined science experiment and tourist attraction.

Thousands of people flocked to ‘Quintland’ to see them in their play area.