New+Political+Parties

New Political Parties
At the beginning of the 1930s, the two largest political parties in Canada were the Liberals and the Conservatives. By the end of the decade, they had some competition.

There were two reasons for the rise of new parties at this time. First, the old parties (Conservatives and Liberals) seemed unwilling to find new ways of dealing with the Depression. Second, the old parties seemed to be controlled from the major cities in central Canada. People in other regions felt that their concerns were not being addressed. As you'll see, it was in these regions that most of the new parties had their beginnings.

Social Credit
William Aberhart was a teacher and preacher from Alberta. He believed that the reason for the Depression was that people - especially farmers - did not have enough buying power to purchase all the goods and services that industries could produce. The government, he felt, should give each citizen a monthly "Prosperity Certificate" worth $25, which would allow people to buy more products. As demand increased, companies would hire more workers to produce additional goods. Aberhart formed a new political party to press for these reforms. He called it the Social Credit party.

In 1935 the Social Credit party was elected as the provincial government of Alberta. The Prosperity Certificates were never paid out, but Social Credit remained in power in Alberta until 1971. In later years (1952-72; 1975-91), it also gained power in British Columbia.

The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)
After the War, J.S. Woodsworth (a conscientious objector during WW1) worked as a minister in Winnipeg. He was shocked by the poverty in his parish and came to believe that the private ownership system had failed. Woodsworth thought governments should take a greater role in the economy, especially by taking over key industries.

Woodsworth also believed that governments should provide more help to people. He wanted to see unemployment insurance, free medical care, family allowances, and better old age pensions. Woodsworth was one of the founders of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, a party formed in 1933 to fight for these programs. Many of the CCF's programs have since been adopted in Canada, as other parties have come to support them.

Tommy Douglas was a member of this party and was the man responsible for Canada having universal healthcare (meaning healthcare covered by taxes, not by the patient upfront). He was named in the "Greatest Canadian" by Canadian viewers of CBC in 2004. Stephen Lewis gives his thoughts on Douglas after he died in this TV clip on CBC.

In 1961, the CCF changed its name to the New Democratic Party (NDP). As either the CCF or NDP, the party won power in a number of provinces. It formed the government in British Columbia (1972-75, 1991-2001), Saskatchewan (1944-64, 1971-82, 2001- ), Manitoba (1969-77, 1981-88, 1999- ), and Ontario (1990-95).

The Union Nationale (UN)
===Maurice Duplessis believed that Quebec's problems in the Depression stemmed from the fact that its industries were largely owned by Americans and English-speaking Canadians. He founded the Union Nationale in 1935 to fight for stronger government involvement and to give Quebeckers more control over their economy. ===

===In 1936, Duplessis led the UN to power in Quebec. He began the process of giving more economic power to Quebeckers, a practice that has continued to this day. The UN held power in Quebec for 22 years ===

Some of Duplessis's policies were very controversial. In 1937 he passed a law that gave him the right to shut down any organizations or groups he considered a danger to the government. Duplessis used this "padlock law" to target Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses, and labour unions, as well as communists.

Question
<span style="background-color: #dedede; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">1. Of the three party platforms mentioned, which do you find most convincing? Why?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Do you think you would have been able to survive in the Depression? There's no doubt that the 1930s was a tough time to live through. Of course, people's troubles were made a bit easier to bear by the fact that so many others were also affected. Norman Jewison, the famous Canadian film director, was a boy in Toronto at this time. He recalls that kids didn't realize they were poor, so they didn't worry about it. All their friends lived the way they did, and accepted that it was normal.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Although it was a terrible experience for some, the Depression did have some positive and lasting effects. From then onwards, Canadians expected their governments to play a bigger role in keeping the economy strong. It was no longer enough to leave it to the business cycle and individual employers. They also expected governments to look after individual and family security. Unemployment insurance, welfare payments, better pensions, and children's allowances all had their origins in this period. The Depression has made a permanent impact on our history.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">The Depression ended as the production ramped up for World War 2, but it's lessons were remembered for decades.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Question
<span style="background-color: #dedede; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">2. How do you think the depression has effected your life, even 70 years later?