The Great Depression
by
Erika Brenner
Grade 8
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was the worldwide business slump of the thirties. As well as a business slump, there was a great drought. It ranked as the worst and longest period of unemployment and low business. The Great Depression began with the collapse of the United States stock market. This was followed by bank failures, falling prices of most goods, wage cuts and unemployment.
In 1929, Canada suffered a series of crippling blows to its economy. Wheat was its best export, however, despite much efforts, 1928 bumper crop could not be sold. Sales of metals, pulp and paper, and other products dropped to disastrous levels.
The economy depended on the export of grain and raw materials. Farmers and exporters suffered losses after other countries increased tariffs on imports. This caused a drop in foreign trade. The decline in exports forced many businesses to close. Hundreds and thousands of people lost jobs and homes. Between 1929 and 1933, the unemployment rate rose from 3% to 23%. The fall in grain prices and the severe drought worsened the depression on the prairies.
By 1934, the economy seemed to have hit rock bottom. Every city and town had soup kitchens. Young men hitched rides in empty boxcars, riding across Canada, looking for work. The government provided relief by handing out food, clothing, and payments as well as setting up relief camps.
The official ending of the Great Depression was the beginning of World War II, in 1939.
The Drought
The prairies suffered almost ten years of drought. Hardly any moisture was recorded in the Great Wheat Belt for nearly eight years. The dry spell forced the federal government to abandon all hopes of balancing the budget. Conditions got so appalling that Ottawa had to promise federal aid to the drought-stricken areas of the southern prairies.
The first year of drought was followed by the coldest winter on record. From early January to the end of February, there was no break in the constant cold. Temperatures dropped below minus forty degrees Fahrenheit and stayed. City streets were deserted and traffic stopped. Blizzards buried railways, disrupting train schedules. Every side road between Winnipeg and the Rockies were blocked by snowdrifts.
The coldest winter in history was then followed by the hottest summer in history. Two-thirds of the western grain lands were withered by drought. Parched topsoil blew away as soon as it was ploughed. Russian thistle polluted many crops that managed to take root. The remaining vegetation was devoured by hordes of grasshoppers. These plagues of insects swarmed in giant clouds, spitting thick, brown, sticky juice over everything.
Across the southern plains, temperatures rose to 90° Fahrenheit and kept rising. Saskatchewan, perhaps, was hit the hardest. It went 6 straight weeks with only three days below 90° Fahrenheit. Many areas were worse. Willow Creek went 13 days with 100° F weather. On July 11, 1936, temperatures reached 10° F in Winnipeg, 110° F in Brandon and Toronto went 5 day with the temperature at 105° F.
These conditions continued until 1937.
The Crash
Stock markets had been jittery for a few weeks. On October 4, 1929, a frightened New York stock exchange unloaded overvalued stocks at basement prices. By October 29, 1929, panic grew and spread to the Toronto Market. Losses of $200 million were recorded in one day. Traumatized, some financiers jumped to their deaths from office windows. Others put bullets to their heads. Within 9 months of the stock market crash, all of North America was in Depression. It is unclear why the crash took place.
Relief Camps
The relief camps were mostly in isolated areas, such as Northern Ontario and Quebec, as well as interior British Columbia. The relief camps were mainly for single unemployed men. Men worked 8 hour days, 6 days a week. In exchange, they got meals, a bunk bed in an army hut, work clothes and a daily allowance of 20 cents. The 20 cents was spent on tobacco, candy, writing paper, stamps, and other small items. The work that they did was mostly useless. Most projects had no purpose other than keeping the men occupied and out of the way. A few camps that were close to cities, had men doing work that had some value. They were very strict and had military-like discipline.
The relief camps started in British Columbia and Ontario and expanded rapidly. Entrance was voluntary. Local governments encouraged the men to go to the camps. Once they were in the camps, they were not treated badly. The accommodations were simple but clean, the meals were unimaginative but sufficient, and the clothing was sturdy and good quality. However, the relief camps were very unpopular.
There were a few problems in the relief camps. One problem was that men wanted to start families and have their own homes. Another problem was that the 20 cents a day was considered insultingly small. This lead to a demand for "work with wages". This was the reason for many strikes as well as the On-To-Ottawa Trek.
On-To-Ottawa Trek
The men at the relief camps regarded the 20 cents a day, that they received insultingly low. This lead to a demand for "work with wages". The men in a British Columbia relief camp decided to take this issue to court in Ottawa. The treks headed east, riding on the top of CPR freight trains, picking up support and numbers along the way. The federal government regarded them as a serious threat. R.B. Bennett, the prime minister at the time, feared violence if thousands of men demonstrated on Parliament Hill. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were instructed to stop the trekkers in Regina. They did so on June 14, 1935, but an 8 man delegation was allowed to proceed to Ottawa. The rest waited in tents to see what Ottawa would do. On June 22, a stormy discussion took place, which quickly turned into an exchange of insults. The delegates returned empty handed but were cheered by their supporters. Some of the men then returned to the relief camps.
One Man's Story
Neil Friesen was between the ages of 14 and 24 during the Depression. Six years after his dad died in 1925, his mom died. After his mother's death, in 1931, the farm, which was near Steinbach, Manitoba, was sold and he was sent out into the world to make his own living. He was 16 then. It was a struggle for Neil to find a job. While on his own Neil had no regular place to live, so he basically slept anywhere. Sometimes he slept in abandoned cars and sometimes he had nothing to eat. In the winter he worked in bush camps for about 50 cents a day. For extra cash, he did some trapping. One winter, he got a job driving a team of horses. During the summer, he did harvesting for about $1.50 a day. One summer, he heard that crops were good in Alberta and jobs were available. He decided to go, and rode there on the top of a train's boxcar. While going through Saskatchewan, he noticed that most of the farm houses were abandoned. In Lethbridge, Alberta, a farmer offered him work on a farm. He did threshing and beet farming there for about $1.50 a day. After the harvest, he took the train back to Steinbach. This type of work and lifestyle continued for Neil throughout the depression.
Of personal interest, Neil Friesen is my grandpa. He is living currently in Steinbach.