The Dirty Thirties In Canada During The Great Depression

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”.

The depression years of 1929 - 1939 proved to be the worst, and some of the best years for Canada and Canadians. It was a time of extreme highs and lows socially, emotionally, and economically. It was a time that Canada came into her own being on the world wide stage.

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

The Great Depression may very well have been one of the most significant eras in Canadian history. It has taught us many lessons about the present and predicting the future. The ‘dirty’ thirties, as it was referred to, was a time of hardship and poverty for most. Imagine what it would be like if we had to endure the same magnitude of recession? You wouldn’t have your phone or your computer. Maybe you would be living with all of your relatives in one house? Or you would be growing your food in your backyard?

After World War I, the North American economy was booming, Canada had the world’s fastest growing economy. The start of the Depression came as a surprise to Canadians. When the stock market in the US, the biggest exported target for Canada’s primary resources after war, crashed, they reduced their demand for the products, people in Canada’s primary industries went bankrupt, unemployment rate raised from four point two percent to thirty percent, people could no more effort the luxurious lives, they did not buy much goods, which made other Canadian companies bankrupt, within a year millions of Canadians lost their

After World War I ended in 1919, Canada had a small recession during the World war, but after the war, Canada had the fastest growing economy in the world. The 1920s had been a successful period of growth for Canada, with living standards improving remarkably. Then suddenly, in the late 1920s the economy took a sharp turn for the worse. The depression originated in the US, directly caused by the spark of the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, but quickly spread to almost every country in the world due to

In 1919, World War I had finally come to an end, leaving most of the world in a post war depression. However, in countries like Canada, the decade ahead would be filled with amazing growth and change in many ways. The 1920s were an exciting time in Canada because of the economic prosperity, technological, social and cultural revolutions and growing political responsibility and change in policy that country experienced. These economic, social and political changes really made the 1920s in Canada “roar”.

The Great Depression was a dark time in American history that lasted from1929-1939. It began after the Stock Market crashed on October 19, 1929. According to A Biography of America: FDR- The Great Depression, “It was the deepest and longest lasting economic downturn in American History” (A Biography of America). As a result of the Great Depression one out of every four Americans was out of work. The Great Depression resulted in a life for Americans that was plagued by overproduction and under-consumption of products, starving families were forced into bread and soup lines, and thousands of agricultural workers became migratory workers in order to survive.

The Roaring Twenties were a time of prosperity and luxury for almost all Canadian citizens, it was a time where Canada changed saw the birth of many new technologies and the birth of a new culture. Roaring in the sense of the Roaring Twenties means that things were fun, new, exciting, and that people were having fun. The Roaring Twenties were truly a roaring decade in Canadian history, this was due to the post war economic boom in Canada which lead to people having more freedoms, and money to do what they wished with. People were also starting to invest more in luxuries helping businesses and keeping the economy running smoothly. The Roaring Twenties also gave rise to flappers. Flappers were normal girls that decided to dress in a new style

Firstly, When Richard Bennet came into power, he created what is known Relief Camps. They were in place so that problems of transients would no become a bigger problem. These men who worked were given food, shelter, army style clothing and .25₡ per day also these camps were built deep in the wilderness, away from towns and cities. This plan by Richard Bennett backfired because the relief camp workers rebelled which cause the On-to-Ottawa Trek and these camps gave no hope for a better future also showed that Bennett could not solve the problem of the transient. Secondly, During the Great Depression, there was increasing unemployment rates in every province some higher than the others because of how much they invested in the stock market. Due to rising unemployment levels, people from different communities started to leave their communities for a job elsewhere like other communities which created the issue of transients. Living in Canada even worse because they brought in fear and danger of being robbed because they do not have anything. Thirdly, Many people during this time were encouraged to “Buy now and Pay later” basically buying everything on credit and pay it later. Because of this, many families found themselves hopelessly in debt through buying on credit. With interest payments, many products ended up costing far more than what it was worth. Life in Canada difficult because many were in debt and

The 1920s were a time of advancement and prosperity in America. The end of the first world war caused America’s economy to boom resulting in a large increase in industrial output and credit. In addition to this, the invention of the assembly line made the automobile much easier to produce making it possible for most middle class families in the United States to be able to afford one which changed the concept of transportation. Modern advertising caused Americans to desire stuff that they didn’t necessarily need. Working conditions at this time were still poor but there were major improvements from the way it was at the beginning of the century. Due to welfare capitalism workers were much less inclined to strike which also helped the booming

The roaring twenties was a time filled with hope and change. President Warren G. Harding promised a “return to normalcy”, which reflected his own conservative values and the voters’ wants for stability and order. Americans felt that they had been through more than enough, and desired prosperity. During the years 1919 and 1920 the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments were passed; the outlaw of alcoholic beverages and the right for women to vote, which ones of the many reasons society was turning their backs on Progressivism. Republicans were beginning to return to their previous dominance. The 1920’s was an economic boom for America, including everything from an increase in jobs, a rise in plentiful goods, new consumer products, and the reduction of taxes. The country was filled with jazz music, dance, and what appeared to be a brighter future. The 1929 crash of stock market was the beginning of a downward spiral leading in to the Great Depression. The stock market crash is often to be confused as the cause of the Great Depression, although that is false. A few of the issues that lead to the Great Depression included; farming (which decreased in demand as farms increased through the states during World War I), banking, and mass unemployment. Capitalism took shape as what was once the individualistic Protestant work ethic was reshaped into industrial work on a grand scale. Each worker contributed to the greater good, and the workers were presided over by a boss

Canadian prosperity during the 1920s was based on weak foundations; industries started to overproduce and supply exceeded demand. Additionally, the stock markets were tangled in the same unstable practices as the United States; when the Wall Street Crash occurred, the effects spread over the border to Canada, which initially led to the Great Depression. Federal governments were hesitant to respond to the catastrophe caused by the Depression. There were boundless losses of jobs which completely changed the country by triggering the start of social welfare and causing a variation of political movements. Bennett proposed a New Deal in an attempt to solve the problems of the Depression but barely any of the measures taken had been passed. The

The great depression was an event that impacted the U.S in a very drastic way. It caused many to lose their jobs, therefore losing wealth. It was a long lasting economic crisis during 1929. Lasting until 1940s. It started the beginning of involvement from the government to the country’s economy and also the society altogether. The government wanted to find ways to end this. After almost a decade of prosperity and high optimism , the U.S is now faced to a period of despair. Many had to recover from this downfall and it was hard for them. No one was ready for this event known as Black Tuesday. The Great Depression impacted the americans and cause 20 - 25 million of americans to become unemployed and banks came to fail. The great

Canada faced dramatic changes through the decades of the 1960’s and 1970’s, but in particular the province of Quebec. In 1959, Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis died, this marked the beginning of the Quiet Revolution. Duplessis was the Union Nationale leader and the party had controlled Quebec for decades until shortly after Duplessis’ death, a provincial election was held where the Liberals, led by Jean Lesage, had won the vote. The Liberals started moving away from the Catholic ideologies, traditions were being shifted and a transformed society was taking over the province of Quebec. Lesage was famously quoted in 1962 “There is no doubt in my mind; it’s now or never that we must become masters in our own home.” which became the Liberals