Topic: The Estevan "Riots" of 1931 • In the summer of 1931, coal miners in southern Saskatchewan went on strike due to wage cuts, unsafe working conditions, and poor housing. • The miners approached the Workers’ Unity League and the Mine Workers’ Union of Canada to help them organize and negotiate with the South Saskatchewan Coal Operators Association, but their requests were refused, leading to the strike. • During a peaceful procession through Estevan, the miners encountered an RCMP cordon across the street, leading to a confrontation and a long battle with the police. Three miners were shot dead. • Annie Buller, a founding member of the Canadian Communist Party, became one of the leaders of the strike and was arrested, tried, and convicted for inciting a riot, unlawful assembly, and rioting. She was sentenced to one year of hard labour in jail and a $500 fine. • The RCMP's actions provoked severe criticism, and people questioned whether they were justified. To this day, the RCMP's role is still debated, with the gravestone of the three killed miners stating that they were "murdered in estevan sep. 29 1931 by RCMP." • Unlike the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, the Estevan strike had more sympathy and understanding from Canadians due to the Great Depression and the suffering of the people. The strike may have ended in defeat, but it showed that Canadians reacted differently to economic problems in the Dirty Thirties. • The Great Depression created a crisis in capitalism and led to new ways of thinking about the state and its relationship to the citizens of Canada. This eventually led to the development of the welfare state, but it also led to criticism. History Title: Causes of the Great Depression and its Impact upon Canada • The Great Depression was caused by several factors including the international instability in the world economy, protectionism, industrial overcapacity, and the plight of the urban working-class population • After World War I, Britain faced increasing economic difficulties, and Germany suffered due to reparations and the loss of the Ruhr Valley, leading to political radicalism and hyperinflation • Protectionism, practiced by the United States and Canada, reduced world trade, production, employment, and caused economic hardship for average workers, particularly in Canada where the economy depended on trade • Industrial overcapacity occurred when technological advances in mass production techniques made the industry increasingly efficient, and capacity outstripped supply in some Canadian industries in the 1920s • The economic downturn was exacerbated by the plight of the urban working-class population and the crisis faced by Canadian farmers due to overfarming, poor weather, and overproduction • The immediate cause of the Great Depression was the stock market crash of 1929 which marked the beginning of the sharpest downturn in world economic history • Between 1929 and 1932, external trade in Canada declined from $1.15 billion in 1928 to $530 million in 1933, and wheat, flour, and pulp and paper were particularly hard hit, causing thousands of farmers to lose money, declare bankruptcy, and be driven off their land. The section discusses the responses of the Canadian federal government during the Great Depression. • The Prime Minister during most of the 1920s was William Lyon Mackenzie King, who had a cautious approach and did not want to interfere much in domestic affairs. • Initially, King did not see the Great Depression as a crisis and thought things would return to normal soon. He focused on balancing the budget, which meant cutting back on government support for programs such as welfare and relief, and public works projects. • Part of King's response was political, as he saw the provincial governments' pleas as a partisan effort to grab power and money from the federal government. • King's approach reflected a 19th-century view that the government should have as little as possible to do with the economy, and individuals should help themselves regardless of their circumstances.

History • King lost the 1930 election to Conservative R.B. Bennett, who initially took a traditionally conservative approach to the Depression, increasing the National Policy tariff to blast a way to markets. He also initiated trade deals with the British Commonwealth countries. • Bennett had a rather curious approach to boosting Canadian trade, increasing tariffs generally while lowering tariffs among the British Commonwealth countries, which did not work as Canada's trade was increasingly with the United States. • Bennett sought budget balances, and like King, he saw provincial demands for change as unconstitutional, and welfare was a provincial jurisdiction. • As unemployment grew and Bennett's trade measures failed, he became the target of derision and hatred, and many Canadians saw him as overly controlling and unwilling to consider others' views. The article discusses the responses of Canadian provinces to the Great Depression in the 1930s.

• The provinces, particularly those in Western Canada, sought to get the state more involved in the economy by boosting government expenditures.

1. One response was the Social Credit Party of Alberta, which aimed to give people a new type of money to boost purchasing power.

2. Another response was BC's "little New Deal," which was designed to boost the economy by raising the minimum wage and creating public works projects.

• However, Ottawa refused to provide the necessary funding, often using the constitutional excuse to do nothing.

• The text also discusses the rise of new federal parties, such as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), which was formed in 1932 by a coalition of farmers, labor groups, and intellectuals who believed that capitalism should be replaced by an economic system that worked for the common good. The Rowell-Sirois Report

• Recommended changes to the fiscal relationship between the federal government and the provinces, including: o equalization payments

History o federal control over unemployment relief, leading to the creation of the employment insurance system. • The report also advocated for Keynesian economic policies, which were only fully embraced by the government during the Second World War. • Following the Estevan incident, miners continued to resist and eventually won concessions from the company, including an eight-hour day and increased wages, but did not achieve union recognition. • The strike at Estevan symbolized worker agency and the demand for broader changes to the economic system and government role, some of which were achieved by the start of the Second World War.