Assess the success of Canadian policies to solve the economic problems caused by the Great Depression.
The economic problems caused by the Great Depression that the Canadian governments sought to solve were most significantly the stagnating growth of the economy; the foreclosure of farms; and the need for relief due to high unemployment. The responses to these problems varied between McKenzie King and Bennett, with McKenzie King originally ignoring the existence of a crisis. Their successes were also varied, although minimal, with World War Two being the main cause of Canada being lifted out of Depression. Government responses to the stagnating growth of the economy varied – whilst McKenzie King was opposed to any policies that would raise
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Bennett increased tariffs to protect Canadian production, an action that did little to stimulate the economy as it caused a further fall in demand for Canadian goods, removing them from the world market as fewer consumers were able to afford them. Clements in particular argues that Bennett's policy was unsuccessful as he says that the effect of the policy was to limit trade even more. This argument is largely true as the tariffs resulted in a diminished market for Canadian goods. Furthermore, this diminished market resulted in producers of staples being laden with surplus products. It is estimated that in Manitoba, for example, the overall cost of the tariffs in lost revenues was $100 per farm. Whilst the measures may have saved some firms from bankruptcy, they did little to help exports because of the fall in international demand. This led to overproduction and further losses, therefore rendering this …show more content…
Bennett most notably introduced the Farmers' Credit Arrangement Act, which aimed to allow farmers to remain in their farms rather than face eviction through foreclosure. It has been argued, particularly by Clements, that this policy was somewhat successful since it generally benefited the farmers rather than their creditors. However, this argument is only true to some extent as although 36,000 cases had been handled, only $4 million of interest on the debts had been removed from the total indebtedness figure of $159 million. This is a minute percentage, proving that the Farmers' Credit Arrangement Act had a far smaller impact than Bennett anticipated. Furthermore, McKenzie King failed to act in response to the problem of farm foreclosures. Government policies in response to agricultural issues were therefore insufficient in meeting the needs of farmers, indicating that the policies were for the most part
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.
Canada was a new world society, with a developing farm frontier. 3) There was a working class political pressure. 3 Dependence on foreign trade of wheat contributed to Canada's main cause of the Great Depression. The Weather in the Prairies greatly contributed to the disastrous effects which took place upon the Prairies during the 1930's.
Source I is a quote from the Paris Peace Talks by British Prime Minister; Lloyd George, where he states a desire for Germany to suffer. This line was said after the end of World War I, where nations met up to discuss the Treaty of Versailles or the treaty to end World War I. In that treaty, it claimed that Germany was responsible for the war and included all the punishments for Germany. Britain and France wanted to make Germany hurt, in return from all the losses it’s caused them, like death of loved ones and damaged property. Squeezing an orange until its pips squeak, means to apply intense pressure on one, until it suffers or in Germany’s case, becomes economically and militarily weak. The Treaty of Versailles harshly punished
Canada became increasingly autonomous throughout the 1920's and 1930's. Being established officially as a nation apart from Britain certainly helped, but there were more than just official pieces of paper at play. The negotiation of the Halibut treaty was a large push towards become an autonomous nation from Britain. The final push were the seats Canada was given at various significant events.
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 history of Canada was flooded with many influential and incredible events, particularly during World War 1 and World War 2. During the 20th century, Canada got more involved in worldwide events. It was a very important period for Canada; it was where they gained their independence and progressed as a country. After this century, Canada was considered an important and powerful country. The three main 20th century events in Canadian history are the battle of Vimy Ridge, the change of woman’s rights and the battle of Juno Beach.
Ending in 1939, it had also stopped the priority of an economy based on raw materials and opened up new opportunities. As the Canadian historian James Gray remarked, the Great Depression “brought out more of the best than it did the worst in people,” offering a reminder
The prime minister at that time, Mackenzie King, was unprepared to deal with the crisis at hand. His thoughts were that the depression was only a fluke, and that given time, the economy would prosper once more. King never answered the pleas for aid by his citizens, and told ...
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...
Many Canadians thought the depression was brought about by the wheat crop crash and not the stock market crash because many Canadians and farmers were dependent on the growth of wheat because it made up a majority of their exports, but seeing as the wheat provinces were hit with a severe drought the wheat crops crashed leaving many farmers out of jobs and money, causing a great affect on Canada. The causes of the great depression were due to over-production and over-expansion because Canadian companies expanded their industries of goods so that they could generate more profits. Yet economic activity shrank in the late 20’s and companies were left with a heavier debt and lack of...
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 Great Depression was a period, which seemed to go out of control. The crashing of the stock markets left most Canadians unemployed and in debt, prairie farmers suffered immensely with the inability to produce valuable crops, and the Canadian Government and World War II became influential factors in the ending of the Great Depression.
The US government’s role in the Great Depression has been very controversy. Different hypothesizes argued differently on the causes of the Great depression and whether the New Deal introduced by the government and President Roosevelt helped United States got out of the depression. I would argue that even though not the only factor, the US government did lead the country into the Great Depression and the New Deal actually delayed the recovery process. I will discuss five different factors (stock market crash, bank failure, tariff and tax cut, consumer spending and agriculture) that are commonly accepted to cause the depression and how the government linked to them. Furthermore, I will try to show how the government prolonged the depression in the United States by introducing the New Deal.
In conclusion, every single event that took place during the Great Depression made it that much bigger and ‘great’; no matter if it was political, social, or economic. In economics, it was the Stock Market Crash and the drought that caused the Depression; in politics, it was the rivalry between Bennett and King; and in society, it was the unemployment rates and the Regina Riot. With all these factors the Great Depression really does deserve the original name it was given. From all these events, we can learn a lot about how to prevent such a big event from happening again like so many events do. The word ‘great’ really is perfect in describing the Great Depression.
The Great Depression was the deepest and longest-lasting economic downfall in the history of the United Sates. No event has yet to rival The Great Depression to the present day today although we have had recessions in the past, and some economic panics, fears. Thankfully the United States of America has had its shares of experiences from the foundation of this country and throughout its growth many economic crises have occurred. In the United States, the Great Depression began soon after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors ("The Great Depression."). In turn from this single tragic event, numerous amounts of chain reactions occurred.