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Women's main role during the great depression(and in general) were to be housewives. Families were limited to one paid job meaning if both parents had jobs the wife would be laid off. Providing food, clothing, and medical care for their families proved difficult without a steady income. They adapted to their circumstances by buying cheap foods, sewing and patching worn out clothes, trading items with neighbors, and postponed buying new furniture and appliances.
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Millions of Canadians were left unemployed, hungry, and homeless once the great depression struck. Unemployment rates were just above 12% leaving 30% of workers were jobless by 1933. Though unemployment was a national problem, the federal government refused to acknowledge it. The Prime Minister believed that caring for the public was a local or provincial responsibility. However local governments refused to aid single, homeless men and instead created unemployment relief camps.
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Canadian prairies suffered a terrible drought around the time of the dust bowl. It didn’t help that farmers were not using dry land farming techniques to prevent wind erosion which led to further damage. Economies depended on the crops grown from these prairies, wheat being an especially important one. Due to the drought, it became very difficult for farmers to have a good harvest. Huge dust storms accommodating the dust bowl caused the entire landscape of the prairies to be seriously changed.
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The Great Depression left millions of Canadians unemployed, hungry, and homeless. Canada’s population was heavily impacted as immigration and birthrates dropped significantly. The amount of immigrants accepted fell from 169,000 to 12,000, and Canada’s birth rate went from 13.1 per 1,000 to 9.7 in a matter of years. The Depression led to the creation of social and welfare services, and the government becoming more actively involved in the economy.
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The unemployment relief camps were very destitute, and many people were left with an insufficient amount of food, clothing, and other necessities for people to support their families. A lot of people were malnourished and acquired diet-deficiency diseases such as beriberi, tuberculosis, scurvy, and others. At the camps, men were paid a mere 20 cents for a whole day of construction work. Workers were outraged and eventually began rioting.
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In most regions more than 75% of the topsoil was blown away towards the end of the 30’s. Even after many years the agricultural value of the land still failed to recover to levels before the dust bowl. Taking into account the amount of topsoil that has been reduced, it would’ve been preferable to switch to animals and hay rather than harvesting crops and wheat. Effects on the economy continued because of the unreasonable decision made by farmers.
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Having so many men sent off to fight in the war, there was a demand for people in workplaces helping to create things supporting soldiers. Women were brought into the factories, airfields, and farms to work alongside men. Some branches of women forces are The Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division(working with all things mechanical and electrical), The Canadian Women’s Army Corps(drivers and mechanics), and The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service(39 different trades working at naval bases).
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Some provinces created committees called agricultural supplies boards to make sure Canadian citizens and oversea soldiers were fed. In March 1943, the government invented a bigger and more powerful agricultural food board bringing all produce together. Almost 1.5 billion kilograms of bacon, more than 325 million kilograms of cheddar cheese, and just as large amounts of other meats and butter were sent to Britain during the war. The state of some foods were also altered for convenience.
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After the great depression and once war was announced, the government finally started getting their act together. They began building production plants, training work forces, controlling wages and prices, managed labor disputes, and regulated the movement of employees requesting to change jobs. Thanks to all these new establishments being created, thousands of job opportunities became available for people seeking employment.
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Despite the additional difficulties of the great depression, dust bowl, and how short-staffed they were, Canadian farmers helped a lot to provide food to soldiers and the residents of Canada. In recognition of their contribution to this war during dire times, Canada was granted a seat on the allied combined food board in March 1943. After some time, soil returned to the way it was before the dust bowl, and farmers could worry about quality over quantity as there was no rush to put food out.
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The impact war had on Canadian women was very divisive. While some women climbed the ranks in the military to promote and support its activities, others decided to join pacifist and anti-war movements. Overall women participating in jobs generally done by men during the war had a significant influence on women’s rights. A number of women’s rights activists began fighting for equality after seeing that women are just as good as men and deserve to be treated that way.
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Fortunately many unemployed workers have not found themselves a job. However most of these occupations would be no easy feat. These jobs required manufacturing war materials and other supplies for Canada and other allied countries. Workers that required relocation for their job were granted it and stayed in housing provided by a corporation known as Wartime Housing Ltd. Though it was meant to be temporary, the shelters ended up becoming the worker’s permanent residence.
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“Great Depression in Canada.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression_in_Canada#Women.
“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.
“Canadian Women and War.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/women-and-war. -
Canada, Veterans Affairs. “Women at War.” Historical Sheet - Second World War - History - Veterans Affairs Canada, 14 Feb. 2019, www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/historical-sheets/women.
Sutori, www.sutori.com/story/western-canadians-during-the-great-depression--xGruX46aq7KgekUPyA1CZMKG.
“Dust Bowl.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl. -
Museum, Canadian War. “The War Economy and Controls: Agriculture.” WarMuseum.ca - Democracy at War - Agriculture - Canada and the War, www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/newspapers/canadawar/agriculture_e.html.
Great Depression - Impacts on the Working Class, www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/depression-impacts.php.