The first of the images is of a Russian settler’s homestead in the Canadian prairies. The picture is set in the 1920’s and is provided by the Public Archives of Canada. At first glance of this picture one sees a decrepit old home with a thatched roof typical of a prairie homestead. However, in the background there is a family in a car sitting in front of a well constructed, two level home with a shingled roof. The story behind this picture is probably so profound it would be hard for a person of this day and age to comprehend. When I look at t

The agricultural and economic misfortunes of the 1930’s were instrumental in the amendment of western politics. The people of Western Canada were destitute for change and the emergence of two new political parties, the Social Credit Party and the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation were the result. The prairie governments pressed for amendments in the federal-provincial relationship and were successful. The prairie people would not have been able to survive the stagnant economy and agricultural disaster without provincial and federal relief. There reliance on the government forced them to become more involved with regional and provincial politics. The final result of the disaster was a prairie population that chose a more conservative style government.

The fourth and final image is of the former leader of the Reform Party, Preston Manning addressing an audience in 1992. This picture could have a multitude of meaning, but I think it symbolizes the new west since the time of depression. It depicts political reform and success after the troubled times before the Second World War. Since the Second World War, the western provinces have made a name for themselves in federal politics. There was a time when the western population was poorly represented n the House of Commons and their thoughts and beliefs as Canadians were not being heard. Today however, thanks to politicians like Preston Manning the west holds roughly a third of the seats in the house, has roughly a third of the Canadian population and is responsible for over a third of total Canadian GDP. No longer can the voices of western people be overlooked by the liberal governments of central Canada. The great depression had a profound influence on Western Canada and was instrumental in shaping the political views of the western provinces. Many westerners believe that the liberal governments irresponsible spending during the twenties magnified the effects of the depression. In 1935, Alberta’s annual budget was $14 million, $9 million of which was being used to pay interest on liberal incurred debt. When the conservative government took over they had to run the province on $5 million a year at a time when social support was a necessity for the many of the general public. As the recession carried on the province would eventually default on its debt and become bankrupt. Because of the depression and government shortfalls in the pre war times, westerners had adopted the idea of fiscally responsible government and it has remained that way throughout the 20th century.

In the decade between 1931 and 1941, 250 000 people moved out of the prairies for hopes of a brighter future.

The 1930’s are best known for the agricultural disaster that began in the summer of 1929 and didn’t really recover until the onset of the Second World War. The summers of the “lost decade” were the hottest on records and the winters were some of the coldest as well. It was truly a decade of extremes. Along with the extreme summer heat, came extreme populations of grasshoppers and other crop eating insects. It has been said that the grasshopper ate everything from crops to the sweat stained shovels of farmers pitch forks, and when they died they died in drifts that carpeted the streets. Gophers accompanied

Some topics in this essay:
Lands Act, Western Canada, America Natives, Alberta Saskatchewan, Preston Manning, World War, Southern Saskatchewan, WWII Winnipeg’s, Commonwealth Federation, Russian European, western provinces, world war, preston manning, western population, canadian government, western canada, 160 acres, seemingly endless, roughly third, immigrant communities,