The worldwide Great Depression of the early 1930s was a social and economic shock that left millions of Canadians unemployed, hungry and often homeless. Few countries were affected as severely as Canada during what became known as the "Dirty Thirties", due to Canada's heavy dependence on exports which declined sharply in quantity and price, together with a crippling Prairies drought known as the Dust Bowl. Widespread losses of jobs and savings ultimately transformed the country by triggering the birth of social welfare, a variety of populist political movements, and a more activist role for government in the economy.

In 1930-1931 the Canadian government responded to the Great Depression by applying severe restrictions to entry into Canada. New rules limited immigration to British and American subjects or agriculturalists with money, certain classes of workers, and immediate family of the Canadian residents. About 25,000 unemployed immigrants were also deported.

Economic results By 1930, 30% of the labour force was out of work, and one fifth of the population became dependent on government assistance. Wages fell, as did prices. Gross National Expenditure had declined 42% from the 1929 levels. In some areas, the decline was far worse. In the rural areas of the prairies, two thirds of the population were on relief.

Further damage was the reduction of investment: both large companies and individuals were unwilling and unable to invest in new ventures.

In 1932, industrial production was only at 58% of the 1929 level, the second lowest level in the world after the United States, and well behind nations such as Britain, which only saw it fall to 83% of the 1929 level. Total national income fell to 55% of the 1929 level, again worse than any nation other than the U.S.

Impact

Canada's economy at the time was just starting to shift from primary industry (farming, fishing, mining and logging) to manufacturing. Exports of raw materials plunged, and employment, prices and profits fell in every sector. Canada was the worst-hit because of its economic position. It was further affected as its main trading partners were Britain and the U.S., both of which were badly affected by the worldwide depression.

One of the areas not affected was bush flying, which, thanks to a mining and exploration boom, continued to thrive throughout this period.Payne, Stephen, ed. Canadian Wings (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, Ltd, 2006), p.55. Even so, most bush flying companies lost money, impacted by the government's cancellation of airmail contracts in 1931-2.Payne, p.55.

Unemployment Urban unemployment nationwide was 19%; Toronto's rate was 17%, according to the census of 1931. Farmers who stayed on their farms were not considered unemployed.Canada, Bureau of the Census, Unemployment Vol. VI (Ottawa 1931), 1,267 By 1933, 30% of the labour force was out of work, and one-fifth of the population became dependent on government assistance. Wages fell as did prices. In some areas, such as mining and lumbering areas, the decline was far worse.

Prairie Provinces The Prairie Provinces and Western Canada were the hardest-hit. In the rural areas of the prairies, two thirds of the population were on relief. The region fully recovered after 1939. The fall of wheat prices drove many farmers to the towns and cities, such as Calgary, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan; and Brandon, Manitoba; many of them went west to British Columbia in a Canadian parallel to the “Okie” migration in the US from Plains states to California. Population in the prairie provinces fell below natural replacement level. There was also migration from the southern prairies affected by Dust Bowl conditions such as the Palliser's Triangle to aspen parkland in the north.

During the depression, there was a rise of working class militancy organized by the Communist Party. The labour unions largely retreated in response to the ravages of the depression at the same time that significant portions of the working class, including the unemployed, clamoured for collective action.

Numerous strikes and protests were led by the Communists, many of which culminated in violent clashes with the police. Some notable ones include a coal miners strike that resulted in the Estevan Riot in Estevan, Saskatchewan where four miners were killed by the RCMP in 1931, a waterfront strike in Vancouver that culminated with the "Battle of Ballantyne Pier" in 1935, and numerous unemployed demonstrations up to and including the On-to-Ottawa Trek that left one Regina police constable and one protester dead in the "Regina Riot". Although the actual number of Communist Party militants remained small, their impact was far disproportionate to their numbers, in large part because of the anticommunist reaction of the government, especially the policies of Prime Minister R. B. Bennett who vowed to crush Communism in Canada with an "iron heel of ruthlessness".

These conflicts diminished after 1935, when the Communist Party shifted strategies and Bennett's Conservatives were defeated. Agitation and unrest nonetheless persisted throughout the depression, marked by periodic clashes, such as a sit-down strike in Vancouver that ended with "Bloody Sunday". These developments had far-reaching consequences in shaping the postwar environment, including the domestic cold war climate, the rise of the welfare state, and the implementation of an institutional framework for industrial relations.

Women

Women's primary role were as housewives; without a steady flow of family income, their work became much harder in dealing with food and clothing and medical care. The birthrates fell everywhere, as children were postponed until families could financially support them. The average birthrate for 14 major countries fell 12% from 19.3 births per thousand population in 1930, to 17.0 in 1935.W.S. Woytinsky and E.S. World population and production: trends and outlook (1953) p 148 In Canada, half of Roman Catholic women defied Church teachings and used contraception to postpone births.Denyse Baillargeon, Making Do: Women, Family and Home in Montreal during the Great Depression (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1999), p. 159.

Among the few women in the labor force, layoffs were less common in the white-collar jobs and they were typically found in light manufacturing work. However, there was a widespread demand to limit families to one paid job, so that wives might lose employment if their husband was employed.

Housewives updated strategies their mothers used when they were growing up in poor families. Cheap foods were used, such as soups, beans and noodles. They purchased the cheapest cuts of meat—sometimes even horse meat—and recycled the Sunday roast into sandwiches and soups. They sewed and patched clothing, traded with their neighbors for outgrown items, and made do with colder homes. New furniture and appliances were postponed until better days. These strategies show that women's domestic labor—cooking, cleaning, budgeting, shopping, childcare—was essential to the economic maintenance of the family and offered room for economies. Many women also worked outside the home, or took boarders, did laundry for trade or cash, and did sewing for neighbors in exchange for something they could offer. Extended families used mutual aid—extra food, spare rooms, repair-work, cash loans—to help cousins and in-laws.Baillargeon, Making Do: Women, Family and Home in Montreal during the Great Depression (1999), pp. 70, 108, 136-38, 159.Denyse Baillargeon, Making Do: Women, Family and Home in Montreal during the Great Depression (Wilfrid Laurier U. Press, 1999) pp 70, 108, 136-38, 159.

Women held 25-30% of the jobs in the cities.In Toronto women held 28%; in Winnipeg 26%; in Montreal 25%. Canada, Bureau of the Census, Occupations and Industries Vol. VII (Ottawa 1931), pp 226, 250, 190. Few women were employed in heavy industry, railways or construction. Many were household workers or were employed in restaurants and family-owned shops. Women factory workers typically handled clothing and food. Educated women had a narrow range of jobs, such as clerical work and teaching. It was expected that a woman give up a good job when she married.Margaret Hobbs and Alice Kessler-Harris, "Rethinking Antifeminism in the 1930s: Gender Crisis or Workplace Justice? A Response to Alice Kessler-Harris," Gender and History, (April 1993) 5#1 pp 4-15 Srigley emphasizes the wide range of background factors and family circumstances, arguing that gender itself was typically less important than race, ethnicity, or class.Katrina Srigley, "'In Case You Hadn't Noticed!' Race, Ethnicity, and Women's Wage-earning in a Depression-era City." Labour 2005 (55): 69-105.

Teachers School budgets were cut a lot across the country, although enrollments went up and up because dropouts could not find jobs. To save money the districts consolidated nearby schools, dropped staff lines, postponed new construction, and increased class size. Middle-class well-educated teachers were squeezed by the financial crisis facing their employers. In Ontario, new teachers were not hired so the average age and experience increased. However, their salaries fell and men who otherwise would have taken higher status business jobs increasingly competed against women. Married women were not hired on the grounds it was unfair for one family to have two scarce jobs that breadwinners needed. Women teachers, who had made major gains in the 1910-20 era, saw themselves discriminated against.Cecilia Reynolds and Harry Smaller, "Ontario School Teachers: a Gendered View of the 1930s." Historical Studies in Education 1994 6(3): 151-169 The teacher's unions were practically helpless in the crisis, even in Ontario where they were strongest.Harry Smaller and Andrew Spaull, "The Responses of Canadian Teachers' Unions to the Effects of the 1930s Depression with Emphasis On Ontario," History of Education Review (1994) 23#2 pp 55-72 After prosperity returned in the 1940s, however, money was available again, there was a shortage of teachers, and the unions proved more effective. For example, in Quebec, the Corporation Général des Instituteurs et des Institutrices Catholics (CIC) was founded in 1946 (it became the Centrale de l'Enseignement du Québec (CEQ) in 1967). It sought higher pensions and salaries and better working conditions, while insisting the teachers were full-fledged professionals.P.A. Côté and M L'Hostie, "Le Discours syndical sur la formation et le role des enseignants au Quebec, 1930-1990," Historical Studies in Education, (March 1993) 5#1 pp 3-31 In remote rural areas professionalization was uncommon; local school boards tightly controlled the one-room schools, typically hiring local women with a high school education or a year at university as teachers, so their meagre salaries would remain in the community.Dianne M. Hallmann, "'A Thing of the Past': Teaching in One-Room Schools in Rural Nova Scotia, 1936-1941," Historical Studies in Education, (Spring 1992) 4#1 pp 113-132

Labour policy