Many Canadians Were Homeless

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

By looking at the picture above, one would be sympathetic towards the citizens as the workers had to complete difficult tasks in filthy conditions. As a result of the high unemployment rate in Canada, Bennett’s government introduced relief camps for unemployed men, where the workers would perform roadwork (Baldwin 23). These individuals were given very little food, minimal shelter, clothing and 20 cents a day, even though minimum wage at the time was 50 cents an hour (Baldwin 23). Since their wages were so low, the workers were resentful towards the government. Hence, they rebelled against the government because no one could save up money with only 20 cents per day, which gave them with no hope for the future (Newman 165). Workers were given difficult labor to complete; yet the government only paid them 20 cents and gave them minimal basic necessities (Baldwin 23). Therefore, one would come to think that the government was selfish and ignored the citizens’ efforts to make a living, thus our government left the citizens to suffer. In conclusion, the government provided minimal support to citizens, which left them pessimistic, hopeless, and economically crippled.

Conditions in the Prairies got worse during the 1930s, leaving many citizens unemployed, homeless, and in debt. Most farmers were forced to leave their farms, as the citizens no longer had enough money to pay for crops (Baldwin 32). The Canadian economy greatly relied on wheat export in the 1920s, however this decreased during the 1930s, which left many farmers unemployed (Baldwin 32). Furthermore, as farmers were not able to sell most of their crops, they did not have money to buy farm equipment or seeds to grow more crops, hence they were forced to go out of business (Baldwin 32). Not many citizens were able to buy food because of their economic struggle and thus, stores stopped ordering from manufacturers, who stopped ordering food from farms, which resulted in more unemployment and pessimistic citizens (Baldwin 32). Tomatoes and potatoes were rotting (no one had money to buy them) yet people were still starving (Baldwin 32). Like many other workers, farmers soon found themselves unemployed and in poverty, which further decreased the standard of living and allowed Canadians to continue their battle against economic struggle.

Most Canadians were only struggling economically, however some also held the burden of suffering from discrimination. The Canadian government tried to assimilate the Aboriginals by banning their traditions, thus forcing them to strictly follow white culture (Newman 186). Although the Aboriginals attempted to resist, our government was selfish and disrespectful because they did not take into consideration the human rights of the Aboriginal Canadians (Newman 186). Aboriginals faced discrimination as the government set up residential schools strictly for aboriginal students (Newman 186). In residential schools the children were groomed to become white Canadian citizens and any form of their own identity/culture was forbidden and schools were permitted to punish students if they resisted or showed any signs of their own culture. (Newman 186). During the 1930s, many Canadians were suffering economically, however this was not the end to their problems. Our despiteful government put forth discrimination laws that targeted certain groups of people, which forced some of the citizens to fight a hard battle for equal human rights.

During the 1920s, the Canadian government showed signs of selfishness by excluding certain visible minorities from Canada. The Chinese Exclusion Act was put in place by the government to end Chinese immigration (Canada Online, 2010). In the previous years, the Chinese population in Canada helped build the railway and did other labor work for only half of minimum wage (Canada Online, 2010). In the 1920s, the railway was complete and labor workers were no longer needed, thus our government stopped allowing Chinese citizens into Canada (Canada Online, 2010). Before the 1920s, the Chinese citizens helped the Canadian economy by doing cheap labor for very little money, such as the time period during World War One (Canada Online, 2010). However once World War one was over, Chinese immigration declined again and in 1923, it was put to a complete stop (Canada Online 2010). Throughout the years, Canada has shown a strong prejudice against Chinese immigration, and only allowed the Chinese citizens into Canada for cheap labor (for their own benefit). Even though the Chinese citizens contributed a lot to our economy (railroad), Canada did not acknowledge this. Instead of thanking the Chinese for their help, our government made them suffer by discriminating them and not giving them enough money when they earned it.

Although unemployment plummeted during the 1930s, the foundation for such destruction was set towards the end of the 1920s. During the 1920s, stock prices were rising rapidly and many Canadians had invested in stocks with their own money or money borrowed from somebody else (Newman 152). However these stocks were overvalued because all of a sudden, stock prices crashed and the citizens and businesses who invested in stocks lost their money as they could not sell them or they were in debt because they borrowed money to buy them (Newman 153). Surprisingly, even banks invested their citizen’s money into their own stocks hence everyone suffered (if a citizen did not invest in stocks, the bank probably took their money and used it for themselves) (Newman 153). Most companies also borrowed loans and invested in countless stocks however, after Black Tuesday, these companies were left in debt as they could not pay back their loans or sell their stocks (Newman 153). Since businesses shut down, there was less employment resulting in economic struggle for selective citizens. Black Tuesday marked the beginning of the Great Depression, as people lost their jobs or went into major debt (started to suffer economically).

Jobs in the Maritime Provinces were scarce during the 1920s, forcing citizens to accept low wages, harsh working conditions, and frequent lay-offs. Many workers in the Maritimes were forced to mine, as it was their only source of income (could not find any other job) (Newman 150). Handpick mining, (which was popular in the Maritimes during this period) was not only very difficult, but it was also extremely dangerous. (Newman 151). One would think that such a risky job would result in good money however this was not true; in fact workers were paid very little money (Newman 151). For this reason, workers were frustrated by their challenging jobs and low paycheques, resulting in vicious strikes and riots (Newman 151). From this, one would only expect the government to step in and have sympathy for the workers, forcing employers to give the workers more money. Sadly, this was not true, in fact the government’s response to these riots and strikes were to the send the military to end the conflict with violence (Newman 151). Therefore, most citizens in the Maritimes were suffering economically, while the government had no sympathy for them and did nothing to help.

During the 1920s, men had a difficult time getting a job in certain parts of Canada, however women faced difficulties searching for a job throughout all parts of Canada. Even though women gained the right to vote and proved their independence, society still did not fully accept women into the workforce and they were expected to give up their jobs to the men (Newman 188). Single women were only allowed to have one of the six jobs that society felt was acceptable for females and these jobs included working in textiles/clothing, retail/wholesale trade, education, health, welfare services, and personal/recreational services (Newman 188). For this reason, there was an oversupply of workers for the limited available jobs, which resulted in frequent lay-offs and poor working conditions, as workers were usually desperate and had no choice but to accept the difficulties (Newman 188). Women expected to receive freedom from old stereotypes and restrictions after World War One, but unfortunately this remained a dream (Newman 188). This shows that most citizens did not treat women equally as they believed men should receive all the jobs. Also, the government put in no effort to help women, which shows that our government had no sympathy for women and simply did not care. Since some women desperately needed money but could not find jobs, they suffered economically and emotionally as they were discriminated against.