The Great Depression in Canada

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The Great Depression in Canada

• The Dirty Thirties

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An Abrupt Change from the Roaring 20s
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Causes of the Depression

• Over-Production of Products - Too many items were
  being produced. The resulting layoffs meant
  there were even less people with money supporting
  businesses resulting in more layoffs. Low
  wheat prices as well caused farmers to produce
  too much wheat, and could not cover cost.
• Dependence on the United States Because we
  supply raw materials, and they are not buying
  them, our nature resource industries lose income.
  f they suffer, we suffer too! It is still a bit
  like this today.
• High Tariffs Governments are trying to protect
  domestic industries from foreign industries.
  However, this can hide inefficiencies.
• Too Much Credit and Buying on the Margin When
  one loses money in business or in the stock
  market, and cannot pay it back scores of other
  people start to lose money.
• Germanys Reparations Some governments,
  especially France were relying on Germany to pay
  its reparations.
• Drought and Dust (later) Western Canadas
  problems were further compounded by falling wheat
  prices, drought, locusts, and debt.
• Western Canadas problems were further compounded
  by falling wheat prices, drought, locusts, and
  debt.

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Over-Production of Products

• Factories expanded and produced a lot of product,
  but the demand for these goods and services did
  not keep up to the supply. Companies were forced
  to layoff workers to keep costs down. These out
  of work people were no longer able to purchase
  consumer goods. More workers then get laid off
  and the problem worsens.

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Dependence on the United States

• When your best customer has financial trouble,
  you are going to have financial trouble as well.
  Before World War One, Britain stabilized the
  world economy, but the War was tough on Britain.
  The American banks were unwilling to provide
  stabilizing credit. This was after banks were
  all too willing to lend money when times were
  good, and supported the speculation that
  eventually led to the stock market crash.

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Too Much Credit and Buying on the Margin

• Americans and Canadians bought too much on credit
  - including stocks. Therefore when the stock
  market crashed (partly due to the buying stocks
  using borrowed money or credit), Canadians were
  in debt and faced an amazing time selling their
  personal belongings and having their half
  paid-off possessions repossessed. Hmmmm, can we
  draw comparisons today? Real estate market in
  the US? Real estate bubble today? Watch the
  interest rates will banks provide stability
  this time around?

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Drought and Dust

• Western Canadas problems were further compounded
  by falling wheat prices. Following this were
  drought, locusts, and eventually debt and almost
  starvation.
• Although the eastern provinces and the Maritimes
  stepped in to help the prairie provinces, the
  Rowell-Sirois Commission make recommendations for
  the federal government to make equalization
  payments.

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Stock Market CrashBlack Thursday, October
29th-1929-
The Stock Market Crash is not the cause of the
Great Depression, but symbolically viewed as the
start of it.
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Notice the big drop in 1929, and then the rise
shortly before an even bigger prolonged drop
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Do you buy into Elliot Wave theory?
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Government Tried Several Measures to Deal with
the Depression

• See Marker Training PapersThe one of the
  Depression
• Read training papers 11 and 12. What mark do you
  think they would get on the 6 point scale? Read
  the criteria and answer key.
• The papers will help you complete the
  expectations of this Learning Guide

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Government Attempts to Deal with the Depression

• Prime Minister Mackenzie King was in power at the
  start of the Depression.
• PM King did not want to deal with the Depression.
  The Liberal Mackenzie King even went to say that
  any Province with a Tory (Conservative)
  government would not get a five cent piece in
  depression relief. This is a famous statement of
  the depression.
• During Kings term in office, he felt assistance
  should come from municipal and provincial levels
  of government.
• King took the approach of less federal government
  intervention the better. This is odd for a
  Liberal, as Liberals generally believe in more
  government intervention than the Conservatives
  who prefer less government involvement.

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Measures that Bennett took to deal with the
Depression and were they successful?

• Bennett tried a program, similar to US President
  Roosevelts measures, especially the NEW DEAL.
• Overall the New Deal was
• Ineffective, brought in too late
• Killed by Mackenzie King in the next election
• Dole
• too little too late
• too many restrictions placed upon it
• Vouchers
• rationed sparingly
• hardly able to survive on what was given
• humiliating to live on 10 per month while some
  were living the high life, people were generally
  negative towards it

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Relief Camps humiliating restrictive,
isolated not productive, Work projects were
useless, futile in many cases. hotbed of
discontent Able-bodied men could men could be
used elsewhere Tariffs had adverse effects,
did nothing to increase exports and in some cases
increased export's costs, thereby reducing
business. countries landed up places tariffs on
each others goods, reducing overall trade
showed lack of understanding of global economic
forces
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There was some, successful, but generally, people
were still living in poverty

• Government camps got men off the street.
• Dole helped out those who received it.
• Government experimented did try options to
  alleviate poor economic conditions.
• Prior experience was not available to draw upon.
• Other countries were doing similar things.
• Federal government bailed the provinces out with
  relief money (20 million to provinces).
• put people to work

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William Lyon Mackenzie King Returns to Power

• Blames Bennett for not being able to deal with
  the depression
• Sort of continues some of Bennetts policies, but
  then calls other parts of the new deal
  unconstitutional and better left for the
  provinces to deal with.
• Delays putting in measures to solve the
  depression, but still manages to look like he was
  doing his best to solve problems.

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Dionne Quintuplets

• A diversion from the Depression
• Chances at the time of having quintuplets
• 1 in 50 million
• Removed from family and exploited by the
  government and exhibited as a tourist attraction.
• Later returned to their family, but also suffered
  some neglect/abuse.
• In 1999, the remaining sisters received 10
  million in compensation from the Canadian
  government.

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Leaders in Provinces took matters into their own
hands for dealing with the Depression

• Protest parties (third parties) showed the
  naïveté of the federal government which took
  government which seemed to have had no idea how
  desperate rural Canadians were. In 1931, when
  they finally gave emergency relief, the
  Depression had already been in full swing for
  three years.

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The Provinces

• Mitchell Hepburn Liberal, Ontario
• Thomas Duff Patullo Liberal, British Columbia
• William Bible Bill Aberhart Social Credit,
  Alberta
• Maurice Duplessis Union Nationale, Quebec

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Mitchell Hepburn Liberal, Ontario1934-1942

• Skull Cracker
• Put Pressure on King
• Hard line anti-unionist and anti-communist. He
  blamed these people for the Depression and felt
  that they had to be dealt with harshly.
• Sons of Mitchs

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Thomas Duff PatulloBritish Columbia1933-1941

• Bridge named after him
• Liberal
• Unhappy with the Federal Governments dealing
  with the Depression
• Sought change to increase more services to the
  unemployed or Social Services

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Maurice DuplessisUnion National1936 1939,
1944-1959

• Rural credit and farm aid, but still considered
  very conservative
• Consider anti-anglo
• Aligned with the Catholic Church
• Anti Union and Very Anti-Communist
• Padlock Law could lock up anyone even
  suspected of being a communist

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William Bible Bill Aberhart1935-1943 - Alberta

• Founded the Social Credit party, however, they
  were NOT socialists
• Gave out Cash vouchers (or Credit)
• 25 for every adult Albertan
• Wanted to take control over currency issues.

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The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation(CCF)

• A Federal Party
• Formally founded in 1932, but originated in 1919
  by farmers and those who were considered to have
  socialist leanings.
• Aimed to end the suffering of Canadian workers
  during the depression. Put forward the Regina
  Manifesto which advocated
• Universal pensions
• Universal health care
• Children's allowances
• Unemployment insurance
• Workers compensation

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CCF Continued

• Famous members of the CCF include Agnes Macphail,
  J.S. Wordsworth, and Tommy Douglas the father
  of Medicare.
• Advocated for more of a welfare state and a
  social safety net.
• The CCF would later become the NDP in 1961, which
  is considered to be on the left of the
  political spectrum. They support more government
  or social intervention in day to day affairs of
  citizens.

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So how did the Depression end?

• adopted a plan in 1939 to become an arsenal of
  democracy to help put people back to work
• ultimately, the production of goods and weapons
  for the war ended the Depression for Canadians.
• ENTER WORLD WAR II