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In the Canadian prairies, an unprecedented decade of drought hit farmers hard. What used to be rich soil for crops, was transformed into dry dust. With unusually high temperatures, drought, wind erosion and continuous dust storms, the prairies turned into a dust bowl; unable to produce vital crops. In addition, grasshoppers, which came in unthinkably large quantities, devoured all edible scraps. With the decline in agriculture, farmers soon had no choice but to seek employment within the city.
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Residential schools for Indigenous children did not change even a century later. Indigenous children continued to be torn apart from their families and sent across the country to schools where they would be stripped of their native ways. Students were forbidden to speak their native tongues, wear Indigenous clothing, or possess anything of native descent. Countless children continued to experience abuse, which lead to the decline for Indigenous Peoples as they are left psychologically scarred.
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With the decline in agriculture due to impossible farming conditions and the Great Depression, many Canadian farmers had no choice but to line up for government aid. This eventually led to job seeking within the city as harvests failed more and more. Soon, relief camps were set up by the government, as there were almost no more available employment opportunities left. As shown, the changes in agriculture because of the Great Depression led to a drastic decline for Canadian farmers.
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With many Canadian men fighting in WWII, women began taking over the workforce at home. The federal government provided day care and tax breaks which lasted throughout the war. By 1944, there were over 1 million working women in Canada. Even so, women were paid 20-30% less than men for the same work. Once the war ended, many women were fired as men returned home and took back their jobs. Although female roles diminished after the war, female activism erupted and progress continued.
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As tensions rose for WWII, Canada needed as much support as possible. Canadian women enthusiastically stepped up and enlisted to join the military. Female roles included servicing engines, supporting land crews, maintaining optimal machine performance, ship controlling and other roles that did not include physically fighting. By the end of WWII, there were over 46,000 Canadian women serving overseas. This event marked the growing pride and honour for Canadian women as female activism progressed.
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Camp Ipperwash was a military training camp formed specifically for the Indigenous. With WWII at its peak, Canada needed as much support as possible. Still viewing Indians as "savages", and perceiving them at a lower level than Caucasian Canadians, this basic training camp was created for Indigenous army recruits only. Many extraordinary Indigenous soldiers soon became great leaders, contributing significantly to the war and marking progress for the Indigenous Peoples of Canada in general.
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CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, www.cbc.ca/history/EPISCONTENTSE1EP13CH1PA2LE.html. Sutori, www.sutori.com/story/western-canadians-during-the-great-depression--xGruX46aq7KgekUPyA1CZMKG. “Camp Ipperwash.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Ipperwash. Neill, Elaine. "Canadians at Home." History CHC2DI. October 2020. Bluevale Collegiate Institute. Google presentation.
