Experiences of the People

Canadian History 1201

Hard Times for Canadians• By 1933 most people had no work

• Many Canadians were either starving or malnourished

• 250,000 people were forced to leave the Prairies

• Many evictions were taking place for non-payment of rent

• Working conditions got even worse then before

• There were pay cuts but people wouldn’t complain

Devastation in the West• Prairie farmers were among the Canadians hardest hit

during the Depression

• The rising wheat prices and demand of the 1920s brought many settlers to the West. Many used farming methods that produced wheat but quickly robbed the soil of nutrients needed to grow the following years crop.

• Farmers bought machinery on credit in the 1920s and were now unable to make their payments so they had to declare bankruptcy and the machinery was repossessed

• Wheat production suffered because of a series of natural disasters

• Summer droughts combined with high winds created huge dust storms, sometimes so severe that they literally blew away farms and cause the CPR to use snowploughs on their trains – in the summer!

• Another disaster was swarm clouds of grasshoppers that destroyed wheat fields in minutes. The first swarms appeared in 1931-2

• Where the term “Dirty Thirties” came from

Devastation in the West

• Humour was one of the few ways Prairie farmers could fight against weather and economic conditions that were beyond their control.

“In high wind, a farmer went to the bank to get a loan on his property. The banker said, ‘I’d kinda like to see your

land.’ Just then, a bug guest hit the side of the bank, and the farmer answered, ‘Well open up your window, cuz here

she comes.’”

Devastation in the West

Poverty, Unemployment & Migration

• Throughout the 1930’s unemployed Canadians, desperate for work, travelled back and forth the country on a personal trek in search of a job and a better life

• These people (illegally) “Rode the Rails”

• Some men just did this for something to do when they realized that there was work to be found

• Many Canadians helped one another during the Depression

• Extended families supported each other

• Neighbours shared clothes

• Many Canadians assisted those trekking back and forth the country

• Many people wound up living in “shanty towns” (hobo jungles)

• Makeshift shacks and tents that sprung up on the outskirts of towns and cities

Poverty, Unemployment & Migration

“Escaping” The Depression• People sought inexpensive forms of escapism such as

singsongs and family potluck dinners

• People played sports, such as pick-up games of curling and hockey on the local pond and baseball games on empty fields

• They also engaged in new fads such as roller-skating, miniature golf and new board games such as Monopoly

• The Movies

• “The talkies” replaced earlier silent movies

• They served as a treat for children and a time of relief for parents and guardians

• They portrayed exciting adventures in faraway places

• Canada produced some big movie stars, such as Mary Pickford – who was called in Hollywood “America’s Sweetheart”

“Escaping” The Depression

• Newspapers & Magazines

• Newspapers and magazines cost only 5 cents and were the cheapest way to get up-to-date news, sports results and to find out about faraway places

• When the paper was read it served as wallpaper, insulation and toilet paper

• Canadians also read glossy magazines, which provided a glimpse of the wider world

“Escaping” The Depression

“Escaping” The Depression• Radio

• People gathered around the radio for news, music, drama, comedy, sports and mysteries – much like we watch TV today

• The Happy Gang and Hockey Night in Canada with Foster Hewitt

• “Hello Canada and Hockey fans from the United States and Newfoundland”

• “He shoots, he scores!”

• Fairs, Exhibitions & Revival Meetings

• Canadians went to any kind of public event that was available such as:

• Travelling Evangelical Preachers

• Agricultural Fairs

• The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto

“Escaping” The Depression