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In what became known as the "dirty thirties” Canada, along with the rest of the world, plummeted into a great depression in the early 1930s. Canada was one of the most severely affected countries with 60 percent of rural Canadians being forced into relief and 30 percent of labour workers left unemployed in 1933. In the relief camps, men were paid a mere 0.20 cents a day for hard laborious work in the bushes.
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The Great Depression of the early 1930s had a great impact on farmers. They were prospering before 1929 with the main crop they harvested, wheat, being in high demand across the country until the first of many unusually dry summers in the prairies emerged in 1929. They were not able to harvest nearly as many crops as normal, something that the economy was dependant on, and families had an insufficient income that year.
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Due to the severe drought, enormous dust storms would occur from the dry topsoil and wind, causing the Prairies became known as the “Dust Bowl”. On Tuesday October 29, 1929 the stock market crashed. Many Canadians including farmers that had invested in it while it was flourishing were lead into even more debt. More bad luck followed Western Canadian farmers when grasshopper plagues piled onto the crushing weight of their fragile situation.
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Farmers could barely harvest any crops with draughts and dust storms but the grasshopper plagues finished off any of their last efforts eating and demolishing any of the few crops left. Taxes on exporting crops caused the Prairies to see the lowest price for wheat ever recorded dwindling farmers' income to next to nothing. All these factors that happened during the Great Depression caused farmers' incomes to drop by 60 percent and force another 66 percent of them to be reliant on relief.
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The Great Depression caused a significant change for Canadian farmers in the Prairies. They went from overworking to produce enough commodities and prospering off all of their sales for soldiers at the war front during the first world war to wheat prices dropping to the lowest price er recorded.
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Natural conditions occurred as well making it impossible to grow or harvest crops. They had to say goodbye to the only life they knew and enter a new one filled with hunger, homelessness, scarce supplies, and 60 percent less income.
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For many workers, this was the only income for their family, and with very little government support, workers monthly income ranged from only 19 - 60 dollars. This caused living conditions for workers to consist of no nice clothes, makeshift beds, starvation, and homelessness. The Wall Street stock market crashing is the main event that caused this catastrophe, having at least 12 percent of workers remaining unemployed until 1939 when the second world war began.
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The "dust bowl" -
Relief camp workers in Halifax, Nova Scotia. -
During WWII employment for Canadian women changed drastically. Before the war, of the 11 million women residing in Canada, only 600 000 had permanent jobs, but 4 439 000 were bustling in the workforce during the peak of wartime employment in 1943. Women would work on farms, in factories, drive busses or taxis, build parts for ships and aircrafts, and even as lumberjacks.
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This happened because men were serving overseas at the war front, they controlled most of the workforce and left millions of jobs behind to fight in the war, women stepped up to the challenge and filled these roles. Sadly this didn't last long, after the war, soldiers returned home and took back the jobs they left behind. They took away more than 75% of women’s employment leaving only 1 200 000 women with permanent jobs at the end of the war in 1945.
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This event demonstrates continuity for women, as the same thing happened in WWI. Men left their jobs at home to join the army and fight at the war front leaving women to keep the economy from falling apart and the war effort from drowning.
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They filled the roles and proved themselves reliable and loyal but at the end of the war, men came home and took back their original spots in the workforce leaving no space for women to keep their record high employment rates. Women experienced high employment for only a short period of time during both world wars.
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As WWII began, Canada was pulled out of the depression along with Canadian Prarie farmers. They were forced to produce many more commodities and changed from harvesting just wheat, which is what the Prairies climate was perfect for, to now farming, hogs, cattle, and producing cheese to send to the war front. These types of commodities were in more demand because they were more protein-packed, hearty foods, better suited to fuel the soldiers fighting overseas.
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Keeping up with the demands Canadian farmers increased the number of hogs produced and slaughtered by 4 million and the number of cattle produced for slaughter by 1 million, the number of pounds of cheese by 58, and the number of eggs produced by over 100 million by the end of the war.
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Canadian Farmer's excellent delivery of this difficult task was essential to obtaining the victory of the allied forces in WWII, their hard work paid off as their net income almost tripled from 1940 to 1945, becoming prosperous once again.
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This event represents continuity for Canadian farmers as they faced the same challenge once again. Canadian soldiers overseas needed more commodities to fuel their bodies in order to serve our country in WWI and WWII so farmers were put into overdrive to produce as much food as possible for the war front again.
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The shipbuilding industries employed 126 000 Canadian workers to build navy vessels, anti-submarine warships, cargo ships, and Tribal class destroyers as well by the end of the war. The job that provided employment for the majority of Canadian workers was going to war. By the end of the war, over 7 300 000 soldiers found jobs in the Canadian army each with a paycheck of 1.30 dollars a day.
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Through Canadian workers beginning to earn decent wages, the cost of living rose 20% throughout World War II, the economy was rolling again, and workers found employment!
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The workers finding jobs in WWII represents continuity form the first unit because the same thing for workers in WWI. Both wars created many new and exciting job opportunities for workers booking ot enter the workforce. Similarly in WWI Canada's largest civilian employer had over 289 000 employees alone, just like the Canadian aircraft and shipbuilding industries employed over 140 000 workers in WWII.
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As soon as the Second World War started, anyone who wanted to have a job could get one. This was great news for Canadian workers as they could pull themselves out of the debt of the depression and make a reasonable income. The Canadian Aircraft industry employed 116 000 workers alone to help build over 16 thousand aricrafts for the allied forces.
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They were not allowed to enlist in the army as it was not seen as a “feminine duty”, but when the second World War began and manpower was dwindling a change was made and the Canadian Women’s Army Corps was formed allowing women to serve in the army for the first time.
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On August 13, 1941, the Canadian Women's Army Corps was founded. Manpower at the war front was dwindling and the allied forces needed a pair of helping hands in services and production roles to free up more soldiers for the combat ones. Women were recruited to work as medical technicians, telephone operators, cooks, drivers, stenographers, decoders, signalers and performed many more jobs, but they were not allowed to participate in combat or carry arms.
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By the end of the war, 21 624 women served in the CWAC. They served at the home front in Canada, as well as overseas, in Britain, northwest Europe, and Italy. In order to join they had to be age 18 - 45, of optimum health and a British subject. They became fully integrated into the Canadian Army on March 13, 1942, becoming an essential aid to the victory of the aillied forces in WWII. Sadly, the CWAC was disbanded on September 30, 1946.
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The creation and integration of the Canadian Women's Army Corps was a large demonstration of change for women, as this was the first time they were allowed to enlist and serve in the Canadian army. In WWI, women's war effort was restricted to the homefront, making and sending over commodities and other essential survival materials
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Woman working in a factory filing a machine part, in November 1943. -
CWAC gas chamber training exersice. -
“Dispatches.” The Canadian Women's Army Corps, 1941-1946 | Dispatches | Learn | Canadian War Museum, www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispatches/the-canadian-womens-army-corps-1941-1946/#tabs. Sutori, www.sutori.com/story/western-canadians-during-the-great-depression--xGruX46aq7KgekUPyA1CZMKG. “The Great Depression in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/great-depression.
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“Canadian Women and War.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/women-and-war. Summerside's War Effort During WWII Educational Resources, www.wyattheritage.com/homefront/enlistmen.asp.html. Museum, Canadian War. “The Canadian Armed Forces: The Canadian Army.” WarMuseum.ca - Democracy at War - The Canadian Army - Canada and the War, www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/newspapers/canadawar/army_e.html.
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Jenish, D'Arcy. “The Farmers' War.” Legion Magazine, 10 June 2020, legionmagazine.com/en/2011/07/the-farmers-war/#:~:text=From%201935%20to%201938%2C%20Canadian,1945%20when%20farmers%20bought%206%2C609. “The Great Depression in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/great-depression#:~:text=Millions%20of%20Canadians%20were%20left,and%20savings%20transformed%20the%20country.
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