FINAL Flashcards
What did many leading economists point to as the cause of the Great Depression?
The Financial Legacy of World War I
Why was Canada so severely impacted by the Depression?
Canada had experienced extremely rapid and extensive economic growth since the turn of the century; because of the magnitude of the boom, it had farther to fall than other countries
Why did British Columbia and the Prairie provinces suffer during the Depression more acutely than the rest of Canada?
The region had grown extremely rapidly and had experienced over-expansion; the region was also overly dependent on primary industries such as lumber and whear, which were hit hard by a drop in global demand
Why was prime minister R.B. Bennett unwilling to provide federal aid to assist the provinces in dealing with unemployment?
Bennett believed that supporting provincial unemployment relief would over-strain the federal treasury, thus making the achievement of a balanced federal budget impossible
What was the unemployment rate in Canada in 1933?
20 Percent
Why did federal, provincial, and municipal governments respond to unemployment by cutting services to balance their budgets?
Governments remained convinced that the depression was a short-term crisis that did not require long-term welfare programs to aid unemployment
Why did government officials believe relief camps were necessary?
Officials believed relief camps were necessary to provide work (or simply something to do) for out-of-work young men, who were congregating in Canadian cities and becoming increasingly restless.
What were promises of Bennett’s “New Deal”?
Health and unemployment insurance
Financial assistance to farmers
A maximum working week
What was the primary ideological difference between the CCF and the Social Credit Union?
Social Credit believed that the large financial institutions were responsible for the Great Depression, while the CCF wanted capitalism eradicated.
Which political party was responsible for the Regina Manifesto?
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)
Which Canadian province abandoned both traditional parties during the Great Depression?
Alberta
While Mackenzie King’s government maintained most of R.B. Bennett’s policies, what did King’s government actually do differently?
The King government established lower tariffs with Britain and the United States
What prompted a crisis in Canadian federalism during the Great Depression?
The division of provinces into “have” and “have not” provinces
Why was eugenics gaining popularity during the Depression?
Some wealthy industrialists and birth-control advocates worried that the working class was responsible for the majority of Canadian births, and they feared this would lead to social degeneration
What were Canada’s most popular sports during the Depression?
Hockey and Baseball
