1. The Last Few Terms
TEST ON TUESDAY!

2. Review of class
• CCF
• The Regina Manifesto
• On-To-Ottawa Trek
• The Regina Riot
• Establishment of the CRBC = CBC

3. The Social Credit Party
• Started in the West, new Alberta provincial
Party
• The government pays money to every citizen
• Consumers would spend money buying
goods, increase in demand leads to increase
in production
• Then create more jobs and jump-start
the economy
• William Aberhart formed the Social
Credit Party, first leader

4. William “Bible Bill”
Aberhart
• From Alberta, nickname given for his strong
religious beliefs
• Had a popular radio show, spread the idea of
Social Credit
• Wanted the provincial government to pay every
adult in Alberta $25 a month
• 1935 election: Social Credit won 56 out of 63
seats, remained in power for 35 years
• But his government simply did not have the
money to pay people $25
• He wanted to print more money but that was up
to the federal government so he was not allowed

5. Union Nationale
• Quebec nationalism was popular in
1930s
• Provincially, Liberals were in power in
Quebec since 1897, but people wanted
a change
• Wanted to protect French language,
religion and culture against the English
• But as soon as he got into office he left
the economy in the hands of English
business interest and passed laws
outlawing any labour protests

6. Maurice Duplessis
• Lawyer by trade
• 16th Premier of Quebec,
1936 to 1939 with Union
Nationale
• Known as “The Great
Darkness”, anti-
Communism
• 1936: Duplessis focused on
corruption in the Liberal
government

7. The Padlock Law
• Claiming that communism was a threat to
Quebec, Duplessis passed the Padlock Law in
1937
• Gave authorities the power to enter any
building to search for and seize communist
propaganda
• If they found any, they would padlock the
building until the owner appeared in court for
trail
• This left authorities to define communism on
their own terms and to determine what was
communist or not
• The law as a result silenced radical political
opposition in Quebec and kept labour unions
weak for 20 years

8. Co-operative Commonwealth
Federation (CCF)
• 1932: Small group of farmers and politicians
founded this party, known today as the New
Democratic Party (NDP)
• Roots were in Western Canada, led by Winnipeg
MP J.S. Woodsworth
• Rejected capitalism and revolutionary communism
and favoured democratic socialism

9. J.S. Woodsworth
Significance: A pioneer of the Social
Democratic movement, first leader of the
CCF

10. Regina Manifesto

11. The Regina Manifesto
• 1933: blamed The Great Depression on capitalism and
introduced a number of socialist policies:
• Public ownership of banks
• Public utilities and transportation companies
• Improved health and social services
• A tax system designed to redistribute wealth
• Opponents of the CCF said there was a “Red Scare” in the
West following from the Russian Revolution in 1917
• CCF’s platform was “communism in disguise”
• But CCF wanted change through the free choice of Canadian
voters

12. Riding the Rails to Ottawa

13. On-To-Ottawa Trek
• June 1935: the start of the On-to-Ottawa Trek
• 1,600 men rode freight trains bound to Ottawa to
confront R.B. Bennett
• Done after a 2 month protest in Vancouver, did not
like that the Department of National Defence ran
the relief camps

14. Trekkers gather at Exhibition
Grounds

15. Riot Damage

16. The Regina Riot

17. The Regina Riot
• Bennett wanted to stop the On-to-Ottawa trek protesters, so he ordered the RCMP
to stop the trains in Regina
• Invited the leaders to Ottawa, hoping in their absence the protest in Regina would
peacefully go away
• Talks broke down in Ottawa between Bennett and the trek leaders after one hour
• The protest leaders returned to Regina to continue the trek and Bennett ordered
police to arrest the men, and soon a riot broke out
• Aftermath: One police officer was dead and many protesters and citizens injured
• Trek disbanded after the riot. Some returned to relief camps, victory for Bennett
but cost him his reputation in the long run

18. Entertainment as a
Form of Escape
• During the Depression, many people wanted to escape
from the harshness of life and escape reality
• Entertainment offered to do that

19. 1930s Radio
• Listening to radio was a diversion to Canadians
• People gathered around to hear broadcasts of many
different topics, but these programs mainly originated in
the US
• In response to the amount of American content on the
radio, Bennett in 1932, created the Canadian Radio
Broadcasting Commission (CRBC), soon became the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1936
• Goal was to broadcast Canadian radio programs in
French and English with Canadian content

20. American Influence in Culture
Should we have a national
broadcasting company?