The Great Depression
On October 24, 1929, the collapse of the United States stock market was the catalyst for the beginning of The Great Depression. Bank failures, a steady decline in prices for most consumer goods, massive wage cuts, and unemployment were all symptoms of the stock crash that plagued America and would eventually affect Canada. The stock market crash was not the cause of the Depression but it triggered a series of events. The 1920's had been one of Canada's most prosperous decades, factories were booming and farmers were receiving high prices for their wheat. The Great Depression, also known as the "dirty thirties" fell upon Canadians without remorse. Mass unemployment left Canadians struggling to survive in a world without unemployment insurance, health care, and very little social assistance. Between 1929 and 1933 the Gross National Expenditure declined by 42% and by the latter year 30% of the labour force was unemployed and 1 in 5 Canadians became dependant upon government relief for survival. (Struthers) Though both eastern and western provinces were suffering equally, the inability to communicate effectively over long distances to each other only served to further exacerbate growing tensions between the East and the West. T
Large dark clouds of soil would darken the sky to the point where it would become necessary to drive with the lights on even in the middle of the afternoon. (Struthers) However, provincial governments refused to provide aid for single men who were unemployed. Although eastern provinces such as Ontario and Quebec were experiencing serious unemployment due to decreases in income from their natural exports, they still fared much better than the western provinces due to their more diversified industrial economics which produced for the domestic market. At this time in Canada's history there was no Unemployment Insurance. Although the level of wages decreased throughout the 1930's, prices continued to decline even faster and revealed the problems of the Canadian Federal System. The soil has drifted completely over fences and to a depth of two feet on one road. "Farmers in these areas are already in desperate circumstances. Unemployment was a national problem that had had reached unprecedented heights and still the federal government refused to provide work for the unemployed claiming that it was primarily a local and provincial responsibility. The Depression was a difficult era that destroyed many lives. As a result, the West had concept of the events occurring in the East. It was the farmers and the unemployed who ended up bearing the brunt of the economic hardship. The prairie winds would strip off the layers of topsoil, scattering it across the landscape. There were no television reports or national coverage in the newspapers to tell the other what was happening. This of course was not true, the eastern provinces, were struggling as well and being forced to make sacrifices in light of the economic hardships plaguing Canada. For the next ten years the western provinces were plagued with drought.
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