Instead of Bellwork

1
Instead of Bellwork

• Meet with your partner and teach them about your
  Prime Minister and their successes/failures
  during the Great Depression. Do NOT just copy
  the information..EXPLAIN IT!!!
• As your partner is teaching you, fill in the rest
  of the graphic organizer.
• Once youve both finished, discuss and answer the
  three follow-up questions!

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The Great Depression in Canada

• Political, Social, and Economic Effects

3
Statistics of the GD in Canada

• Every trade saw wages drop between 1930 and 1936
• Saskatchewan (farm) 90
• Unemployment reached 27 at the height of the
  Depression in 1933.
• Newfoundland (fish) 50
• Corporate profits went from 396 million in 1929
  to 98 million in 1933.
• Between 1929 and 1933 the GNP dropped 43.
• Relied on trade, but imports 25 and exports
  55
• Farmers hit hardest Wheat 75
• 20 of Canadians were on relief

27 unemployment
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DISCUSSION

• Read the beginning of the Effects of the GD in
  CA packet and respond to the following
• List two ways the US depression impacted Canada.
• Why did Canada impose high tariffs? Were they
  effective?
• Why were prairie provinces hit the hardest by the
  GD?
• Explain the changes in Canadian immigration
  during the GD.
• List three effects of the Canadian Dust Bowl.
• THINKER During economic crises, many people turn
  towards radical forms of government, as seen in
  Canada, Germany and the U.S. Why do you think
  this is? Explain!

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• Pre-Depression Immigration
• 1920 138,824
• 1921 91,728
• 1922 64,224
• 1923 133,729
• 1924 124,164
• 1925 84,907
• 1926 135,892
• 1927 158,886
• 1928 166,7831
• 929 164,993
• Totals 1920-1929 1,264,130

• Depression Immigration
• 1930 104,806
• 1931 27,530
• 1932 20,591
• 1933 14,382
• 1934 12,476
• 1935 11,277
• 1936 11,643
• 1937 15,101
• 1938 17,244
• 1939 16,994
• Totals 1930-1939 252,044

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Kings Response to the Depression

• MacKenzie King thought that it was the
  responsibility of the provinces to aid their own
  citizens.
• He wasnt prepared for the depression (not many
  political leaders were) and so he didnt take an
  interventionist approach to the economy.
• King was eventually openly criticized for his
  controversial comment that he wouldnt give a
  five cent piece of relief money to any province
  that had a Conservative Government

He wont give a five cent piece
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Enter Bonfire Bennett

• R.B. Bennett was Leader of the Conservative Party
  of Canada
• He had the nickname bonfire because of his
  bombastic (loud) speaking style.
• On July 28th, 1930 R.B. Bennett became Prime
  Minister of Canada.
• Originally from New Brunswick, grew up to be a
  self-made millionaire as a corporate lawyer and
  businessman in Calgary.
• Given his rags to riches humble beginnings, he
  believed in capitalism and the free-enterprise
  system (i.e. leave economy alone and everything
  will work out in the end)

Prime Minister R.B. Bennett
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Bennetts Response to the Great Depression

• Bennett tried to combat the depression by
  increasing trade within the British Empire and
  imposing tariffs for imports from outside the
  Empire. Known as the Imperial Preference Policy
• Conservative pro-business policies provided
  little relief for the unemployed

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Bennetts Response to the Depression

• He put 20 Million dollars towards emergency
  relief
• He raised the tariffs on imports to 50 in order
  to protect Canadas industries from foreign
  competition and end the trade deficit. (Do you
  think this would work?)

Bonfire Bennett
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Blaming it on Bennett
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Bennetts Failures

• No Unemployment Insurance
• Prime Minister Bennett blamed for inability to
  end Depression
• Bennett Buggies Cars pulled by horses
• Bennettboroughs homeless communities
• Bennett blankets - newspapers

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Bennetts New Deal

• January 1935, Bennett announces in a radio
  address I am for reform and launches his own
  New Deal.
• The plan called for federal government
  interventiongt minimum wage, maximum work week
  laws, gt unemployment insurance gt retirement
  pensions, health insurancegt mortgage assistance
  for farmers
• Most of the New Deal was seen by the Supreme
  Court of Canada as an encroachment on the
  authority of provincial governments and struck
  down as violation of Section 92 of the British
  North America Act (Canada's Constitution)
• Bennetts reform effort was seen as too little,
  too late by voters who elected McKenzie King in
  October 1935

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The Return of King

• In 1935, the Canadian people had enough of
  Bennett who they blamed for prolonging the
  Depression.
• Running under the slogan King or Chaos, King
  won the election.
• Bennett ended his final days in Great Britain and
  remains the only Canadian Prime Minister to be
  buried outside of Canada.

Hes Back Again
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MacKenzie King Returns

• Introduces relief programsgt National Housing
  Actgt National Employment Commission
• Nationalizesgt Canadian Broadcast Corporation
  1936gt Trans-Canada Airlines (Air-Canada) 1937gt
  Bank of Canada 1938
• From 1939, an increased demand in Europe for
  materials, and increased spending by the Canadian
  government on public works created a boost to the
  economy.
• Unemployment declined as men enlisted in the
  military.
• By 1939, Canada was experiencing economic
  prosperity for the first time in a decade.

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Discussion

• Similarities/differences between King and Bennett

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Political Parties Responses to the GD
New Political Party Why they opposed the government ideas for reform
Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)
Social Credit
Union Nationale
Communist Party of Canada
Liberals
Unionists
Read pgs. 216-219 and complete page 2 of your
worksheet Effects of GD in CA
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Other Political Parties offer their solutions

• Bill Aberhart was a preacher and school teacher
  from Alberta
• School principal/evangelist. Begins broadcasting
  his Back to the Bible program to a large
  audience in 1925.
• He thought that the Depression was caused by
  people not having enough money to buy goods and
  services especially farmers.
• His idea? Give every citizen 25 per month
  prosperity certificate so people could buy more
  products and help the economy.

Social Credit Party leader Bible Bill Aberhart
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William Bible Bill Aberhart

• Social Credit Theory advocates
• government income subsidies to stimulate economic
  growth
• tight regulatory control of banks to manage money
  supply
• His party was called the Social Credit Party.
• His party was elected in 1935 in Alberta, but
  they never paid out the certificates. The party
  was a major force in the west and stayed in power
  until the 1970s in Alberta. It was also a major
  force in BC politics

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C.C.F.

• Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)
  Socialist political party established in Calgary,
  Alberta in 1932.
• Platformgt Concentration of wealth in the hands
  of a few threatened democracy.gt New social
  order calling for production and distribution
  for the public good not private gain.
• CCF joined the League for Social Reconstruction
  (LSR)
• Regina Manifesto 1933
• All industry related to social planning would be
  nationalized
• Universal health care, unemployment compensation,
  and pensions would be provided by amendments to
  the BNAA
• The CCF enjoyed modest success in the Western
  Provinces

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J.S. Woodsworth

• He was a conscientious objector during WW1 and
  worked as a minister in Winnipeg helping the
  homeless.
• He believed that the free enterprise system had
  failed the people during the depression and that
  the government needed to take a greater role
  during the depression.
• He proposed Unemployment insurance, free medical
  care, family allowances and old age pensions.
• Many of his ideas have been adopted in Canada.
• His Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)
  Party later was renamed the NDP in 1961.

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Communist Party of Canada

• Became a legal party in Canada in 1924.
• Criticized as Un-Canadian because of its
  allegiance to Communist International (Comintern)
  operating out of Moscow
• 1919, Red Scare, Section 98 of the Criminal Code
  outlaws the Communist Party. Party leaders were
  imprisoned in 1931.
• Helped organize the trek to Ottawa. Arthur Slim
  Evans

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The Union Nationale

• Maurice Duplessis blamed the existence of the
  Depression on the fact that many of Quebecs
  industries were owned by Americans and English
  speaking Canadians.
• He formed the Union Nationale so that Quebeckers
  would have more control over their economy.
• The Union Nationale won the Quebec election in
  1936 and remained a force in Quebec politics for
  the next 22 years

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Establishment of Relief Camps

• To spur employment, Bennett created relief camps
  in rural areas for men to live/work
• Conditions in the camps were repulsive, not only
  because of the low pay, but the lack of
  recreational facilities, isolation from family
  and friends, poor quality food, and the use of
  military discipline.
• Communist Party leaders saw a chance to organize
  strikes in the camps. Forming the Relief Camp
  Workers Union

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HOMEWORK

• Finish reading the packet and complete the review
  portion on the back of the worksheet.
• You should probably start term cards too..