What Did Canada TRY to Do to Overcome the Great Depression?

The Worst Years Governments in the 1930s seemed to believe that the best way to deal with the Depression was to wait it out and hope things would get better At the time of the stock market crash, William Lyon Mackenzie King was PM In 1930, he made the biggest mistake of his political career Providing relief was the responsibility of the provinces  King said that he would not give a five-cent piece to any province without a Liberal gov’t

The Worst Years This was also an ELECTION YEAR! The Liberals were voted out of office (who would want that kind of a person as their leader?) The Conservative Party (the Tories) came into power under the leadership of R.B. Bennett Bennett was a multimillionaire (… so he’s not really experiencing the Depression in the same way) He believed that governments should not interfere in economic affairs… How does this make any sense?

Bennett’s Promises “I will end unemployment or perish in the attempt.” His policies did little to ease the economic crisis Bennett gave emergency funds to the provinces for relief Military-style relief camps were set up for jobless, single men in isolated parts of the country NONE OF THIS ACTUALLY HELPED WITH THE DEPRESSION

The Problems with Bennett People began to blame Bennett for their problems Cars that were hooked up to farm animals because they had no gas were called “Bennett buggies” “Bennett boroughs” = shacks “Bennett coffee” = made from roasted wheat or barley “Bennett blankets” = newspapers used as covers for homeless people sleeping on park benches “Bennett barnyard” = abandoned farm

The Worst Years Conditions were worst on the prairies because of the severe droughts, and in the Maritimes NFLD: still an independent dominion, conditions were so bad that the economy almost collapsed Deeply in debt – could not borrow any more $ British commission took over the gov’t to help NFLD make it through this time

The Search for Solutions RB Bennett knew that CDNs were increasingly frustrated with what the CDN gov’t wasn’t doing 1935 (just before next election): Bennett introduced radical reforms: Unemployment and social insurance Minimum wages Limit the hours of work Guarantee fair treatment of employees Control prices so that businesses could not make unfair profits Known as Bennett’s “New Deal”

The Search for Solutions The “new deal” is one that was similar to the program developed by President Roosevelt in the US His idea was to use all of the government’s resources to get the economy going The gov’t funded large-scale federal public works projects (like road building) in order to provide jobs Political opponents said this was only to get more votes to stay in power

The Search for Solutions The people believed these radical ideas for change had come too late Election of 1935: King and the Liberals swept back into power with a landslide victory

The (Continued) Search for Solutions People were dissatisfied with the Conservatives (Tories) and the Liberals No fresh, new ideas to solve problems New political parties were formed, promising drastic changes by taking drastic measures

The (Continued) Search for Solutions Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) Calgary 1932 Formed by farm and labour groups who wanted social and economic reforms to end human suffering First led by JS Woodsworth Supported nationalized and privatized industries Wanted CDNs to have pensions, health and welfare insurance, family allowances, and compensation for injured workers 1961: evolved into the New Democratic Party (NDP)

The (Continued) Search for Solutions 2. The Social Credit Party 1935: formed the government in Alberta Leader: William Aberhart He wanted to give a “social credit” of $25 a month to every adult He believed that by putting purchasing power in the hands of citizens, they would spend money again, and businesses would increase production Therefore, the Depression would end. “social credits” = “funny money” (declared illegal and never paid out)

The (Continued) Search for Solutions 3. Union Nationale Founded in Quebec in 1935 Coalition party that began as a protest against the high unemployment and severe economic hardship Wanted social, economic, and political reform 1936, under Maurice Duplessis: became the government of Quebec until 1939

The Welfare State The belief that society should support its citizens to prevent extreme economic hardships Today, there is unemployment insurance… Today, people over 65 receive a pension… Today, injured workers receive compensation… In the 1930s? Not so much.

The Actual Solution Ended by WWII Outbreak of war in 1939 provided jobs for many in the armed forces and in the factories producing war munitions