


Unemployment – many Canadians lost their
jobs
Homelessness – many Canadians were
evicted from their homes
Crime – as people became desperate, crime
increased
 So what did the government do about it?
He believed it was temporary.
 He believed the government should stay out of the
economy.

 When he was asked why he was giving absolutely no help
to anyone, he said that he wouldn’t give a “5 cent piece” to
any province with a Tory (Conservative) government.

Result:
 King was defeated in the election of 1930.
 The new Prime Minister was the Conservative, R.B.
Bennett.
▪ So what did Bennett do about the Depression?

Work camps
 These were camps for single, unemployed men.
 They were usually far away from cities.
 The men working here earned 20 cents a day.
 Result:
▪ Most relief camps workers were unhappy.
▪ The money they made was so little, they could not have
any impact on the economy.



These are taxes on goods that come from
other countries.
The purpose was to make Canadian goods
cheaper and easier to sell than foreign goods.
Result:
 Other countries increased tariffs on Canadian
goods, and our exports declined.
 This hurt a lot more than it helped because the
Canadian economy depends on exports.



The government gave poor families
assistance of about $10 per month.
This was also called pogey or the dole.
Pogey was not easy to get. Applicants had to
 Stand in long lines where they could be seen by
everyone.
 Publically declare their financial failure.
 Swear that they did not own anything valuable.
 Prove that they were being evicted from their
home.
Results:
 All of Bennett’s efforts ended up in failure,
and Canada went deeper into recession.
 An election was coming up in 1935, so Bennett
looked to the USA for examples of how to
bring the country out of Depression.
 In the USA, President Roosevelt had improved his
country’s economy through the “New Deal”.

Bennett’s proposals included:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Minimum wage
Unemployment insurance
Regulation of wheat prices
Old age pensions
Health and accident insurance

Bennett still lost the election of 1935 to
Mackenzie King. Mackenzie King’s slogan
during the election was “King or Chaos”.

Mackenzie King’s Plan:
▪ He had no plan!
▪ In 1937, he appointed a Royal Commission to look
into solutions for the Depression.