Canadian History 1201 Unit 4

Canada in the 1930s – The Depression

Years

Student Workbook 4.2

Student Name:___________________
SCO 4.0: The student will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the causes and
consequences of the Great Depression in Canada

4.1: Causes of the Great Depression: business cycle, contributing factors, stock market

4.2: Experiences of people: poverty, unemployment, migration, escapism

4.3: Government reaction to the Depression: King’s and Bennett’s response; peoples’ reaction

4.4: Emergence of new political parties

 4.2: Experiences of the people

Topic 4.2: Experiences of people: poverty, unemployment, migration,

escapism

The Depression caused major societal changes which impacted a large majority
of Canadian citizens. The resulting massive unemployment led to a rapid
deterioration in lifestyles. People were living in extreme poverty and were forced
to find ways to cope. Many people migrated to find work, the greatest numbers
moving from rural to urban areas. Men and women “rode the rails” in search of
employment. Other people stayed home and took wage cuts to hold on to their
jobs, or grew their own food to survive.

Private organizations established soup kitchens to feed the poor and homeless.
Many Canadians provided a meal or place to sleep for travelers searching for
employment. Homeless workers in the cities often pooled resources to rent a
room. Shanty towns developed in many urban centers.

The Depression did not hit all regions and groups with equal force, farmers in
western Canada were especially hard-hit as they experienced declining prices
with the added natural disasters of drought and insect infestations.

The distribution of “relief” was unequal. Married couples had priority, then
single men, while single women generally received no relief. Immigrant women
and women from visible minorities also faced discrimination. Certain ethnic
groups experienced trouble when trying to find employment, while others were
deported. For aboriginal groups, existing harsh living situations became even
worse.

People tried to find relief from their problems in a variety of ways. Movies,
newspapers and magazines, the radio, fairs and exhibitions, and major events
such as the birth of the Dionne quintuplets were examples of “escapism.”

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 4.2: Experiences of the people

Canada A People’s History Great Depression Video Case Study

Clip #1 Descent Into Chaos

1. What did “rode the rails” mean?

2. What is vagrancy?

3. What percentage of Canada’s work force was unemployed?

4. Who was R.B. Bennett?

5. During the 1930s, going “on the dole” referred to:

6. What problems did James Gray of Winnipeg experience during the Great
Depression?

7. Why did Newfoundland lose self-government in the early 1930’s?

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 4.2: Experiences of the people

Clip #2 The Enemies Within

1. What was R.B. Bennett’s biggest political fear?

2. What was General Andrew McNaughton’s solution to the problem of young

unemployed men who were feared to start a communist revolution on Canadian
soil?

3. Who did Bennett blame for bringing communist ideas to Canada? What happened
to approximately 30,000 of these?

4. What was R.B. Bennett’s view about fascism in Canada during the 1930s?

5. In what ways did the work camps for the unemployed help to spread socialist
ideas associated with communism?

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 4.2: Experiences of the people

Clip #3: Needles & Pins

1. What was life like for the rich (like the Eaton family) during the Depression?

2. What were working conditions like in many of the textile factories in Canada
during this time?

3. What was unusual about the views of the federal labour minister H.H. Stevens?

Clip #4: Blown Away

1. Describe how did the drought and extreme weather of the 1930’s affected Prairie
farmers and the families that resided there.

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 4.2: Experiences of the people

Clip #5: Dear Mr. Prime Minister

1. List ANY THREE issues that people wrote about to Prime Minister Bennett.

2. What was Bennett’s attitude toward individual Canadians who wrote to him of
their troubles during the Great Depression?

Clip #6: The End of the Line

1. What was U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal”?

2. How did R.B. Bennett respond to what was happening in the United States under
the Roosevelt administration? Did he deliver on his promises?

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 4.2: Experiences of the people

3. What did striking relief camp workers do to draw the government’s attention to
their complaints?

4. What was Bennett’s view of the men who occupied Vancouver?

5. What happened at Regina that ended the “On-to-Ottawa Trek?”

6. Who succeeded R.B. Bennett as Prime Minster in 1935?