The On The Ottawa Trek

The conservatives introduced the unemployment relief act, giving the provinces $20 million for work-creation programs. This, however, did not aid economy much. Also, Bennett tried to raise tariffs in order to protect Canadian industries and get into the world market. He raised the tariffs by an average of more than 50 percent, which did protect some businesses, but it actually caused more harm than good. These tariffs made other nations set up trade barriers against Canada. He introduced the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act in 1935, which helped farmers build irrigation systems and reservoirs, but by this time, because of drought, poverty, and locusts, most families had already left their farms to go to other places. Finally, he created a national network of work camps for unemployed single men who needed work and shelter. These work camps allowed men to work for them (roads, clearing land, digging ditches, etc) for a pay of 20 cents a day. They were also given a place to stay and food to eat, but the food was terrible and the bunks were often bug infested. In spite of these conditions, 170 000 men spent time in these camps, which reflects the desperation that some of these people had.i

The Great Depression was one of the worst collapses in the history of the Canadian economy. Canadians endured years of misery and in the same manner, suffered through all the ineffective solutions that took place. Despite Prime Minister Bennett's multiple advances to bring the economy back to pace, most of the solutions Bennett acted upon caused more harm than good to the economy. Bennett's first solution was enrolling in Protective Tariffs, which not only sent more residents out of work but also reduced Canada’s trade with other countries. Secondly, Bennett's involvement in putting up relief camps bought hatred, from unemployed men, towards Bennett and his government. Thirdly, Bennett's final attempt was the New Deal, which ultimately led

There was a time, post-World War II when Canada had changed quite a bit. Canada’s population went up rapidly because of the boom and the veterans. The economy developed and there were no economic hardship so students did not drop out of school. It was booming, new technology, thousands of immigrants and new houses especially in the suburbs. New inventions such as the television caused consumerism and cars were being sold rapidly. The television also affected Canada politically. Teenagers with their fashion and rock ‘n’ roll music such as Elvis Presley had a big influence on the society. The baby boom, new technology and the many veterans returning home had a huge impact on Canada socially and economically.

Politically during the 1930’s was not great because of a few different things. Firstly, there is the Hands-off policy by Mackenzie King who believed that the Stock Market Crash was temporary in the business cycle. During the 1929 winter, many provincial governments asked for help to deal with

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 most important aspect of this proposal deals with the aftermath of the Canadian insurrections. This will be of extreme to significance to the reader as the aftermath of the rebellion would change the destiny of Canada. After learning of the uprisings in the Canadian colonies the British parliament sent a commission to study the causes. Lord Durham was named governor on May of 1839 and was in placed in charge of establishing an inquiry into the rebellions. From this inquiry came a list of recommendations submitted to the parliament in London (Outlett, 275). Two recommendations in this report became extremely significant to Canadian history.

Pierre Elliot Trudeau was arguably one of the most vivacious and charismatic Prime Ministers Canada has ever seen. He wore capes, dated celebrities and always wore a red rose boutonniere. He looked like a superhero, and often acted like one too. Some of the landmark occurrences in Canadian history all happened during the Trudeau era, such as patriating the constitution, creating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the 1980 Quebec Referendum. However, it is Trudeau’s 1969 “white paper” and the Calder legal challenge which many consider to be one of his most influential contributions to Canadian history.

Intro: Following the crash of the US market on October 29, 1929. Unemployment rates peaked in 1933 (500,000) which was twice of what it was in 1921. 1 in 5 people were unemployed. The great depression was devastating for Canada due to it dependency on farming natural resources. For example, Saskatchewan experienced record low prices in record history. Provincial income went down 90% within two years. This caused Canada to become an unjust society due to its actions during the depression; it’s treatment of Jewish refugees, and its detainment of Japanese Canadians.

The Statute of Westminister allowed Canada to make their own laws and regulations. Britain couldn’t rule Canada, but the Privy Council in Britain is still higher than Supreme Court of Canada. The document was signed in Britain, since Canada was still part of British Empire at the time. British Empire passed the Statute of Westminister on Dec. 11, 1931 and Canada gained complete independence. This Statute effected not only Canada but five more dominions, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Irish Free State, the Dominion of Newfoundland, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa.

This clearly shows that Mackenzie King and Bennett had no idea of what to do and therefore gave the responsibility to the provinces, just so that they do not take the blame. The result of their ignorance was fiscal collapse for the four western provinces and hundreds of municipalities and haphazard, degrading standards of care for the jobless. Monthly relief rates for a family of five varies from $60 in Calgary to $19 in Halifax. Although there were no official starvation, reports by medical authorities of scurvy and other diet deficiency diseases were common throughout the decade” . This shows that Bennett’s and Mackenzie King’s ignorance did not just keep the unemployed jobless, but they made it even worse. The result of their ignorance lead to the collapse of 4 provinces in the west, and degradation of standard of care for the jobless. Their ignorance brought diseases to those to whom they ignored. Instead of Bennett and Mackenzie King fixing an extremely important issue, they just made it worse. The unemployed could not count on the federal government, but also, the unemployed had no other option. The US managed to control the Depression more efficiently than Canada, and therefore people preferred to live in the US than in Canada. The government failed at resolving the unemployment

The 1930’s was a decade of hardship and despair in Canada. It was truly a terrible time, as the economy crashed, many people lost their jobs, and poverty rates skyrocketed. Many people couldn’t afford basic needs like food water, and shelter.

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

For many decades, there were numerous arguments stating whether the “Roaring 20s” were good times or bad times in Canadian history. Although there were many clear reasons that supported both sides of the argument, I believe that the 1920s were good times. The “Roaring 20s” were times of economic and social boom. New inventions which are still effective part of our lives in 21st century, growing power of multimedia and entertainment, and modern form of industrial revolution with mass production all originated from 1920s. Moreover, the entrepreneurs and industrializing businesses especially in the central Canada or in the cities were successful. Lastly, stock market was rising gradually until

Stepping out onto Canadian soil is the dream of any new immigrant coming to create a new life for a fresh start. The strong images of digging, logging, and construction are just some of the rough edged images that many do not consider when imagining the Canadian Dream. The Canadian Dream in the minds of workers in Michael Ondaatje’s, In the Skin of a Lion, is labouring to create life for themselves and working towards a steady future. Abbott describes the masterplot as “stories that we tell over and over in myriad forms and that connect vitally with our deepest values, wishes, and fears.” (Abbott 46). Ondaatje’s emphasis on labour reminds readers of the difficult work that individuals endured in the early foundational days of Toronto. The Canadian masterplot of labour in early Toronto can be initially thought of as a sparkling dream, when in reality it was harsh work that often went unrecognized. The less educated, along with immigrants were considered lower class and were placed in positions of difficult work and limited pay. Historically, it may be a preconceived notion that Canada was built with ease and peace, but in truth, weathered men and women were the backbone that built the nation. The individuals who built the infrastructure of Toronto endured the most difficult work yet were hidden in the darkness. They experienced the most dangerous labor yet they were recognized the least because of the negative connotations of the job. In this essay I will be outlining the

Canada till this day relies heavily on raw materials as well as farm exports. During the Great Depression, the entire Canadian infrastructure was completely ruined due to the lack of these high demand materials, combined with a Prairies drought which crippled the farm industry during this period. The four most western provinces, which depended most significantly on primary product exports, were hit the hardest. Living conditions were deadly, with the drought combining with lack of supplies left thousands of families almost hopeless and very frightened. Effects of the depression were strongly aggravated by its unequal impact distributed throughout the country. This was due to many benefactors but mainly misguided government policy. With different provinces being hit harder than others, this lead to drastic agricultural shifts which permanently changed the way the government handled the crisis. During the depression, the provincial and municipal governments had already been in great debt following a development of infrastructure and education during the 1920s.This brought the war against the Great depression into the hands of the federal government in hopes to better the economy. During the start of the depression, Mackenzie King