The Canadian Government's Economic Policies in Response to The Great Depression

The Canadian Government's Economic Policies in Response to The Great Depression The Depression was a decade of abject misery. Everything ill seemed to

have fallen at once: stock market crashed; demand for goods dropped

and exports plummeted; production lines stopped, factories closed, and

unemployment rate skyrocket; even drought, famine, and other natural

disasters decided to make themselves known. It was a time of the most

desperate poverty Canada had ever known. The Canadian government tried

its best to answer the challenges the Depression had presented. The

federal government tried to provide everyone with social assistance

payments and relief work camp. However, due to the tight budget of the

government and the vast number of people needing assistance, everyone

was only given enough for mere survival. On a larger scale, the

Canadian government also failed to improve the economy with its

reluctance to adopt encouraging policies; the policies Canada did

adopt only damaged the economy even more. With all of these evidences,

I believe Canadian government had the minimum success in its attempts

to deal with the depression.

Faced with the Depression, the Canadian government did try to provide

all the citizens with the basic necessities. The federal government

provided “emergency assistance payments” according to Barry

Broadfoot’s book Ten Lost Years, “[T]he city family got $15 a month

and the country family got $10 a month…”. Citizens could also get food

from the various government organizations and soup kitchens in cities

like Vancouver. There were also various relief work camps nation wide.