CANADA

DURING THE
DARK TIMES:
T H E G R E AT
DEPRESSION
By: Chris Peng

Romer and Pells, “Great Depression | Definition, History, Dates, Causes, Effects, & Facts.”
WHEN AND WHERE? -
W H AT I S T H E G R E AT
DEPRESSION?

• Described as a lengthy calamity of

economic havoc worldwide, notably
the Western countries, which
included Canada (Struthers and Foot,
“The Great Depression in Canada.”)
• Affected Canada from October 1929
to September 3, 1939 (Statistics
Canada, “The Great Depression.”)
• Nicknamed the “Dirty Thirties” after
a devastating drought in the prairies
(Struthers and Foot, “The Great
Depression in Canada.”)
• Deflation resulted in a decline in
trading, halting the entire world’s
economy

Colarossi, “25 Vintage Photos Show How Desperate and Desolate America Looked during the
Great Depression, the Last Time the Unemployment Rate Was as High as It Is Today.”
 • Many experts still dispute over whether the Stock
WHY? – CAUSES Market Crash a major/main cause of the Great
Depression (Struthers and Foot, “The Great
Depression in Canada.”)
O F T H E G R E AT • However, most economists agree that deflation was
one of the biggest causes
DEPRESSION • The Gold Foreign Standard increased interest rates for
foreign banks (Romer and Pells, “Great Depression |
Definition, History, Dates, Causes, Effects, & Facts.”)
• Deflation slowed down the world’s economy and
trade, sparking the Great Depression

Waxman, “What Caused the Stock Market Crash of 1929—And What Colarossi, “25 Vintage Photos Show How Desperate and Desolate America Looked during
We Still Get Wrong About It.” the Great Depression, the Last Time the Unemployment Rate Was as High as It Is Today.”
W H AT ? - C O N S E Q U E N C E S O F
T H E G R E AT D E P R E S S I O N O N
CANADA
• From when the Great Depression began to 1933, Canada’s GDP
plummeted by 42% (Struthers and Foot, “The Great Depression in
Canada.”)
• This is mainly because 1/3 of Canada’s income came from exports
• During 1933, the peak of the depression, 30% of Canadians were
unemployed and 20% needed help from the government to make a
living
• The prairies were affected by drought, infestation, and extreme
weather
• Ontario and Quebec were among the less affected provinces due to
their already-developed economies
• Although the Great Depression was devastating to most Canadians,
property owners and individuals who still had jobs benefitted
because of the ability to make money to take advantage of the
deflation in the economy
• Demographics show population growth drastically decreased during
the depression

Struthers and Foot, “The Great Depression in Canada.”

 WHO? – THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT’S
I N V O LV E M E N T

• The Canadian government became more active in the

economy since the Great Depression
• The government did not tackle the economic crisis
effectively
• Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King, who was outvoted
by Conservative Prime Minister R.B. Bennett in 1930,
neglected the economic crisis
• Ironically, Bennett did not make much of an impact
because he rejected Canadian citizens’ requests for jobs
• The government’s negligence caused a collapse and
desperation among many Canadian cities
• Relief camps allowed men to labour throughout an entire
day to make a very small amount of money

Struthers and Foot, “The Great The Editors of Encyclopaedia

Depression in Canada.” Britannica, “Richard Bedford
Bennett | Prime Minister of Canada.”
 HOW? – LASTING
I M PA C T S O F T H E
G R E AT D E P R E S S I O N
ON CANADA

• The government of Canada were

caught completely off-guard by the
Great Depression
• After the Great Depression, they
began to play a larger role within the
economy
• Prime Minister R.B Bennett
established the Bank of Canada Act
(Struthers and Foot, “The Great
Depression in Canada.”)
• The Canadian Wheat Board founded
a market and instituted a minimum
cost to purchase wheat
• The Canadian government funded
insurance for the unemployed in
1940
Bonham, “Bank of Canada.”
H E R E ’ S A Q U I C K V I D E O S U M M A R I Z I N G T H E G R E AT
DEPRESSION

One Minute Economics, “The Great Depression Explained in One Minute.”

T H E A F T E R M AT H

• Canada’s economy began to recover when

World War II began, as demand in the
global economy starting going back to
normal (Struthers and Foot, “The Great
Depression in Canada.”) Cohen, “The Lessons of the Great Depression.”
• There were still many citizens in Canada
who needed to recover from the devastation
of the depression
• Employment rates nearly returned to normal
in 1942
• The Canadian government learned to be
prepared for more situations like this in the
future and established stable social welfare
programs for Canadians

“Great Depression Timeline.”

 CONCLUSION

My sincerest
appreciation to everyone
for listening attentively
throughout my entire
presentation!

House, “Say Thank You to Someone at Companies House.”