The Great Depression
1929- 1939
On To Ottawa
Socialism in Canada
The Bennett Years
Prime Minister Bennett and the
Great Depression
PRIME MINISTER BENNETT
• At first cautious about committing to a
responsibility that according to the
constitution belonged to the provinces
and municipalities
• He believed that high tariffs would
protect Canadian markets
• He agreed to reduce tariffs on any
country that agreed to reduce tariffs
against Canada
• Imperial conference of 1932 he won a
preferential duties agreement in trade with
Britain
• Ineffective because the amount of trade
was not enough to get us out of the
depression and we upset the Americans
who were our largest trading partner and
they increased tariffs against Canadian
goods
Radical Proposals for Ending the
Depression
• He created the Bank of Canada to
regulate currency and credit and provide
services to private banks
• Acted on allegations of some companies
making record profits during the
Depression
• He created a Royal Commission on
Price Spreads
•The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act and
the Canadian Wheat Board
•These measures were aimed at reviving
Canada’s wheat market that was now
ravished by drought and grasshoppers
•He offered a “New Deal”, like President
Roosevelt in the U.S. (works projects)
• As he moved to the 1935 election, he
proposed reforms including unemployment
insurance, minimum wage law, and a
shortened work week
Canadians Reject Bennett
• Bennett lost the 1935 election
• He waited too long before taking action
• His reform policies did not seem to
match his tough stance in the on To
Ottawa Trek
• He did not convince Canadians that he
cared about their misfortunes
• King was able to run a strong anti-
Bennett campaign without offering any real
alternative
• He convinced the people that Bennett’s
reforms were beyond the power of the
federal government and they would be struck
down by the courts which they were in 1937
• New political parties had split the vote in
Canada --the new parties won 26% of the
popular vote, basically taking seats from
Bennett and the Conservatives