The Great Depression “The Dirty Thirties”
Post World War I The war helped industry and technology develop People had more modern conveniences: List 3 on the side People were spending more money The 1920s became “The Age of Consumerism”
New York Stock Market The New York stock market crashed in October, 1929 Stocks lost their value Banks went bankrupt People no longer had money to spend How would this affect businesses?
Effects on Canada Canada was hit hard because so much of what Canada produced was exported By 1933, 1/3 of Canadians did not have jobs Canada lacked a welfare system
The Dust Bowl 1929 – 1937, North America was hit by the worst droughts in history Dry winds blew across the prairies, creating dust bowls Harvests became 1/3 of the size they had been Most farmers could not feed their animals
Grasshoppers The warm, dry climate attracted swarms of grasshoppers. James Grey, a writer living in Saskatchewan recorded what he saw
The Government’s Response At the beginning The Prime Minister of Canada was… Gradually each province went bankrupt, trying to help it’s people By 1933, nearly 2/3 of farmers in Saskatchewan needed help Unemployment Relief Camps In 1935, Bennett promised Canadians a welfare system
Bennett Buggies
A New Prime Minister Canadians lost faith in Bennett In 1935, a new Prime Minister was elected… He believed that the provinces were responsible for providing relief He believed the Depression was almost over
New Political Parties New parties were formed in hopes of stopping the Depression The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Social Credit Union Nationale
How People Coped Farmers developed new agricultural techniques… Men “rode the rails” to relief camps, searching for work The “On-to-Ottawa Trek”
The End… The droughts ended in 1937 The Depression took much longer because it was a worldwide problem 1939 – World War II The War created jobs Many Canadians today live with habits they developed during the Depression