Canada's Great Depression - Class 3

By rgravina
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    Canada's Great Depression - Class 3

  • Camille Houde elected mayor of Montreal

  • The Legislative Council of Nova Scotia

    Is abolished

  • John Duncan MacLean

    Resigns as the Premier of British Columbia

  • Simon Fraser Tolmie premier of British Columbia

    becomes Premier of British Columbia, Replacing John Duncan MacLean

  • Unemployed stage peaceful protest in Edmonton, Alberta

    A group of 500 unemployed men staged a peaceful protest in Edmonton, Alberta. The police distributed meal and bed tickets. Provincial government offers unemployed men a bed and two meals a day to help them to survive. Economists warn that these short term solutions will soon become inadequate.

  • Peaceful Protest, growing unemployment rates;

    The unemployment staged a peaceful protest in Edmonton Alberta, the provincial government offered meal and bed tickets outside the parliament buildings. The government offered each unemployed man a bed and 2 meals daily, helping many survive during the economic crisis. Unemployment rates are growing steadily and these short term fixes will no longer work for much longer.

  • Black Tuesday - Stock market Crash

    This day came to be known as "Black Tuesday" as the stock prices in North America hit their limit and the stock market crashed. People rushed to convert their stocks into real money. Panic selling took over, few buyers, prices plunged. Worse crash in Canadian history.

  • Stock Exchange, prices plunge.

    Prices on the Montreal and Toronto stock exhange have plunged the worst in Canadian history. After the tidal wave of liquidization in Toronto and Montreal there has been a total slump of 525,000 shares.

  • Soup kitchens being established across the country

  • Unemployment Relief Bill passed by Parliament

  • Bennett government plans to spend $20 million on make-work projects

    Make-work projects focused on highways, wharves, railways and other public projects

  • Police disperse crowd demanding relief in Vancouve

    Unemployed demanding relief; riots break out; police charge 29 with vagrancy

  • Two dust storms bring tons of silt in Winnipeg

    This made life for farmers unbearable as they could plough or harvest their land

  • Red Cross to aid drought-stricken West

    Red Cross officials said the situation in Saskatchewan is "the most serious emergency Canada has ever known."

  • Unemployment in BC at 28% - those in lumber mills and factory plants hit hardest

  • Civil servants salaries cut

    If your salary was above 1,200 you were cut 10%, if it was below , you were cut only 5%.

  • Secret Treaty signed

    12 secret treaties were signed; it appears Britain has agreed to give Canadian goods a greater preference in their markets. Also Britain has agreed to raise tariffs on some foods and primary products, while keeping the Canadian tariffs on those goods at a low level. Britain has agreed not to lower the tariffs to other countries without Canada's contest. In return Canada has given the British exporters the right to appeal to the countries tariff board.

  • Department of National Defense establishes work camps

    Department of National Defense is trying to help Canads's uneployment be setting up camps that will put 2,000 civilians to work for 1$/day. This will help some of the 70,000 men who are distitute and homeless.

  • The Co-Operative Commenwealth Federation is founded.

    The party believed that governments, as representative of all citizens should be more invested in their economy.

  • Gross National Product drops

    fell from 6.1 billion (in 1929) to 3.5 billion (in 1933).

  • Unemployment hits Depression high

    Al,ost 1/3 of work force out of work

  • Unemployment levels reach 30%

    Optimism at an all-time low. People had work in relief camps, or "go on the dole" for 15 cents a day

  • Protests in Saskatoon

    300 unemployed protesters coming from relief camps left one RCMP dead.

  • Canadian National, Canadian Pacific act

    This act was directed at the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway. With this act both railways would cooperate in making railway services more economical.

  • Arthur Currie, World War 1 General Dies

  • Newfoundland's Independence is revoked due to its finacial difficulties New

    Newfoundland's legislature votes to relinquishe individual domion status reverting back to colonial status (or government by commsiion appointed by Britian).

  • Arthur Currie, World War 1 General dies

  • Dominated by the Sweatshop Crisis

    Social and political discussion became dominated by the "sweatshop crisis" in 1934.

  • Discovery of Insulin

    Insulin was discovered by Dr. Frederick Banting in this year.

  • Establishment of the Bank of Canada

    Legislation was created by Bennett's government to establish The Bank of Canada; used primarily to monetary policy.

  • Municipal Relief Extended

    The province extends the requirement for municipal relief from the previous three months to one year. The officials hope that this will stop towns from transferring impoverished citizens to other cities.

  • Trade Treaty Signed

    Canada's Prime Minister W. L Mackenzie King and President Roosevelt of the U.S. sigend a mutual trade treaty that would make cross-boarder sales easier for both countries. This deal let Canadians farmers, fishermen and lumber merchants make more profit off American sales by lowering the tariffs that were paid to enter market.

  • Between 500 000 - 600 000 unemployed Canadians are on public relief, one - tenth of the population

  • Relief Vouchers

    Canadian Government handed out vouchers for food, boots, clothing, coals and shelter to Canadian families instead of money. These relief payments were intentionally put lower than the lowest paying jobs in order to discourage people from applying for it. Aksing for this Relief was a terrile experience for many hardworking people but was necessary because many Canadian families were close to starvation and malnutrition. Diseas was also very common amongst children.

  • Bennett's New Deal

    Bennett introduced the 'New Deal' which followed the new U.S economic program. It included promises and laws to regulate hours of work, minumum wage, improve working conditions and to provide insurance against sickness, industrial accidents and unemployment. But it did not help Canadians very much, especially those who were already unemployed. Some people beleived that Bennett's New Deal was just a desperate attempt to win votes for the upcoming election.

  • Canadian Wheat Board established

    This Board guaranteed farmers a minimum price for wheat

  • Liberals under Mackenzie King returned to office

    McKenzie wins the 1935 election against R.B. Bennett. He promised to take small steps to help cure the poor economic climate.

  • Food shipments sent to help starving farmers

  • Regina Riot

    On July 1st, 1935, as relief camp workers were on track to Ottawa to relay the issues of the workers to the federal government, they were stopped by the RCMP. The police charged the crowd, causing a fight in the middle of Regina, Saskatchewan. In the end, 120 people were arrested, and a few were left dead.

  • Albeta General Election 1935: William Aberhart's Alberta Social Credit Party wins a majority, defeating Richard G. Reid's United Farmers of Alberta

  • President Roosevelt of the U.S. signs the Banking Act of 1935 into law

  • Unemployment Relief Established

    Unemployment relief camps were established until 1936 due to the local government's limited aid to the homeless and poor. The camps gave men an opportunity to work and provided accomidation.

  • Abolishment of Unemployment Relief Camps

    The unemployment relief camps were abolished due to the "totalitarian aspect" the camps produced.

  • The Agricultural Adjustment Act

    Farming legislation and The Agricultural Adjustment Act are established to help farmers recuperate from the effects of the Depression. The sales on farm equipment rise from their all-time low.

  • All nine provinces entered old age pension system, established by Ottawa in 1927 when it passed Old Age Pension Act

  • Prairie farmers are losing farms -- blowing away

    Drought conditions have caused dry topsoil to blow away, leaving land unable to be farmed.

  • Ottawa to spend $125 million of public works, relief, loans

    The Ottawa Goverment spent $60 million on development and public works projects, $26 million on relief for those crippled by the depression, and another $39.9 million on loans to the Candaian National Railways. The main thrust of this spending is in Western Canada, where the administration fosters countless resource exploitation projects.

  • July Heat Wave

    Hundreds of deaths were caused by an early July heat wave in Southern Ontario.

  • 72 000 Canadians on strike

    72,000 Canadians go on strike

  • Old age pensions available to blind persons in Canada

    House of Commons makes old age pensions available to blind persons in Canada

  • General Motors two-week strike settled

    General Motors strike settled. Members of United Auto workers, made a deal with GM. They achieved all of their demands: a minimum wage, 1 44-hour work week, a seniority system, establishment of a grievancec procedure and a promise from GM not to discriminate union members.

  • Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations established

    Canadian government establishes the Royal Commision on Dominion- Provincial Relations, more money is given to provinces to deal with their economic crisis

  • Alberta announces new minimum wage

    Alberta had the second highest minimum wages in Canada. Effective October 1st, the new basic rate would be 33.3. cents per hour and $15 per week.

  • Bank of Canada becomes publicly owned

    It looks after monetary policy

  • One million Canadians are on relief

  • Canada gives away ten tons of surplus butter to unemployed Canadians

  • Prairie Farm Assistance Act passed

    This Act offered a type of crop insurance in the event of low prices or low yields in a specific area.

  • Thousands of jobs created by the War

    WWII created jobs in the military and civilian jobs

  • Liberals under Mackenzie King back in power

    The Liberals were easily swept back into power, gaining a majority in the federal election.

  • Unemployment insurance introduced

    Unemployment insurance was introduced, which meant a change for many people, and a much greater amount of security. This was the first unemployment insurance in Canada, and marked a change for the better as Canada began to come out of the Great Depression.

  • British evacuee children doing well

    A group of Children evacuated to Canada from Britain were doing well. They were all healthy, had gotten vaccinted, and had received doctors' care. This marks a change from the Great Depression, as people are now able to afford vaccinations, doctors' care, and other necessities, and Canada is even able to help others, which they were not able to do before.