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The Depression in Canada

The Depression in Canada. The Depression had a huge impact on the lives of many Canadians:. Unemployment – many Canadians lost their jobs Homelessness – many Canadians were evicted from their homes Crime – as people became desperate, crime increased So what did the government do about it ?.

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The Depression in Canada

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  1. The Depression in Canada

  2. The Depression had a huge impact on the lives of many Canadians: • Unemployment– many Canadians lost their jobs • Homelessness– many Canadians were evicted from their homes • Crime – as people became desperate, crime increased • So what did the government do about it?

  3. Life during The Great Depression …

  4. When the Depression began, Prime Minister Mackenzie King did little to stop it. • He believed it was temporary. • He believed the government should stay out of the economy. • When he was asked why he was giving absolutely no help to anyone, he said that he wouldn’t give a “5 cent piece” to any province with a Tory (Conservative) government. • Result: • King was defeated in the election of 1930. • The new Prime Minister was the Conservative, R.B. Bennett. • So what did Bennett do about the Depression?

  5. Mackenzie King & R.B. Bennett

  6. Bennett tried to end the Depression through • Work camps • These were camps for single, unemployed men. • They were usually far away from cities. • The men working here earned 20 cents a day. • Result: • Most relief camps workers were unhappy. • The money they made was so little, they could not have any impact on the economy.

  7. Work Camps

  8. Tariffs • These are taxes on goods that come from other countries. • The purpose was to make Canadian goods cheaper and easier to sell than foreign goods. • Result: • Other countries increased tariffs on Canadian goods, and our exports declined. • This hurt a lot more than it helped because the Canadian economy depends on exports.

  9. Government Assistance for the poor • The government gave poor families assistance of about $10 per month. • This was also called pogeyor the dole. • Pogey was not easy to get. Applicants had to • Stand in long lines where they could be seen by everyone. • Publically declare their financial failure. • Swear that they did not own anything valuable. • Prove that they were being evicted from their home.

  10. Pogey and The Dole

  11. Results: • All of Bennett’s efforts ended up in failure, and Canada went deeper into recession. • An election was coming up in 1935, so Bennett looked to the USA for examples of how to bring the country out of Depression. • In the USA, President Roosevelt had improved his country’s economy through the “New Deal”. • Bennett’s proposals included: • Minimum wage • Unemployment insurance • Regulation of wheat prices • Old age pensions • Health and accident insurance

  12. Bennett as a symbol of The Depression

  13. F.D.R.’s “New Deal”

  14. Bennett still lost the election of 1935 to Mackenzie King. Mackenzie King’s slogan during the election was “King or Chaos”. • Mackenzie King’s Plan: • He had no plan! • In 1937, he appointed a Royal Commission to look into solutions for the Depression.

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