The great depression in Canada began in 1929 due to the conditions prevailing in the United States. Being neighbors and so closely interrelated both of the countries enjoyed considerable partnerships in the various areas of cooperation. Canadian economy went into tatters and the commodity most affected by the depression was wheat. Wheat is the primary export of Canada was hugely affected and in turn, affected the whole economy of the country. Due to the depression in the United States, the people across the border were not able to buy the wheat produced and cultivated in Canada and as a result, the exports declined.
The investment opportunities swindled to their lowest ebb and the unemployment rose to more than 25 %. Anyhow these conditions were not the result of a single factor but the outcome of a plethora of issues ranging from World War 1 to the conscription, British intervention, and conditions in the US are to be blamed as well. World War 1 started around 1914 and Britain waged it against the axis. Being an ally to Britain Canada had to send in troops to wage the war. This put huge strains on the economy and when the war that was supposed to take not more than 3 months was taking more than three years 1, heads began to rise and people started questioning the conceptuality behind involving the troops to fight somebody else’s war.
By August Britain had declared war on Germany and as part of the conglomerate, Canada was constrained to join. At first, Canadians fought under British command but later Canadian started taking stock of the situation and managed to employ their own strategies through their commanders. Before long it was realized that in order to win the war some policies need to be reconsidered. Such as the policies regarding recruitment and planning. This involved the enforcement of the “Military Service Act” in 1917. This was the basis of Conscription in Canada.
There was fierce opposition to the act from all quarters mostly from French Canadians like Wilfred Bourassa and the rest. Prime Minister Robert Borden was in a quandary about the repercussions until his government collapsed. But Robert managed to unify his party under a partnership with Liberal Opposition and this served him a fruitful purpose. Conscription meant that people were to be drafted out to fight the war. It was due to the shortage of troops that this step had to be taken. English Canadians were in favor of the act but the Quebec Canadians however were not.
The Military Service Act was enforced in 1918, which caused more than 500,000 men to be liable for military duty2. There were however many exemptions and loopholes in the act which exempted almost everybody who would have participated in the war effort. There were widespread riots in Quebec and a lot of people were killed. It was sometime after that the exemptions were lifted and people had to join in, however, only around twenty-five thousand people actually joined the war effort. World War 1 ended in around a year and thus only a handful of Canadians were actually involved in the war effort because of the act. This nevertheless resulted in separations among the Government and in the year 1920, Borden retired and his heir was defeated in the next election. This ultimately ended the crises and steps were taken by the new Government to improve the economy which ultimately resulted in the end of the great depression.
References
- Berton, Pierre (1990). Pg no 542-543 – The great depression, 1929-1939.
- History of the Canadian Peoples, 1867-Present, Alvin Finkel & Margaret Conrad, 1998, Published by Pelham Books.