Government+Response+to+the+Great+Depression

Bennett's New Deal
In early 1935, with an election looming, Bennett realized he would have to do something to help end people's misery. Before that time, the government believed the best solution to the Depression was simply to wait for things to get better on their own; the business cycle would correct itself, the economy would begin to expand again, and unemployment would go down. This is how governments had always dealt with economic issues before.

But by 1935 it was clear that this Depression was different. It involved far more unemployment than ever before, and gave no sign of ending quickly. Bennett himself took much of the blame as people grew frustrated with the inaction of the government.

Bennett outlined a program of reforms, which became known as his New Deal. (President Roosevelt of the United States had begun a program of the same name in 1933.) The plan included measures to increase competition and to give the government more power over the economy. Bennett hoped these changes would boost production and create jobs. The New Deal cut the work week down from 60 hours to 48. It also created an unemployment insurance program - the first in Canada's history.

Questions
1. Imagine you own a factory. You used to make your workers work for 60 hours a week, but now you can only make them work 48 hours per week. You still have just as many things to make, so what do you do?

2. Thinking of your solution for question 1, in what way might this benefit the economy?

Too Late for Bennett?
These changes came too late to save Bennett. His government was soundly defeated in the 1935 general election, and Mackenzie King and the Liberals returned to power. Although the Liberals followed through on many of Bennett's New Deal promises, the climb out of the Depression was slow. In fact, employment started to rise rapidly only after 1938, when the military began recruiting people and factories began producing war materials for yet another war effort. The role of military in the economy can still be seen in the US today, where a vast number of jobs rely on producing military equipment. War is big business.