Economic History of Prince Edward Island

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The Great Depression was a devastating event that brought misfortune to many people as a result of the stock market crash on Black Tuesday. This paper will seek to explore the impact and effects on the agriculture industry throughout the province of Prince Edward Island, herein referred to as P.E.I. Furthermore; it will analyze critical events and ask questions as to how people during this era reacted to the change in economic uncertainty. The 1920’s were a period of growth for the world economy as many people experienced great deals of increase with respect wealth as well as technological advancements and electricity, which became crucial living standard in countries such as Canada. A boom in the Canadian economy during this time was a result of middle and lower class families increasing their consumption of mass-produced consumer based items. During this time P.E.I maintained a relatively lower growth percentage then other Canadian Provinces as they experienced less of the economic boom. Those living in P.E.I, or the Islanders, were relatively more prone to hardship as most people located in the province at the time lived strenuous and labour filled lives. By definition, an economic depression is a “sustained, long-term downturn in economic activity in one or more economies.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_depression) The latter, is far worse then a recession. A recession is merely an economic slowdown, which was experienced by most Atlantic Provinces in the late 19th century. It was not until October 29th, 1929 that the Canadian economy but more importantly the world experienced the ‘Great Depression’. Large amounts of money were lost over the period of five days, as investor’s worldwide scrambled to withdraw th... ... middle of paper ... ...work else where especially during the boom in Upper Canada, living off as little as possible so they could provide for their families back home. This additional income and fewer amount of mouths to feed was a great benefit of having larger families back in the day. This was only up until the depression when out-migration became static as the islanders children began to return home with the lack of jobs across Canada. Population drastically increased throughout the thirties as more and more children returned home. This brought joy but also hardship as well to the families as they were forced to rely on only income generated from the harvest they could procure. To this day, the islands population continues to increase as more people flock to the province for its lust landscapes and sandy red beaches. Works Cited (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_depression)

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