THE GREAT DEPRESSION

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THE GREAT DEPRESSION
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The Dirty Thirties

• In Canada
• Between 1929 and 1939, the gross national product
  dropped 40 (compared to 37 in the US).
• Unemployment reached 27 at the depth of the
  Depression in 1933. Many businesses closed.
• Corporate profits of 398 million in 1929 turned
  into losses of 98 million in 1933.
• Canadian exports shrank by 50 from 1929 to 1939.
  Worst hit were areas dependent on primary
  industries such as farming, mining and logging
  because as prices fell and there were few
  alternative jobs.
• Families saw most or all of their assets
  disappear and their debts became heavier as
  prices fell.
• In the 1930s the economy took a severe and
  devastating turn for the worse.
• why?

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Causes of the Depression

• 1) Over production and over expansion
• In the 20s the country was booming
• Goods piled up and consumers only could buy so
  much
• Companies had to slow production as product was
  just sitting on the shelves
• Had to lay off workers as sales slowed even more
• Now companies had heavier debt and lack of cash
  flow

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Causes of the Depression

• 2) Canada was dependent on a Few Primary Products
• Wheat, fish, minerals and pulp paper were the
  most important exports
• Demand for these products worldwide fell and
  Canada suffered

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Causes of the Depression

• 3) Canada was dependent on the United States
• 60 of imports were from US
• 40 of exports were to the US
• Depression hit the states and so Canada was
  thrust into one as well

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Causes of the Depression

• 4) High Tariffs
• Canada's raise tariffs on their goods being
  exported only backfired due to competition from
  other countries and Canada's lack of variety in
  its exports.
• Also, Canada and other countries wanted to
  protect their home industries by placing high
  tariffs on foreign imports but this caused trade
  between countries to slow nearly to a stop.

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Causes of the Depression

• 5) Too Much Credit (Buy now pay later)
• Canadians bought too much on lease and credit,
  including stocks.
• when the stock market crashed (partly due to the
  credit buying), Canadians were in debt
• They attempted to sell their personal belongings,
  which in many cases led to repossessions of
  partly paid-for purchases.
• They bought thinking when stock goes up Ill sell
  and with my profit pay back the money but what
  if it didnt go up or what if it in fact went
  down

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STOCK MARKET CRASH

• Stock Market crash - Oct.29, 1929
• As stock value went down, people wanted out.
• They rushed to convert their stocks into real
  money and panic selling occurred.
• Less buyers
• And prices continued to nosedive

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Causes of the Depression

• Drop in Stocks - The population of Canada started
  to panic when they saw their stocks decrease in
  value. They all quickly went to the bank to get
  their money and the bank had no money left to
  give. People panicking was one of the causes.

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The Drought and Dust Bowl Years

• The prairies were hit extremely hard by several
  years of drought. Dust storms swept across the
  prairies, making it impossible for farmers to
  grow the copious quantities of wheat they needed
  to provide for the markets. The wheat that
  survived the dust storms could not grow tall and
  healthy due to a lack of rain. Thus, since the
  farmers had frequently bought their seed and
  machinery by using credit, when they couldn't pay
  off their debts, the farmers were often
  bankrupted.

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A wall of dust approaching a Kansas town.
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Dust storm
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(No Transcript)
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A family suffers
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Hopeless
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Migrant mother
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St. Johns, Newfoundland Eastern Canada was
especially hard hit by the depression
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Upstairs bedroom of family on relief.
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Men waiting in line for food
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Men wait in line for Free coffee and donuts for
the unemployed
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Political pressure was strong as people suffered
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People slept wherever they could once they lost
their homes
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Thousands of people abandoned their homes and
went on the road in search of work
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Transients were not welcome in some towns.
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Migrant camp
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A squatters camp often people lived in
conditions like this when they were evicted
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Apple selling to avoid the embarassment of
panhandling. In New York City there were over
5000 apple sellers on the streets.