Unit 4 – Canada in the 1930’s Canadian History Chapter 5

1. Unit 4 – Canada in the 1930’sCanadian History Chapter 5 Review: What can you tell me about Canada in the early 1920’s? What about the late 1920’s?

2. If you were making big money, what would you buy? • What if you lost your job? • What if you lost access to credit?

3. The Great Depression of the 1930s • The good times of the 1920s ended for Canadians on October 29th 1929. • On this day, the New York, Toronto and Montreal Stock Exchanges “crashed”. • This event forever changed Canada, and put Canada on a different path.

4. Six factors that helped cause the Great Depression… • Canada had an economy based around staples like wheat, minerals, and timber. • About 80% of these were exported. 40% to America. • Any changes in the economies of America or European trade partners could hurt Canada.

5. Six factors that helped cause the Great Depression… • Canadian farmers and factories were over producing goods. • People were buying stocks by borrowing money (on margin), and buying other things on CREDIT. • Canada had high taxes for imports, limited trading partners and we were dependant on America for trade…Plus, European economies began to recover from WW1.

6. The Stock Market Crashes • Stock markets are places where people buy, sell and trade stocks. • Stocks had been rising steadily, but the 6 factors eventually caused some stocks to lose value. • Investors panicked, and tried to sell before losing money. This caused more stocks to lose money.

7. It got worse… • People who bought stocks lost money, and those who bought on margin owed money as well. • Wages fell, jobs were cut, and people could not afford to buy things. Credit was not an option. • Industries suffered as demand was low, and profits plunged. • By 1933, 33% of Canadians were jobless, and those with jobs were often underemployed or took pay cuts.

8. The business cycle – Prosperity, Recession, Depression and Recovery

9. The Great Depression • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nziFLnbot0&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzGmkbAJcpc&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

10. Use your knowledge! • In small groups, create a graphic to show each stage of the business cycle and the main idea of each. • OR • You can make a newspaper front page with headlines (and sub-headlines) talking about what was happening in Canada because of the depression.

11. Peoples Experiences What was living through the Great Depression like? Remember, there was no safety net like there is today…

12. Living through the Great Depression • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi7dUO4nHYQ&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

17. What things do these pictures have in common? • What little relief that was available was given to who? • What do you think life was like for single females and immigrants?

18. “Relief” • It was distributed unevenly. Government did little in the beginning. • Married couples were given some help, and also single men. Most other people had to fend for themselves. • Ethnic discrimination was common. • Harsh living conditions for Aboriginal peoples got worse.

19. Racism, intolerance and discrimination. • Who faced discrimination? • Who faced racism or intolerance? • Immigration was restricted. “Acceptable applicants.” It virtually stopped. • Asians lost the right to vote in BC. • Single women / Single men, who had it worse? • People who belonged to new political parties, “Foreign politics,” were often mistrusted

20. Life changes – What would have happened for people living through the Great Depression?

21. How would your lifestyle change if we went through another depression? How would society change?

22. Impacts on different parts of Canada • Farmers in the Prairies growing “staple crops” like wheat, could not live off the land like others could. • Their farming style also made large volumes of wheat quickly, but robbed the soil of nutrients for later. There were also droughts and swarms of insects that destroyed the land, caused dust storms and lead to the name the “dirty thirties” and the “Dust Bowl” • Many farmers had to declare bankruptcy and even abandon their land. They were the hardest hit.

23. Impacts on different parts of Canada • In the Maritimes, farming was more diverse so they could grow food. • They had not experienced the boom of the 1920s, so although wages stayed low, quality of life did not drastically change. • They still lost jobs and hours because of the loss of foreign markets buying fish and timber. • British Columbia suffered badly from the loss of foreign markets.

24. Impacts on different parts of Canada • In the big cities, factories closed from lack of demand for goods. • Railway lines closed repair shops. • Construction stopped. • Shanty towns emerged near rail way lines, vacant land and dumps. • Montreal and Toronto were not hit as hard as cities like Calgary. Why???

25. Riding the Rails • Thousands of Canadians were on the move in the 1930s looking for work.

26. Riding the Rails • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSer_JWoe-k&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

27. Escapism • People tried to find ways to give themselves a break from all the hardship. They wanted to “escape”. • Movies, newspapers, magazines, comics, radio, fairs, and major events like the birth of the Dionne quintuplets were examples of escapism.

29. Humour • A farmer walks into a bank and asks the bank manager for a loan. The manager says to the farmer, “I would like to see your land first before we can talk about a loan”. Just then, the wind picked up and the farmer said to the bank manager, “open up a window, cause here she comes!”

30. Making jokes… • “Bennett Buggy” • “Bennett Blanket” • Bennett was a very wealthy man, and many people believed he was out of touch.

31. “Canadiana” • Group of Seven paintings. Vibrant colours showing the beauty and power of Canada. • Examples?

32. Canadian Broadcasting • Concerned with American domination, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Corporation was created in 1932, and renamed Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) in 1936. • It featured professionals, and shows like Hockey Night in Canada to help boost Canadian national identity. • http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/sports/hockey/foster-hewitt-voice-of-hockey/foster-hewitt-reporting.html • http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/sports/hockey/foster-hewitt-voice-of-hockey/he-shoots-he-scores.html

33. Canadian Broadcasting • The National Film Board (NFB) was created in 1939 to work towards create and maintain a Canadian national identity. • High tariffs on American magazines meant Canadian magazines could be sold cheaper. • This helped create more Canadian magazines.

35. New Politics in Canada • Many were formed due to the economic situation, like the Communist party. • Some were Socialist, like the Co-operative Commonwealth Party. • Some were regional, like the Social Credit party in Alberta (1935), • Some were isolationist like the Reconstruction party. • There were also racist movements that sprang up in Canada.

36. The Government Steps in…sort of Maybe this isn’t a normal part of the business cycle after all!

37. What would you do if you were the Prime Minister? • Initially, Mackenzie King refused to act. He made a famous comment known as the “5 cent speech” in which he said he would not give even a 5 cent coin to help any Conservative provincial government after getting angry in a debate about what the government should do to help the unemployed. • He raised tariffs, but his inaction lead to his defeat in the1930 election.

38. The Dole • With little being done by the Federal Government (Liberals), some municipal governments offered a form of welfare payment to help people survive. • Food stamps were a common practice. • The people in charge wanted “the Dole” to be an unattractive choice, so it was made to be embarrassing. People had to prove they were poor (no radio, car, telephone), and food stamps made them stand out.

39. Churches step in to help • Churches and municipal governments ran soup kitchens. • Churches also organized and shipped relief packages to those hardest hit by the depression (the prairies).

40. Bennett and the Conservatives take over • The conservatives take power in 1930, and by 1931 have passed two relief acts. • The acts had conditions, that meant little was done to help ordinary Canadians. Most of the money was not given directly to people. • In 1932 a third was passed which gave relief payments to individuals in need.

41. Work Camps • Work camps were established, where young men would work for as low as 20 cents a day often doing things like making roads to nowhere. • The government feared that young men roaming Canada, would eventually congregate and lead a revolution. What kind of revolution? • In 1935, men from a work camp organized the “On to Ottawa Trek.”

42. The “On to Ottawa Trek” • Thousands of protestors attempted to protest in Ottawa coming from across Canada. • Only the leaders were allowed to meet the PM. The RCMP arrested many of the protestors.

43. The “On to Ottawa Trek” • The camps were eventually turned over to the provinces, and pay rates and conditions got better. • Women protested the camps in large numbers as well.

44. Letters to Bennett • Some Canadians had no other choice but to write letters to the Prime Minister directly to ask him for charity. • He personally answered many of the hundreds of letters he received, and gave money from his own pocket to needy Canadians.

45. An example • Dear Sir,I am writing to see if their is any help I could get.As I have a baby thirteen days old that only weighs one pound and I have to keep in cotton Wool & Olive Oil, and I haven't the money to buy it, if their is any help I could gettheir will be two votes for you next election Hoping to hear from you soonYours Truly,Mrs. Jack OHannen • Murray Harbour, PEI Her letter to the Prime Minister was Mrs. Jack OHannens last hope. When he received it, Bennett opened his wallet and sent the young mother five dollars - enough money to cover groceries for about a month..

46. Put yourself in their place. • If you were living through the Great Depression, what would you have written in a letter to Bennett? • Be sure to talk about the particular problems your region is experiencing, and how it has affected you.

47. Bennett, you’re out. King, you’re back in! • Bennett made some radical moves to end the depression, but he was defeated in the 1935 election. • He created the Bank of Canada, introduced measures to revive the wheat industry and a “New Deal” similar to the American plan. • The Canadian “New Deal” introduced unemployment insurance, minimum wage and a shortened work week.

48. Four main reasons the Conservatives lost. • 1. Bennett waited too long before taking action (New Deal) • 2. His reform plan and his tough stance against protestors didn’t seem to match. It seemed more likely that he didn’t care about ordinary Canadians misfortune. Even after he personally replied to many letters, and gave his own money.

49. Four main reasons the Conservatives lost. • 3. King ran a strong anti-government campaign without offering a real alternative. King said his reforms were beyond the power of the government, which the court decided in 1937 was correct. • 4. The new parties had chipped away at votes the Conservatives would have gotten. The 1930s saw the emergence of third parties in Canadian politics.

50. New Political Parties Can you name the current Canadian political parties? What do they stand for?