Monday, December 30, 2013

The Canadian Experience



No country was immune to the Great Depression, but each country certainly had its own unique experience with the economic turmoil of the 1920s and 1930s.  Canada's geography made it an interesting case--while it was immediately involved in World War I because of its political connections to Great Britain, it was immune to the physical calamities of the war. 

Based on your perception of the reading, how are Canada's before the Great Depression different?  What does it have to do with Canada's political structure?  How about geography?  

(as for the picture above, I just couldn't help myself...)

16 comments:

  1. Well being a fellow Canadian that I am, I have knowledge of this topic but for the picture above.... GO CANADA. The Great Depression affected almost everyone including Canada, because before the great depression Canada was in some sort of a short recession and they realized many things like inflation, overproduction but what they weren't realizing was that they got more and more dependent on the US. Instead of depending on themselves they put there hands in the US which was not the smartest idea and back fired when the stock market crashed.

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  2. Canada is now still under british rule. When the Queen of England goes to Canada she is the queen of Canada. So basically since they started passing laws to make marijuana legal that's sparks hope in the people of England that marijuana laws will pass there too. They have the same four anti-marijuana lobby groups as we do but they're weaker due to their political set-up. All of Europe is socialist at this time. So America is basically copying Europe with this. If this happened before then people would still be mad that they copy a system of work as europeans but they wouldn't. They never would, and they didn't. People were so opposed to a socialist system of government.
    Canada being right on top of the united states it's easy for Britain to ask them if they can help out Canada like in war and they would because of the alliance they have with Britain.

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  3. After the horrors of the first world war, the return to normalcy was a relief for not the direct participants of the conflict, but also for those who had maintained affairs on the home front. The twenties were a time of prosperity for most and fast growth in industry, manufacturing and the cities. Political movements arose out of the chaos of the war as old empires, ancient governments and established politic structures were shattered and ideas from Soviet Russia, socialist movements in France and anti-war sentiment in general extending their influence into union and farmers organizations.

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  4. After the war, all the victorious countries were gaining confidence. Like the other countries, Canada was facing economical and political problems. There were even riots caused by controversy over the pay and working conditions. However, the people of Canada believed that it was just a post-war slump, and the economy went through a time of prosperity. During this period, more people were moving into cities and creating jobs, Canada became the second largest motor manufacturer in the world, and the stock market was going up.

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  5. Before Canada was stroke by the Great Depression, it was in its boom time and "feeling is independence". Canada was in its economic prosperity such as new industrial development, urbanization, motor vehicle expansion, stable stock market. There were some post-war issues, that should not be neglected, eventually broke out after the Great Depression. These problems are fall in wheat demand,post-wartime inflation and industrial dispute about paying and working conditions. One of the most significant problems would be Canada's government structure of three parties of Conservatives, Liberals and the Progressive Party.

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  6. Just like everyone else said, after the war was what caused many struggles and problems to arise. Many countries needed money and no one knew the prefect way to get it or keep a stable economy. And because of this every country was suffering its own downfall, no one knowing exactly the way to get out of debt. so every president and leader in each country seemed to take a different approach and canada as well took its own approach.

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  7. Canada was part of the British Empire and that is why they were obliged to aid in the World War I but it gave them an advantage because Canada was really recognized because of what they did in the war. Thousands and thousands of people served for Canada in the war. During the postwar, Canada started writing its independence from the Great Britain and they were having a lot of incresing agriculture and indrustry as well as an expantion in railroads. People started moving to the cities and the immigration increased a lot: it was call the boom of the 1920s.
    But after that, little by little, as they are right next to the US, they were trusting them too much and depending on them a lot more than before. As the US fell in the Great Depression, Canada did too right after since Europe was also having a big depression; a lot of problems started in the nation as well as the drop of prices, closing firms, inflation etc. Canada was in fact really hit by the Great Depression.

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  8. The reason why Canada was dragged into the Great Depression has to go back to WWI. Canada, even up until today, it is under the rule of the Great Britain. After war I, Canada wanted more independence. Not purposely, because the U.S and Canada are so geographically close, Canada urbanized just like the U.S did, motor vehicle etc. which brought them prosperity. However, Canada was getting more and more dependent on the U.S. So when the stock market crashed on 1929, of course Canada was dragged into this Great Depression soon after.

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  9. canada dealt with its depression in a selfish way instead of unity in hard times. they pulled the purse strings and let people fend for themselves in a hostile economy. canadian leaders were for the most part interested in their own wealth and prosperity relief benefits were small and stingingly handed out. the government was also more concerned with radical groups than the suffering populace in its borders. men were placed in jails for vagrancy and other questionable crimes. if canada had made a concerned united effort to rebuild and prosper its depression could have been less sever.

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  10. Canada was at a great standing point before the war. They had a great economy, a great agricultural system, and felt independent from Great Britain. However, they were becoming increasingly dependent on the American economy. Once the war started, due to their connections with Britain, they began helping immediately. As soon as America joined the war, not only was Canada's money being spent on the war, but the money they depend on as well. They were hit just as hard by The Depression as America.

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  11. Canada's experience with economic turmoil differed from other countries because of its uniqueness. It was as invested as England in the First World War but suffered no damage to its home front unlike the war-ravaged European countries. Generally this is a good thing, but after the war, other countries were able to grow wheat again so the vast farms on the Canadian prairie dwindled, crippling the economy. Also, it did not help the country's prospects that the governmental power was too decentralized and French separatists campaigned for independence. So clearly the geography and political structure were major factors in the Great Depression in Canada.

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  12. Before Canada hit the great depression, the country was experiencing great economy. Not only did they have a stable stock market but also it was experiencing rapid industrialization. However, most likely due to the political structure and geography of Canada, Great depression occurred. Even though it was not damaged physically, it was greatly damaged economically. Not only were millions of Canadian left unemployed, hungry and often homeless, widespread losses of jobs and saving occured among the population since the country was heavily depended on raw materials and farm export.

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  13. When the great countries of the world suffer with economics, that means that they can not buy from other countries. It is due to this that if there is a Depression if will affect other countries, such as Canada. One thing that really affected them was the inflation of prices, for example in the short youtube video that we watched in class it said that the prices of wheat went from 1 dollar a bunddle to 35 cents. And since Canada was so focused on agriculture it really took its toll on them. Also, since they counld't export goods to other countries who were suffering from their own Depression Canada's people began to lose their jobs and become homeless. However, the depression also helped bridge gaps between African Americans and whites because of the love of Jazz. Jazz made them equal, not to mention that artists also took it upon themselves to create art which reflected the era.

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  14. The Great Depression was very bad for Canada and obviously for every other country too. The Great Depression really changed Canada. Before, Canada didn't have that strong of a government or economy and they were basically just following the rest of the world when it came to the way their government was run and how it was controlled. Canadas geography was a big part of it. They have a big base part of their country and then the rest of the country is made up of smaller pieces. Its located above america so it basically gets all of its ideas and government movements from america. Its a lot bigger than any other county besides russia.

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  15. Based on the reading, The Great Depression in Canada was so different because for starters the country was pretty much split in half with half speaking English and the other half French. This language divide ultimately effected the political structure because both groups had their own political parties and in the end the man who got stuck with the burden of the Great Depression was Mackenzie because the people had decided it was time for a change and elected him. He also had to deal with the war, unhappy citizens and a bad economic crisis.

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  16. Before the Great Depression, Canada was going through economic hardship. They faced things like recession, inflation, etc. I believe Canada had it worse, because there were so many other factors against them. For one, their country was split in half. There were those who spoke English, and those who spoke French. Canada also lacked a strong central government, which is especially essential in a country as vast and large as Canada.

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