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In the period before the Great Depression most women in the workforce were young and unmarried, but now to put bread on the table women had to work and for wages half of the male wages. Men of the time brought their troubles home and would unleash it on their wives, throughout the Great Depression violence against women skyrocketed. The depression also saw fewer women seek higher education.
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This was a change as before The Great Depression married women would be out of the workforce, but due to the Depression women now would work after marriage. It also led to fewer women pursuing post-secondary education. Domestic violence rate also increased leading to more violence against women.
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This was a change as Canada before this an agricultural society, this led to more people leaving their farms and moving to the city to find work. People also couldn’t afford the material needed for their farms. Families that for generations farmed lost everything in this period.
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In August of 1929, the global economy collapsed causing the worst financial crisis in history. During The Great Depression, farmers were among the hardest-hit people, on top of the economic hardships they also suffered from droughts. Things got so bad that wheat cost less than the seed. Farmers then couldn't cover the cost of their workers, or land leading to them moving to the cities to find work. All these factors combined created the perfect storm.
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By April 1935 men in relief camps got sick of the government's inaction in the Great Depression and walked out. Initially, the government assumed the protests would fizzle out. At this time the Red Scare was in full effect and anyone against the government was labeled a Bolshevik. On June 11 the police were ordered to end the protests in Regina. On July 1st police detained leaders of a peaceful protest, this caused a riot. In the end 2 people were killed and hundreds were injured.
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The Regina Riots were a change as, they were a clear example of the Red Scare in full effect. Workers who for years had suffered in relief camps and terrible working conditions for minimal pay tried to get what they deserved. What they got in return was a brutal government response that showed the protesters no mercy as many were wounded. It also showed just how much the upper class had control over Canada’s society as they urged the government to stand against the protesters.
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By 1939 the worst of The Great Depression had passed, and Canadian agriculture was recovering. After France fell Canada had to step up its agricultural production to keep Britain in the fight against Germany. Without the food Canada provided Britain couldn’t have kept fighting. Farmers accomplished an impressive feat when they increased production by 50 percent, whilst working with fewer workers. By the end of the war Farmers had greatly increased their production and diversified their crops.
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When war was declared on Germany in 1939 Canada’s industry was still struggling from The Great Depression, the mobilization of Canada’s war economy was rapidly completed. As men were off to war hundreds of thousands of women were added to the labour force to make up for the deficit, very quickly women made up 30% of the workforce. The Canadian government took a hands-on role in Canada’s economy. After the war unlike other countries Canada’s economy continued to produce at an incredible rate.
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This was a change as the massive demand for food in World War 2 allowed the agriculture industry to massively grow so that they could meet the demand from the war. This greatly improved the quality of life of the farmers that had lost so much during The Great Depression and allowed Canada to be a massive agricultural exporter after the end of World War 2.
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Canada’s workers saw a dramatic change when WW2 began as the country was put into a war economy, hundreds of new factories were being built creating thousands of new jobs for citizens. As there weren’t enough men to take those jobs women played an ever-increasing role in the countries economy, this trend continued for decades after the war ended. And when the war ended unlike The Great War there wasn’t a massive unemployment crisis, but the countries economy continued to see massive growth.
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On August 13th 1941 The Canadian Women’s Army Corp was created, for the first time in Canadian history women could serve their countries. The women wanted to be taken seriously and argued that this is a “Total War” and everyone should do their part. While the women didn't serve on the front, they served in non-combat roles to free up more men on the frontlines. At first the corps had their own command structure but on March 13 1942 they were officially integrated into the Canadian Army.
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When the Canadian Women’s Army Corp was created the change this caused in Canadian society can’t be overstated, as this was the beginning of the movement for women to achieve equality with their male counterparts. Women in the armed forces was something unheard of before The Second World War and this showed that women could in fact compete with men in the armed forces.
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CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, www.cbc.ca/news2/background/agriculture/drought1930s.html.
Belshaw, John Douglas. “8.5 The Great Depression.” Canadian History PostConfederation, BCcampus, 17 May 2016, opentextbc.ca/postconfederation/chapter/8-5-the-great-depression/. “The Great Depression in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/great-depression. -
Brucericketts. “The Farmer’s War.” Canadians At Arms, 19 July 2020, canadiansatarms.ca/the-farmers-war. “History of Agriculture to the Second World War | The Canadian Encyclopedia.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2007, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/history-of-agriculture. “The Regina Riot - Canada’s History.” Canada’s History, 14 July 2016, www.canadashistory.ca/explore/peace-conflict/the-regina-riot.
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Graham, Roger. “The Regina Riot: 1935.” Harvest, 2 Oct. 2013, harvest.usask.ca/handle/10388/5876. “On to Ottawa Trek/Regina Riot | The Canadian Encyclopedia.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 17 Mar. 2003, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/on-to-ottawa-trekregina-riot. “Canada’s Industries Gear up for War - Historical Sheet - Second World War - History - Veterans Affairs Canada.” Veterans Affair Canada, 17 Mar. 2019, www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/historical-sheets/industry.
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“Civilization.ca - Canadian Labour History, 1850-1999 - Postwar Transformations.” History Museum, 2007, www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/labour/labh35e.html. “WarMuseum.ca - Democracy at War - Women and the War on the Home Front - Canada and the War.” Canadian War Museum, 2008, www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/newspapers/canadawar/women_e.html.
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“Working-Class History | The Canadian Encyclopedia.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 7 Feb. 2006, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/working-class-history. “Women’s Labour Force Transformation Dates Back to the Great Depression.” UdeMNouvelles, 9 Apr. 2019, nouvelles.umontreal.ca/en/article/2019/04/09/women-s-labour-force-transformation-dates-back-to-the-great-depression. “Status of Women.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 7 Feb. 2007, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/status-of-women.
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“The 1930s - The Depression.” Applebox Belles: The Women of Lake Country’s Packinghouses, 18 July 2016, www.communitystories.ca/v2/applebox-belles/story/farm-wives-and-the-cooperatives. “The Canadian Womenâs Army Corps, 1941-1946 | Dispatches | Learn | Canadian War Museum.” The Canadian War Museum, 2020, www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispatches/the-canadian-womens-army-corps-1941-1946/#tabs.
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“The Canadian Womenâs Army Corps, 1941-1946 | Dispatches | Learn | Canadian War Museum.” The Canadian War Museum, 2020, www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispatches/the-canadian-womens-army-corps-1941-1946/#tabs. “Women at War - Historical Sheet - Second World War - History - Veterans Affairs Canada.” Veterans Affairs, 14 Feb. 2019, www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/historical-sheets/women.
