|
1929 Crash | Economic Slowdown
| Bennett
in Power | The
Ottawa Conference | Prairie
Drought | Relief |
The Regina Riots |
Alberta & Bible Bill |
Statute of Westminster |
Woodworth & the CCF |
The Union Nationale |
Relief Camps |
Bennett's Conversion |
King's Return |
European Unrest |
Royal Visit
As the economy worsened and the
depression set in, Mackenzie King felt that he and he
Liberal Party were in quite good shape for the upcoming
Federal election. He had just entertained the British
Prime Minister Ramsey Macdonald during his visit to
Canada which was bound to reflect upon him positively
and although the stock market had fallen sharply, he
believed that the economy was fundamentally sound.
A delegation of local political leaders
meet on January 29th in Winnipeg to determine what could
be done about the rapidly increasing problem of
unemployment. They went to Ottawa to meet with
King who simply did no believe here was a problem and
bluntly told them that the issues they were looking to
redress had to be handled by provincial and municipal
authorities and were not within the scope of Federal
jurisdiction.
When the Canadian Parliament convened on February 20th,
many felt that the economic conditions were
deteriorating quickly but did not get around to
discussing the issue of help for the unemployed until
March 31st. As the debate picked up speed the Liberals
fell into the difficult position of arguing that the
economic problems were seasonal and not that serious.
Quebec and Ontario had not yet been hit as hard as the
western provinces and hence King actually believed that
things were not that bad. The Conservatives demanded
action and claimed that the economy was quickly falling
apart to which a large degree it was.
King made his statements in the House on
April 3rd which consisted of a refutation of any drastic
action to help an economy which was just readjusting
itself. He knew that an election was looming and to
admit that things were not as good as they could be
would weaken him in the country. He was also adverse to
handing any relief money from the Federal Government to
Conservative Provincial governments who might use some
for the Federal election or claim that relief it
provided for the people of their provinces was a result
of Conservative concern.
The attacks continued and finally King
did something he rarely did, he reacted to the attacks
with a political mistake and stated in the House
"So far as giving money
from this federal treasury to provide provincial
governments is concerned," King said, "in relation to
this question of unemployment as it exists today, I
might be prepared to go to a certain length possibly in
meeting one or two western provinces that have
Progressive premiers at the head of their
governments..." "But, I would not give a single cent to
any Tory government!" He continued " With respect to
giving moneys out of the federal treasury to any Tory
Government in this country for these alleged
unemployment purposes, with these governments situated
as they are today, with policies diametrically opposed
to those of this government, I would not give them a
five cent piece."
The main election issue had been set and
King did not even realize that he had set it. By April
8th it began to dawn on him how big of a mistake his
comment about a five cent piece could have been and by
this point the media had devoured the comment and were
blasting it all over the country. By May King had
decided to call an election for July 30th believing that
he could win and that the country would support his
positions once again.
The campaign kicked off in June with over
200,000 Canadian unemployed, a devastating drought
baking the prairies and wheat prices down by 54%. R.B.
Bennett, the leader of the opposition Conservatives had
jumped on the spreading despair across the country and
made the economy the central issue of his campaign. He
used the five cent comment made by King whenever and
wherever he could. Bennett a rich lawyer from Calgary
was not adverse to using the people's desperation to his
advantage in the campaign and beloved he could make a
difference.
He began on June 9th
in Winnipeg with a speech that promised that the Tories
would get men back to work, they would improve the
economy and they would bring back the good times. His
tool for achieving this was the same old Conservative
platform of increasing tariffs which was actually doing
enormous harm to the economies of the world. His speech
marked a watershed in Canadian politics because for the
first time it was broadcast on the radio which gave him
massive reach across the country. King listened to the
speech on the radio and felt that Canadians would not
fall for Bennett's demagoguery. Bennett proclaimed
"Canadians didn't
want charity, they wanted work. I will not permit this
country with my voice or vote, to ever become
committed to the dole system."
He continued this
theme on the campaign trail with,
"Mr King promises
consideration of the problem of unemployment. I promise
to end unemployment. Which plan do you like best?"
King kicked off his campaign with
emphasis on taxation and trade as the solution to the
problems facing the country. As he made his way across
he country he was increasingly met with boos, catcalls
and negative references to his five cent piece comment.
It turned into a tough campaign to which he never was
able to understand the depth and breadth of the
resentment over unemployment and the economy.
On election day, 1930
the results came in with a clear mandate for the
Conservatives and Bennett. They had won 137 seats to the
Liberals 91 with 17 other seats going to the smaller
parties. As it turned out, this Conservative win only
entitled them to govern for the worst five years of
economic disaster in Canadian history.
By the time Bennett
called another election, the Liberals looked like a god
sent and Bennett was to leave office a broken,
dispirited man. He was never to run for office again and
left Canada for England where he lived out his remaining
years bitter that he had tried end the depression in
Canada but had been overwhelmed by force larger then any
Prime Minister could have handled. King was to continue
on as opposition leader waiting to retake his role as
Prime Minister with he most glorious years still ahead
of him. |
