canada 1930s depression

8/3/2019 Canada 1930s Depression

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The Great Depression


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Canadas Economic

State, 1920s Image of prosperous 20s Roaring?

Reality: boom and bust roller coaster Late 1920s resource boom Growing American influence now largest

investor; by 1926 Canadas most important

trading partner

Womens increasing role in the economy


3/34

Economy (continued) New consumer products automobiles Communications airplanes; telephones

Middle- and upper-class consumption

Bombardier first snowmobile,

1923


4/34

Regional Variations

Maritimes and Prairies left out of the boom?

Coal and steel in decline Low wheat prices for much of decade

vagaries of international markets; expansion

and borrowing of First World War & whenprices good in parts of 1920s


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The CollapseBlack Tuesday 29 October 1929


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Causes of the Great Depression

Not caused by a crisis of capitalism, but became one!

overproduction; stock speculation

Protectionism ( using tariffs) Canada retaliated

Decline in international trade severely hurts Canada(2nd worst off in world, after US)

SO NOT AN OVERNIGHT PROBLEM CAUSED BY

STOCK MARKET CRASH!


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Effects of the Great Depression

Stocks, production, wages, GNP, imports, exports, all decline

but unemployment increases to 20-25% nationally (1933)


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Hardest Hit The Prairies

Compounding factors: natural disasters (drought, grasshoppers, etc.)


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The Political Response - King

Do nothing!

Balance the budget and

slash spending

Not a five cent piece

to any Conservativeprovincial government

But had to face election


10/34

1930 ElectionFought on leadership issueR.B. Bennett

(Conservative) makes tariffs

and unemployment the keyissues

Five cent piece commentthrown in Kings face

Bennett victorious largelyon rural vote!


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The Political Response

R.B. Bennett

Leadership of Conservatives one man show

Also personal altruism


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Bennetts Policies Simply not enough

Unemployment Relief Act (1930) - $20M forrelief (mostly administered by provinces andmunicipalities)

To 1938: $350M federal on relief; $650 Mprovincial and municipal! crushing burden!

Response: balance budgets by cutting services


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Relief going on the pogey

Line up for a soup kitchen,Toronto

Humiliation

Failure

Food vouchers

Private charity

Relief work

Work Camps


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On to Ottawa Trek (1935)Regina Riot, 1 July 1935


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THIRD PARTIES

Leader:J.S. Woodsworth

1933 Regina ManifestoSocialist (but not communist,

nor doctrinaire)

9% of popular vote in 1935

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (1932)


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Social Credit

William Bible BillAberhart

1935 sweeps to powerin Alberta

Each citizen to have acredit to achieve prosperity


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Reconstruction Party (1935)

H.H. Stevens

8% of popular vote in 1935(taken from Conservatives)


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Communism and Fascism

Communist march, Vancouver, c.1933

Canadian fascist paraphernalia


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Also Intolerance

KKK to Canada


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The Atlantic CoastNEWFOUNDLAND

The threat of bankruptcy Britain will not allow

From dominion to colonial status[Prerequisite to Confederation?]

MARITIMES

Vote Liberal

But social and economic reforms cannot beachieved for lack of $


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QuebecScandals and corruption

Maurice Duplessis

The Union Nationale

The Padlock Law (1937)


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The Padlock Law

The Act prohibited the "use [of a house] or allow anyperson to make use of it to propagate communism or

bolshevism by any means whatsoever" as well as

the printing, publishing or distributing of "any

newspaper, periodical, pamphlet, circular, document

or writing, propagating communism or bolshevism."

A violation of the Act subjected such property to

being ordered closed by the Attorney General -

"padlocked" - against any use whatsoever for aperiod of up to one year, and any person found guilty

of involvement in prohibited media activities could be

incarcerated for three to thirteen months.


23/34

Ontario

Mitch Hepburns Liberals

Schisms with federal Liberals

Provincial Rights and the

Unholy Alliance withDuplessis


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British ColumbiaT.D. Duff Pattullo (Liberal)The little New Deal:

work and wages state health-insurance plan

reduced taxes for lowerincomes

unemployment insurance

public works

But lacks the $ to put it intoeffect!


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Bennetts New DealBorrows from FDRs New Deal in US sweeping social reform platform announced on radio

The capitalist system has failed

promised laws to control big business

to increase income and business taxes

to reduce farm debts

to introduce minimum wages, the 8 hour day

unemployment insurance, health insurance

better old age pensions

Key: Govt now promising to do things within provincialjurisdiction under BNA Act! but most declared ultra vires(beyond the power)


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What people remembered

Bennett buggies, Bennett boroughs,


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THE ELECTION OF 1935:

KING OR CHAOS

Public does not go

for Bennettsdeathbedrepentance(New Dealpromises)


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Liberal Policies Relief for farmers Prairie Farm Rehab. Act Lower tariffs Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (1936) Trans-Canada Airlines (1937) Crown Corp. National Economic Commission advocates

Keynesian approach (deficit financing)

Royal Commission on Dominion ProvincialRelations est. 1935 Rowell-Sirois re ort


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The Rowell-Sirois Commission

A Canadian Royal Commission looking into the Canadian economyand federal-provincial relations. It was called in 1937 and reported in1940.

It was called as a result of the Great Depression. The attempts tomanage the Depression by the government illustrated grave flaws withthe Canadian constitution. While the federal government had most ofthe revenue gathering powers, the provinces, unexpectedly, had tomake the greater expenditures ~health care, education, and welfare.By 1937 they were all massive expenditures, however.

The Commission recommended that the federal government takeover control of unemployment insurance and pensions. It alsorecommended the creation of equalization payments and largetransfers of money from the federal government to the province eachyear.


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A Low, Dishonest Decade?Bennett cannot blast into foreign markets

The Manchurian Crisis (1931)

- no coherent stand against Japan

The Riddell Incident (1935)

- how to deal with Mussolinis Italy? Sanctions?

- WLMK repudiates Riddell no sanctions

WLMK sees League as place for conciliation, not arbitration


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Isolationism and Appeasement

WLMK to Germany, 1937

North American Nation

Neville Chamberlain &appeasement

WLMK on Hitler

- Saw what he wantedto see


32/34

Assessing Kings approach

low and dishonest a weak and sleazyperformance of delay and moral corruption?

Or was indecision the price that had to bepaid for internal Canadian unity?


33/34

Royal Visit, Spring 1939


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The Road to War

Hitlers lebensraum living space",i.e. land and raw materials

Jewish refugees None is too

many

September 1939 PolandAnother world war

CATASTROPHE OF THE

WAR ENDED THE

CATASTROPHE OF THE

DEPRESSION

canada 1930s depression

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