Farmers

During the war, farm produce was needed both overseas and at home. In war-torn Europe,farmers were unable to produce enough food. As a result, demand was high. High demand led to high prices- and farmers earned good incomes.  After the war, demand for farm produce remained high - for a time. But then demand began to drop, and prices dropped, too. The price of wheat, for example,dropped by 60 per cent between7920and7922.Lower prices meant lower incomes for farmers.  At the same time, the cost of running a farm was rising. Farm machinery such as tractors,had improved.The improved machines made work easier,but they were also expensive.  In addition, the cost of services,such as electricity and road maintenance, was high. Farmers lived farther apart than city dwellers,so there were fewer people to share expenses for these services.  Farmers were also concerned because their children did not have the same educational opportunities as children in cities. Many farm children walked miles to a one-room school,where the teachers  Farmers also needed to buy goods.During and after the war, many of these goods were scarce.As a result, prices were high. The price of coffee,for example,was twice as high in1918 as it had been in 1914.  After the war, many farmers struggled to get by. A Shift in Population Peopleliving in rural areas,including farmers,madeup alittle more than half of Canada'spopulation between 79L4 and 792\. But the percentageof peoplewho lived in urban areaswas rising.Jobswere more plentiful in towns and cities.Beforelong, urban residentswould form a majority of the population. Farmers worried about this. They feared that politicians would start payinglessattention to their concerns. FarmersTakeAction To maketheir voicesheard,farmersin variousprovincesformed f their own political parties - and even won some elections. The United Farmers of Ontario, for example,won the Ontario electionof 1919.In 7927and7922,farmers'parties alsowon electionsin Alberta and Manitoba. Farmersin Ontario and the Prairie provincesunited to form the Pro$ressiveParty, a new federal political party. The Pro$ressiveswon 64 seatsin the 1927federalelection.This madeit Canada'sfirst successful third party. But its successwas short-lived.Farmers disagreedover how to solve their problems. As a result, most rural-based parties lost power in the followin$ elections.