The Great Depression in Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Great Depression in Canada - Essay Example One of the examples of a depression is often regarded to be the great depression witnessed by Canada. The period of depression was recorded to instigate during the summer of 1929 and extended till the spring of 1933. For the Canadian citizens, the depression period of the 1930s is still considered to be the most devastating decade of the century2. The major cause for this was the crash in the stock market, which is often considered to be the consequence of the wheat crop crash in Canada. With due consideration to the notion of a depression and its emergence in the Canadian economy, the main objective of this paper will be to understand the major causes of the economic turmoil and also to describe the aftermath of the depression. A brief description of the total scenario of Canada in the historical context of the great depression will be presented in this paper. Historical Background The great depression of Canada existed during the 1930s as an era of economic poverty. The reasons for this depression in Canada can be related with various economic factors such as economic dependency, poverty, and unemployment among others. The period of depression initially was recorded in the year 1929, when United States discontinued purchasing goods from the Canadian market. This resulted in lockouts in many of the Canadian industries and thus contributed to the financial crisis. A huge number of Canadians became jobless and homeless lacking the basic amenities required to lead a healthy life. Even after getting a job, the Canadians were often paid at extremely low rates, which were not enough to fulfill their basic needs. The remaining unemployed Canadians used to move across the country in search of jobs and thus increased the liabilities of the government through inbound migration trends3. In Canada, the financial crisis was first observed in 1928 after the wheat crop crash had emerged resulting in the crash of the Wall Street Stock Market that later took the form of the gr eat depression. One of the major causes of the depression in Canada was the over-production and over-expansion in the industrial sectors. During the 1920s, almost every industry in Canada was expanding and many new industries came into existence. As a result of this, the factory owners generally used to pile up huge stocks of goods. Consequently, after the crash of the stock market, these owners panicked and in order to slow down the production they laid off a huge number of workers. This resulted in a huge unemployment problem within the economy, which fuelled up a financial crisis in Canada. Therefore, the sale also went down causing an economic misbalance4. Furthermore, the Canadian economy remained entirely dependent upon a few primary products such as wheat, minerals and fish. Accordingly, the economy could not bear the loss from financial crisis as the demand for these goods went down after the unemployment problem. The economy of Canada was also related closely with the econo my of the United States. Hence, with the emergence of a crisis within the American economy, the economic conditions of Canada also deterioted by a considerable extent. All through the 1920s, credit purchase became more and more favored in Canada. The added interest payments with the principle amount made many families go under huge debts4. Another very popular trend in the Canadian market at