Themes of the readings include changing economic systems and changing social beliefs. Belshaw mentions how the Canadian economy had undergone massive change from the days of British North America, and the mercantilist economic workings, to a modern capital market.1 Belshaw also speaks of the regular boom and bust cycle the economy would go through depending on what sectors were facing expansion or decline, natural disasters, and technological advancement. MacDonald brings up the matter of religious women’s labour often being overlooked, and sheds light on the reality of hospital situations in the Maritimes during the Great Depression. Some provinces did not receive very much governmental help during this hard time, and it is arguable that the effects were not as devastating here as the area was already economically depressed to a certain degree.2 Malleck speaks of the prohibition and the issues surrounding what people should be allowed to do, and where they should be allowed to do it. The article follows the slow but steady increase in the availability of alcohol, including what sort of establishments can sell beer and wine.3 McLeman & Proeger circle back to how the changing economy of Canada helped contribute to the effects of the Great Depression. By chance the Canadian Prairies experienced dust storm unlike anything the new habitants had seen before. Poor farming practices led to the mass erosion of top-soil, and caused the resulting dust storms to decimate entire fields of crops, leading to a drop in the GDP and worsening the effects of the Great Depression.4 Boyce talks about prohibition and the effectiveness of the policy whilst it was in place, which was not effective at all as booze flowed over the border.5 Using these separate sources one can build an idea of what life was like during the Great Depression and prohibition from one end of Canada to the other.

Sources

 

 

  1. John D. Belshaw, Canadian History: Post-Confederation, Vancouver: BCCampus, 2015.

 

  1. Heidi Macdonald, “Doing More with Less: The Sisters of St. Martha (PEI) Diminish the Impact of the Great Depression”, Acadiensis, XXXIII, 1 (Fall 2003), pp. 21-46.

 

  1. Malleck, Dan.Canadian Historical Review. Dec2012, Vol. 93 Issue 4, p555-582. 28p

 

  1. McLeman, Robert A., and S. Kate Ploeger. “Soil and Its Influence on Rural Drought Migration: Insights from Depression-era Southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada.”Population and Environment 33, no. 4 (2012): 304-32. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.tru.ca/stable/41487570

 

5. Boyce, Cyril D. “Prohibition in Canada.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 109 (1923): 225-29. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.tru.ca/stable/1015012.