Inquiry

What did "fun" mean during the Great Depression?

Challenges to Building Canadian Identity

Canada went through a crisis during the Depression. People looked for answers for their troubles.  Some unemployed people marched on Ottawa. Others rode the rails to look for jobs.  Other people called Communists, argued the government should take control of and own everyone's property (houses and land). In many parts of Canada there were riots and deaths.

In Alberta, Bill Aberhart (Bible Bill) and Ernest Manning, two radio preachers, formed the Social Credit party to help people. Bible Bill, Alberta's premier, preached that people should not use fun (alcohol, dancing, and movie theatres) to avoid their pain.  

Alberta felt separate from the rest of Canada during this time. For example, in 1935, the Alberta Social Credit Party printed its own money, giving Albertan men and women $25 a month to help out. Canada said Alberta could not print its own money. Despite this conflict, the Social Credit party was elected nine times and remained in power for 36 years until 1971.  After Aberhart died in office, Ernest Manning was Alberta's premier for 25 years.  In 1947, Alberta's hard times were over and boom time began when oil was discovered in Leduc.  Alberta strengthened its unique identity between the 1930s and 1970s.

Strengthening Canadian Identity

Another way people responded to troubles in the 1930s was people helped each other. Farmers in Eastern Canada loaded trains with supplies for those in need in Alberta and Saskatchewan. These gifts from farmers in Eastern Canada helped the country work together.

Teachers travelled throughout the Prairie communities to help people and often worked without pay.

The Government of Canada began work programs to improve and build roads, rail, and telephones (similar to America's New Deal) which also helped keep the nation together. Canada was building strong communication linking people to new technology and tying the country together.

Resources for Inquiry

  1. Textbook
      • Read pages 282 - 283 of the textbook and consider how these activities are different than yours are.

  • What is your response to the question, “Did people have fun during the Great Depression?”
  • When you look at the information, do you agree or disagree with the question?


Notebook



Click here to download, save to your Unit 10 Notebook, and use this chart to list activities as you complete your inquiry.