Government Responses to the Great Depression

1. Government Responses to the Great Depression

2. The harsh economic times of the Depression era meant that one quarter of adult Canadians were unemployed and looking for work. • They travelled all over Canada looking for jobs, but there were none. • Clearly the Government needed to respond to help desperate Canadians.

3. Social responses Relief Payments; Labour Camps/Relief Camps The "On-to-Ottawa" Trek

4. Prior to the outbreak of the Great Depression, city governments and private charities provided assistance to the poor and the destitute. • When the Depression hit, however, the governments and charities were overwhelmed with people seeking assistance. • By 1933, over 400,000 Canadians relied on charity and/or government relief payments in order to get by.

5. 1. Relief Payments • Governments reluctantly contributed to relief programs. • Were not generous: average weekly food allowance was $4.22 per person. • Never given as cash, only as vouchers/food stamps. • Young, single men were the worst off – cut off at 16 yrs. • There were restrictions/criteria that had to be met in order to qualify, which caused embarrassment.

6. 2. Labour Camps / Relief Camps • Set up in isolated areas, away from the city for unemployed men over 18. • Paid 20¢ a day for eight hours of work cutting brush, moving rocks, etc. • Men were fed, clothes, and housed in exchange for completing public service work. • Overcrowding, lousy food, too much work, and feelings of isolationism were frequent complaints.

7. 3. The “On-to-Ottawa Trek”June 1935 • Organized by frustrated relief/labour camp workers. • Men boarded freight trains bound for Ottawa to protest the government (they wanted economic reform). • Were seen as a threat – they were disobeying the law and part of a plot to overthrow the government. • Trekkers were stopped in Regina by the RCMP under order by PM Bennett, resulting in a riot (“Regina Riot”). • During the riot, hundreds were arrested and a police officer was killed.

8. Political responses Bennett's New Deal; Formation of New Political Parties

9. By 1935, with an election looming, Prime Minister Bennett realized that he had to do something to help end the misery of Canadians who were suffering across the country. • Prior to this, the government believed that the best solution to the Great Depression was simply to wait it out and allow things to get better on their own. • It was widely believed that the business cycle would correct itself, the economy would begin to expand again, and unemployment would go down. • While this was how governments had always dealt with economic issues before, by 1935 it was clear that this Depression was very different.

10. 1. Bennett’s New Deal • A program of reform that included measures to increase competition and give the government more power over the economy. • Included cutting the work week down from 60 hours to 48 hours, and created an unemployment insurance program. • The hope was that these changes would boost production and create jobs. • In spite of this, Bennett still lost the 1935 election to Mackenzie King.

11. 2. Rise of New Political Parties • At the start of the 1930s, the Liberals and the Conservatives were the two largest political parties in Canada. • As the Depression worsened and continued, new political parties began to rise up; this was for two reasons: • Old parties were unwilling to find new ways of dealing with the Depression. • Old parties seemed to be controlled by major cities in central Canada. • In response to these complaints, three new parties made their debut: • The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) • The Social Credit Party • The Union Nationale