In the 1920 's just after World War 1, Canada experienced economic prosperity but a decade later it would all come crashing down. This decade was known as the Great Depression. During the period of the Great Depression, Canada underwent two political regimes which still didn 't help the country get out of the Depression. What makes this more interestingly is that the two regimes were at the opposite ends of the Canadian political spectrum yet neither parties had a clear framework for lifting Canada out of the Depression. The decade preceding the Great Depression was a time of economic prosperity for Canada. It was also known as "The Roaring Twenties." Due to a boom of Canadian exports and by the growth of major industries, of which the most …show more content…
Bennett and Mackenzie King who offered their solutions in solving this situation. Many others had their own ideas. In the West side of Canada, two parties emerged as major political force. It was the Social Credit Party in Alberta and the socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in Saskatchewan. William Aberhart, leader of the Social Credit Party, believed the cause of the Great Depression was because people did not have enough money to buy goods and services. His solution was to give twenty-five dollars per month to every citizens. In addition, J.S. Woodsworth, leader of the socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, believed in capitalism failed the people during the Great Depression and that government should take more actions than that. His solution was to implement policies such as free medical care, unemployment insurance, and old age pensions. In Quebec, the Great Depression also added another nationalist view, as business were dominated by English-speakers, wage earners were French. This problem of unemployment in Quebec also became a cultural problem, and in 1936, the Depression would eventually led the Union Nationale and its leader Maurice Duplessis to power. He blamed the Great Depression on the fact as Quebec 's industries were owned by Americans and English-speaking Canadians. And so, when he was elected as the 16th Premier of Quebec, he took more control over their
Hollingsworth and Tyyska discuss the employment of women in their article, both wage work and work performed outside of the “paid labour force.” (14). They also look at work discrimination of women based on gender and marital status. They argue that disapproval of married women working for wages during the Depression was expressed not only by those in position of power, such as politicians, but also by the general public and labour unions. They suggest that the number of women in the workforce increased as more young wives stayed working until the birth of their first child and older women entered the workforce in response to depression based deprivation. Hollingsworth and Tyyska also give examples of work that married women did that was an extension of their domestic duties such as babysitting for working mothers or taking in laundry. They also state that some women took in boarders, sold extra produce from gardens, or ran make-shift restaurant operations out of their homes.
During the 1930's in Prairie Canada, the Great Depression created harsh conditions and it was a struggle until it ended. The event which triggered the Great Depression was the Stock Market crash of October 24, 1929 in New York. Another important cause was that: Later in the 1930's, the wide adoption of the gold exchange in many countries was widely criticized as a great mistake which greatly contributed to the severity and length of the Great Depression. 1 In Canada, wheat, the most important export, was being over-produced around the world, despite the fact that the 1928 supply of wheat was still available in 1929.
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.
Canadians were frustrating, wonderful, and hard. Soldiers returning from the war expected jobs, but were faced with unemployment, inflation and strikes. Inflation had doubled the cost of living where wages had not and those fortunate to be employed still faced immense financial difficulty. Many people joined unions for better pay and working conditions, 1919 saw the most strikes at a staggering three hundred and six, people were angry and discontented. The 1920s were a time of crime corruption and extreme poverty, yet by mid era difficult conditions began to improve. Foreign investors gained confidence in Canada and as a result new industries were developed, The twenties really did 'roar' and with this boom of change Canada underwent the transformation that was the gateway to the future.
The Great Depression was a terrible point in Canadian history, and for most of the world. It was a point in time where thousands of people lost their jobs, and even lost their homes because of the depressed economy. Business was booming in the early 1920s, but when companies tried to expand, and therefore issued stocks, the economy was thrown off. Some investors sold their stocks for high prices, and as a result, everyone else followed. With less of a demand, stock prices became fractions of what they used to be, and on October 29, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange collapsed, followed by the Toronto and Montreal Stock exchanges. This collapse of the stock markets caused a depression like which the world had never seen before. It was important for governments to find methods to deal with the depression, but the Canadian government wasn't very successful in its attempts to deal with the Great Depression.
The economic progress Canada made after the war lead to the growth of the country. New industries emerged from innovations of products like automobiles, radios, television, digital computers and electric typewriters (Aitken et al., 315). Canadians quickly adapted back to the “buy now, pay later” strategy rather than careful budgeting during the Great Depression (Liverant). Almost everything that Canadians did was influenced from new inventions; television was the most influential. Canadians conversations, humour, and lifestyle were influenced from television (Aitken et al., 315). Trade relations between the United States and Canada had become more efficient due to the St. Lawrence Seaway. The mass development of the St. Lawrence Seaway, in 1954, was to provide a large wate...
The baby boom generation’s first memorable contribution to Canada was to raise the Canadian economy to a higher stage with the emergence of greater number of people with varying abilities. With the sudden increase in the population, more demands for more products and services were undoubtedly created, helping the economy to strive forward and advance Canada to be competitive in the global market. Before the baby boom period, Canada was suffering from the aftermath of the Great Depression. There was a lack of jobs and people did not have the sufficient funds to spend on any extra luxuries and this created a vicious cycle of economic crisis. However, due to thou...
Between 1900 and 1929, Canada had the world’s fastest growing economy with only a sharp but brief recession during world war one. The 1920’s had been a successful period of growth. The living standards were improving remarkably. Before the First World War, the American stock market was small and a relatively unimportant part of Canada’s economy. This suddenly changed bringing the onset of the great depression in the late 1920’s when the economy took a severe and devastating turn; affecting the lives of Canadians for nearly a decade.
During 1928, the stock market continued to roar, as average price rose and trading grew; however as speculative fever grew more intense, the market began to fall apart around 1929. After the stock market crash, a period began that lasted for a full decade, from 1929 to 1939, where the nation plunged into the severest and the most prolonged economic depression in history - the Great Depression. During this inevitable period, the economy plummeted and the unemployment rate skyrocketed due to poor economic diversification, uneven distribution of wealth and poor international debt structure. The United States began a period of uninterrupted prosperity and economic expansion during the 1920s, coining the term, the roaring twenties. Automobiles and construction became the most important and excessively relied industries in the nation as a result of the assembly line and other innovations.
The Great Depression was not just a little event in history, hence the word “great”, but a major economical setback that would change Canada, and the world, forever. The word “great” may not mean the same thing it does now; an example of this is the ‘Great’ War. These events were not ‘good’ or ‘accomplishing’ in any way, quite the opposite, but in those times it most likely meant ‘big’. What made it big are many factors, both in the 20’s and 30’s, which can be categorized into three main points: economics, politics and society. With all these events, compressed into ten years, this period of economic hardship of the 1930’s truly deserves the title the “Great Depression”.
When the Great Depression occurred right around 1930, William Lyon Mackenzie King and his government did not respond strongly . Although the depression was evidently obvious, King believed that the economic crisis was temporarily and only patience was needed to overcome it . It took a while for King to realize how the depression was affecting the politics . King believed that welfare was a provincial responsibility and no one else’s . During the depression, all provinces wanted to increase the tax in Ottawa, but he did not understand the concept of it since other provinces were going to use the tax for themselves. King thought that it was necessary for the provinces to take initiative and increase their taxes . As the depression hit rock bottom many Canadians were unemployed. As Canada was changing right in front of his eyes, King’s perspectives did not show change. In one of his speeches he declared, “I submit that there is not evidence in Canada today of an emergency situation which demands anything of that kind” . King did not face with depression in the most orderly matter but he was a great Liberal leader, he kept the Liberals together when the Conservatives were falling apart and new political parties were developed to compete for the votes . During the depression, King held an election that was one of the most important events that occurred in...
The evolution of fashion and entertainment enabled a greater possibilities for people’s freedom and creativity. Technologies such as refrigerator, radio, and automobile saved time and energy in everyday tasks. With the economic growth in 1920s, Canada government and its people were compensated for their financial lost due to supporting the war effort. Not only these early developments benefitted Canadians in the 20s, most of them are advanced to benefit Canadians more effectively in the 20th century. The roar of 1920s influences Canadian society even
Canada was largely involved in the First World War, and was subsequently starting to gain recognition throughout the world. Before the Great Depression, Canada was going through an exceptional period of comfort and ease: The Roaring Twenties. The Roaring Twenties worked to shape modern day Canada by introducing new developments such as the liberation of women, the rise of the entertainment industry, and the consumer economy. Old values were being challenged regarding social standards of femininity and racial interactions. Canadians were starting to enjoy entertainment through movies and dancing, which helped break race barriers with jazz. New products were constantly being invented and sold, demand for Canadian exports was increasing, and
The 1920’s is proved as a regressive movement contrary to progressive through the adverse propulsion Canada experienced, which only roared in chaos. Slowly but surely, Canada experienced a sudden backlash firstly through the through the oppression of minorities that was encouraged greatly by the general public. This injustice was on a large scale and led to several issues of stereotypes still dealt upon with today. Secondly, the government made many foolish decisions causing strikes to disrupt the general society. The foolishness of the government is deemed as quite evident as a result of the racism they allowed to happen and the laws they occurred which were reflected in an abrupt rebellion. Thirdly, the economy hit a downfall during the 1920’s,
Following the crash of the Wall Street stock exchange on October 29, 1929, the international economic system that had been established during the twenties collapsed into the economic fiasco known as the ‘Great Depression’. As with many nations at the time, Canada was hit hard by this economic downturn. The nation lost 34.8% of its per capita Gross Domestic Product and inflation rocketed, causing the Canadian government to abandon the gold currency standard in 1933. The Great Depression contributed to a series of economic downfalls that would proceed to shape many aspects