How Canadians Lived in the 1930’s

Prairie farmers probably suffered more than any other group of Canadians during the Depression. The very low price of wheat, the drought, and locust and grasshopper plagues left farmers without crops to tend to. Many farmers went bankrupt because they could not sell their farms. Those who were not forced to abandon their farms often found themselves dependent on relief to stay alive. To qualify for “the dole” farmers had to declare in public that they had no money to support themselves and that they did not have a radio, telephone, or car. Once it was determined that they could not support themselves, they were given food or relief vouchers. The slang term for getting government vouchers for food, boots, clothing, coal, and shelter was “living on the pogey”. Relief payments were kept lower than the lowest paying job to discourage people from applying for relief. New clothes were a luxury that few could afford; flour sacks, bed sheets, and old curtains were sewn into clothing for family members on relief. Many farmers were so poor that if a family member got sick they had to pay doctors with eggs, poultry, wood, and vegetables. People who could no afford gas often took their motors out of their cars to make them lighter and horses or oxen were hitched to them. Farmers called these “Bennett buggies” because they felt PM Bennett was not doing enough to help them.

Derisively named after prime minister R B Bennett, Bennett Buggies, automobiles pulled by horses, were used by farmers too impoverished to purchase gasoline.

Many young unemployed men traveled around the country looking for work. They were regarded with suspicion by some Canadians and politicians. These unemployed drifters often lived outside of towns and cities in cardboard and tar shacks. Communities usually had a rule that those who applied for relief had to have lived there for at least six months; this meant that drifters looking for work could not receive welfare. In 1932, the federal government set up relief camps for young, unemployed men to provide them with work and room and board. These camps were under the control of the army and were usually established away from cities to isolate young men who might cause trouble. Long work days at 20 cents a day, doing monotonous physical labour building bridges and roads, gave the men little hope for the future as they could not save for the future.
On-To-Ottawa Trek

The economic situation for most Canadians