The Great Depression in Canada

1. The Great Depression in Canada Important Events

2. Riding the Rails • Many unemployed men were “riding the rails” out west to seek work. • British Columbia saw a huge influx of unemployed. • The BC provincial government requested help.

3. Relief Camps • On the recommendation of General Andrew McNaughton, Bennett created relief camps. • This was a nationwide system of camps to house and provide work for single, unemployed, homeless Canadian males.

4. "In their ragged platoons, here are the prospective members of what Marx called the 'industrial reserve army, the storm troopers of the revolution.'“ • Andrew G. L. McNaughton

5. Relief Camps • Men in the camps could neither vote nor organize. • The camps were voluntary, but men who resisted could be arrested for vagrancy. • The camps were located in remote areas, such as the interior of B.C. and northern Ontario.

6. Relief Camps • Typical jobs that men would perform were: • Clear bush • Build roads • Plant trees • Build public buildings • In return, men received: • Room and board • Medical care • 20 cents a day (one-tenth of what an employed 212 would make doing the same work)

8. On To Ottawa – The Trekkers • camps became a focal point for the men’s anger • In April 1935, 1500 men went on strike. • The communist inspired group Relief Project Worker’s Union organized a massive “On to Ottawa Trek” to take their complaints to Ottawa.

9. The On to Ottawa Trek • Many workers began to ride the rails in order to find work in other parts of Canada. • 1000 relief camp workers climbed aboard freight trains and headed for Ottawa to protest their working conditions Riding the rails: The “On to Ottawa” Trek

10. Picked up protesters on route • On June 14, the group arrived in Regina with about 2000 men. • Bennett viewed this as a threat to law and order, and supported a railway order refusing access to the trains.

11. The Delegation • The Trekkers decided to send a delegation of 8 people on to Ottawa. • This include Arthur ‘Slim’ Evans, leader of the Communist Party’s union. • The delegation met with Bennett on June 22.

12. The meeting didn’t go very well… • Evans presented the strikers demands. • Bennett accused Evans of being a thief and an extortionist. • Evans called Bennett a liar. • The delegation was escorted from the building.

13. The Regina Riot • Upon returning to Regina, Evans found that Bennett had broken a promise that all men would receive 3 meals a day. • The Trekkers had run out of funds for meals. • On June 28, the RCMP announced that anyone who assisted the strikers would be arrested.

15. On July 1, the leaders organized an ‘open-air’ meeting in downtown Regina. • Bennett decided to arrest the leaders. • There were over 1500 people in attendance, only about 300 of which were Trekkers. • At 8 pm, a whistle was blown, and the RCMP charged the square.

17. The riot that ensued involved fighting with sticks, stones and hands. • The police fired their revolvers in the air, and used tear gas bombs. • 120 protestors were arrested. • One policemen and one protestor died.

18. On July 4, the Saskatchewan government assisted the marchers on their way, and most returned to Vancouver. • Bennett characterized the On-to-Ottawa Trek as "not a mere uprising against law and order but a definite revolutionary effort on the part of a group of men to usurp authority and destroy government."