Canada in the 1930s

October 24, 1929

Economy and Society 

The Stock Market Crash of 1929

The collapse of the American stock market begins the Great Depression, which ravages the Canadian economy during the “Dirty Thirties.” Life is especially harsh in the Prairies, where drought worsens conditions. The crisis inspires the creation of social welfare programs.

October 29, 1929

Economy and Society 

Black Tuesday

On Wall Street, over 16 million shares were sold, up almost four million from Black Thursday's unprecedented totals just five days before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted, eliminating a strong year's gains, and the investment giant Goldman Sachs was reduced to barely 50 per cent of its worth the night before. The Great Depression of the 1930s followed.

December 31, 1929

Arts, Music and Literature 

Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians

Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians first played for New Year's Eve celebrations at New York's Roosevelt Grill, beginning an annual tradition.

February 15, 1930

Political Parties and Movements 

First Woman Senator

Cairine Reay Wilson was the first woman appointed to the Senate in Canada.

March 27, 1930

Sports and Popular Culture 

Edmonton Grads Triumph

The Edmonton Grads beat Seattle Ferry Lines by 59 points over two games to retain the Underwood Trophy and the women's international basketball title.

May 16, 1930

Science and Transportation 

LaBine Finds Uranium

Prospector Gilbert LaBine discovered pitchblende, the chief source of uranium and radium, at Great Bear Lake, NWT.

May 17, 1930

Political Parties and Movements 

First Woman Elected to the NL House of Assembly

Helena Squires became the first woman elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly.

May 30, 1930

Science and Transportation 

Canadian National Parks Act

The National Parks Act excluded industrial activities from the parks, made their boundaries permanent, and formally recognized a category of Historical Parks. The Act also entrenched the philosophy that continues to inform Canada’s parks management. It stated that parks were provided for the “benefit, education and enjoyment” of visitors and put forward a mandate to maintain them “so as to leave them unimpaired for future generations.”

June 19, 1930

Political Parties and Movements 

United Farmers Win

In Alberta provincial elections, the United Farmers under John Edward Brownlee maintained the government they had formed since 1924.

August 07, 1930

Political Parties and Movements 

R.B. Bennett Becomes PM

R.B. Bennett was sworn in as prime minister.

October 05, 1930

Arts, Music and Literature 

Vancouver Symphony at the Orpheum

The revived Vancouver Symphony Society (now the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) gave its first concert at the new Orpheum Theatre under conductor Allard de Ridder.

November 12, 1930

International Relations 

Norway Recognizes Sovereignty

Norway formally recognized the sovereignty of Canada over the Sverdrup Islands in the Arctic.

December 14, 1930

Arts, Music and Literature 

Vancouver Bach Choir

The Vancouver Bach Choir, the longest-lived community choir in BC, gave its first concert, the BC premiere of Bach's Christmas Oratorio.

January 01, 1931

Political Parties and Movements 

Japanese-Canadian WWI Veterans in BC Granted Right to Vote

Veterans of the First World War in British Columbia become the first Japanese Canadians granted the right to vote in federal or provincial elections.

January 22, 1931

Arts, Music and Literature 

First Radio Drama

The first episode of "The Romance of Canada" was broadcast from Montréal; it was the first series of radio dramas produced in Canada.

September 08, 1931

Economy and Society 

Estevan Strike

Coal miners at Estevan, Sask, went on strike for union recognition. On September 29 three strikers were killed in a clash with the RCMP.

November 12, 1931

Sports and Popular Culture 

General Motors Hockey Broadcast

Hockey Night in Canada is Canada’s longest-running television program and the Guinness World Record holder as the longest-running TV sports program. It was first broadcast on the radio in Montreal and Toronto as General Motors Hockey Broadcast on 12 November 1931, with play-by-play by iconic sports broadcaster Foster Hewitt. 

December 11, 1931

Political Parties and Movements 

Statute of Westminster is Passed

The Statute of Westminster received royal assent after being passed by the British Parliament. By establishing complete legislative equality between the parliaments of Britain and Canada, it is the closest Canada has come to a declaration of independence.

February 13, 1932

Sports and Popular Culture 

Winnipeg Hockey Club Wins Olympic Gold

For the first time Canada's hockey team faced serious competition at the Olympics, ultimately playing two scoreless overtime periods in a final game against the US. To end the stalemate, officials chose to declare a tie and award the gold to the team that had won the earlier round-robin game, Canada.

May 20, 1932

Science and Transportation 

Earhart Begins Transatlantic Flight

Pilot Amelia Earhart took off from Harbour Grace, NL, in an attempt to complete the first female solo flight across the Atlantic. After navigating through a thunderstorm and treacherously icy conditions, she landed safely in Northern Ireland 15 hours later, her mission accomplished.

May 26, 1932

Arts, Music and Literature 

CRBC (future CBC) Established

Parliament passed an Act establishing the publicly funded Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, the forerunner of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp of 1936. Before the CRBC almost all programs available to Canadians were from the US.

July 20, 1932

International Relations 

Ottawa Agreements

Canada and Commonwealth countries signed 12 bilateral trade agreements in Ottawa providing for mutual tariff concessions and certain other commitments.

August 01, 1932

Political Parties and Movements 

CCF Founded

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was founded in Calgary. Led by J.S. Woodsworth, the CCF was the first major democratic socialist movement in Canada and went on to have a profound effect on the Canadian political landscape.

September 25, 1932

Arts, Music and Literature 

Birth of Glenn Gould

Pianist Glenn Gould, who abandoned a thriving international concert career for performances using recorded-sound technology and whose work had a unique importance in music and communications, was born at Toronto.

October 29, 1932

Arts, Music and Literature 

Dominion Drama Festival

The Dominion Drama Festival was founded.

May 29, 1933

Sports and Popular Culture 

Chinese Soccer Team Wins Mainland Cup

The Chinese Students Soccer Team of Vancouver, BC, won the prestigious Mainland Cup, indicative of Lower Mainland soccer supremacy. They became heroes for the long suffering Chinese Canadian community, which experienced severe institutional racism and economic depression. In September 2011, the team was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.

July 01, 1933

Political Parties and Movements 

CCF Approves the Regina Manifesto

The Regina Manifesto was the founding policy document of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). Written in 1933 and released at the party’s convention in Regina, the 14-point policy statement called for eradicating capitalism and adopting socialist economic and social policies in a democratic state. In 1956, the CCF replaced the Regina Manifesto with the Winnipeg Declaration.  

August 16, 1933

Sports and Popular Culture 

Christie Pits Riot in Toronto

A fierce riot erupted at the end of a softball game in Willowvale Park (now Christie Pits) in Toronto, ON. An example of prevalent anti-Semitism in Toronto at the time, the Swastika Club, a pro-Nazi group, unfurled a large swastika banner at the close of the game, instigating Jewish spectators in the crowd. The city's first and largest ethnically based riot lasted six hours. Though there were injuries, some serious, no lives were lost.

September 14, 1933

Economy and Society 

Strike in Stratford, Ont

Furniture workers and meat packers went on strike in Stratford, Ont. Troops and armoured cars were moved into the town on September 27.

1933

Sports and Popular Culture 

Fay Wray Stars in King Kong

Actress Fay Wray spent her early childhood on her family's ranch in Alberta before the family moved to Arizona, Utah and then California. She achieved lasting worldwide fame in 1933 as the shrieking heroine in one of the most famous films of all time, King Kong.

1933

Sports and Popular Culture 

Mary Pickford Retires from Acting

Actress Mary Pickford was a pioneering figure of early cinema who became one of the most renowned stars of the silent film era. Her final major screen appearance was in Secrets (1933). It opened the same week President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered a temporary closure of the banks as a measure to fight the Great Depression. Like all other films released that week, Secrets did poorly at the box office. Pickford retired from acting but was still active as a producer.

January 01, 1934

Political Parties and Movements  Indigenous Peoples 

Dominion Franchise Act

Inuit and First Nations persons living on reserves are disqualified from voting in federal elections, except for First Nations veterans who had previously received the vote.

March 09, 1934

Political Parties and Movements 

NB Women Gain Right to Hold Office

New Brunswick women won the right to hold provincial office.

May 28, 1934

Sports and Popular Culture 

Dionne Quintuplets Born

The Dionne Quintuplets, Annette, Emilie, Yvonne, Cecile and Marie aroused worldwide attention after their birth at Corbeil, Ontario, to Oliva and Elzire Dionne in 1934. They were the only quintuplets to survive for more than a few days.

June 11, 1934

Economy and Society 

Strike in Flin Flon

Miners in Flin Flon, Man, went on strike.

June 15, 1934

Economy and Society 

Notre-Dame Hospital Strike

The French Canadian interns of Notre-Dame Hospital went on strike, which lasted until June 19. The strike, now known as the Days of Shame, was triggered by an anti-Semitic response to the appointment of a Jewish doctor, Sam Rabinovitch, as senior intern.

July 03, 1934

Economy and Society 

Bank of Canada Act

The Bank of Canada Act created the Bank of Canada in response to the 1933 Royal Commission on Banking and Currency.

October 26, 1934

Political Parties and Movements 

Reconstruction Party Formed

H.H. Stevens formed the business-oriented Reconstruction Party.

1934

Science and Transportation 

Montreal Neurological Institute Founded

In 1934, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the government of Quebec, the city of Montreal and private donors, Wilder Penfield founded the Montreal Neurological Institute, which rapidly became an international centre for teaching, research and treatment related to diseases of the nervous system.

January 02, 1935

Economy and Society 

Bennett Outlines New Deal

With Canadians suffering from coast to coast, Conservative prime minister R.B. Bennett made the first of five radio broadcasts to address the state of the nation, which was deep in the Great Depression. Called The Premier Speaks to the People, Bennett’s address was broadcast across 38 stations. The legislation he proposed became known as Canada’s “New Deal.” It was reported that Bennett paid for the airtime, approximately $10,000, out of his own pocket.

March 11, 1935

Economy and Society 

Bank of Canada Opens

The Bank of Canada began operations.

April 23, 1935

Economy and Society 

Riot Act Read in Victory Square

Vancouver's mayor Gerry McGeer read the Riot Act in Victory Square to disperse a large crowd of protesting unemployed.

May 07, 1935

Science and Transportation 

David Dunlap Observatory

The David Dunlap Observatory at Richmond Hill, Ont, was completed, the second largest in the world at that time.

June 05, 1935

Economy and Society 

On to Ottawa Trek

About 1000 unemployed men boarded freight cars in Vancouver to begin the "On to Ottawa" trek. The strikers commandeered freight trains and made stops in Calgary, Medicine Hat, Swift Current and Moose Jaw before arriving in Regina June 14.

June 18, 1935

Economy and Society 

Battle of the Ballantyne Pier

Mounted police charged 1000 longshoremen in Vancouver during a strike lockout in the "Battle of the Ballantyne Pier."

August 22, 1935

Political Parties and Movements 

Social Credit Victory in Alberta

Charismatic Bible-thumping William Aberhart led the Social Credit Party to victory in the Alberta provincial elections. He was sworn in on September 3. The party dominated Alberta politics until 1971.

October 14, 1935

Political Parties and Movements 

Liberals Win Election

In the federal election, the Liberals won a landslide majority, with 171 seats to the Conservatives' 39. The CCF won 7 seats and the Social Credit 17. King became prime minister for the third time.

January 01, 1936

Science and Transportation 

Maude Abbott’s Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease Is Published

Published by the American Heart Association in 1936, Maude Abbott’s Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease was a groundbreaking text in cardiac research. The life-saving publication helped doctors to better understand and diagnose heart defects and to develop new ways to treat them.

January 01, 1936

Political Parties and Movements 

Japanese Canadians Request Franchise

A delegation of Japanese Canadians travelled to Ottawa to speak before the Special Committee on Elections and Franchise Acts. Despite their presentation, the federal government upheld the denial of the franchise.

January 06, 1936

Political Parties and Movements 

Barbara Hanley Elected as First Female Mayor in Canada

Barbara Hanley was elected mayor of Webbwood, a town west of Sudbury, Ontario, defeating Robert E. Streich by 13 votes. She served Webbwood as mayor for eight terms and was the first female mayor in Canada.

February 15, 1936

Indigenous Peoples 

Ewing Report Recommends “Métis colonies” Be Established

The Ewing Commission was the result of Métis leadership lobbying the Alberta government to set aside land for Métis settlers. The commission examined the socio-economic conditions faced by Métis in Alberta and recommended creating “Métis colonies.” The provincial government eventually established 12 Métis settlements in the central and northern parts of the province. By 1960, the provincial government had rescinded four of those settlements. The remaining eight (Paddle Prairie, Peavine, Gift Lake, East Prairie, Buffalo Lake, Kikino, Elizabeth and Fishing Lake) continue to be vibrant Métis communities.

July 17, 1936 - April 01, 1939

International Relations 

Spanish Civil War Begins

Canada was officially neutral in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), which was fought between the Republican government of Spain and the Nationalist rebels led by General Franco. However, many Canadians supported the Republican cause. Approximately 1,700 volunteered to fight for the Republican cause in the International Brigades. 

August 14, 1936

Sports and Popular Culture 

Canada Wins Silver Medal in Men’s Basketball

Canada won the silver medal in men’s basketball at the 1936 Olympic Summer Games in Berlin, losing to the United States. Many Canadians (and Americans) wanted to boycott the 1936 Olympic Games because of Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews. However, others felt that participation in the Olympics would be a more effective challenge to Nazi ideology. Irving “Toots” Maretzky, a forward on the Canadian team, was one of nine Jewish athletes who medalled at the 1936 Games.

August 17, 1936

Political Parties and Movements 

Union Nationale Victory

The Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, won the Québec election. Duplessis was sworn in on 26 Aug.

November 02, 1936

Arts, Music and Literature 

CRBC Becomes CBC

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was created to replace the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission.

November 18, 1936

Arts, Music and Literature 

Globe and Mail Formed

The Toronto Globe purchased the Mail and Empire newspaper to form the Globe and Mail.

December 1936

Sports and Popular Culture 

Phil Edwards Named Top Athlete in Canada

In 1936, middle distance runner Phil Edwards became the first recipient of the Lou Marsh Trophy (now the Northern Star Award) as top athlete in the country. Nicknamed the “Man of Bronze,” Edwards won five bronze medals at three Olympic Games in the 4x400m relay (1928 and 1932), 800m (1932 and 1936) and 1,500m (1932). He was the most decorated Canadian Olympian until 2002, when speed skater Marc Gagnon won his fifth medal, tying Edwards’s record. 

December 09, 1936

International Relations 

Edward VIII Abdicates

Canada was informed of Edward VIII's intention to abdicate, which he did the next day; the new king was George VI.

December 11, 1936

International Relations 

King George VI

On 20 January 1936, George V died, and Edward VIII became king. Edward abdicated, however, on 11 December 1936 to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson. When his brother Prince Albert became king, he took the name George VI to symbolize continuity with his father, George V, after the upheaval caused by the abdication crisis.

January 05, 1937

Arts, Music and Literature 

Stravinsky Conducts TSO

Igor Stravinsky appeared as guest conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for a performance of his own Firebird Suite and Petrushka, at Massey Hall.

March 24, 1937

Political Parties and Movements 

First Woman Elected to Vancouver City Council

Helena Gutteridge became the first female member of the Vancouver City Council. Gutteridge had been a force in the political scene for several decades. A noted feminist and socialist, she worked tirelessly for enfranchisement during the suffrage movement and for workers’ rights.

April 1937

International Relations 

Foreign Enlistment Act Passed

In 1937, Canada passed its first Foreign Enlistment Act, which prohibited Canadians from serving in foreign conflicts. It received royal assent in April and was applied to the Spanish Civil War in July 1937. Despite the act, approximately 1,700 Canadians fought in the civil war. Many had been unemployed and forced into relief camps during the  Great Depression. 

April 08, 1937

Indigenous Peoples 

Bernelda Wheeler Is Born

Bernelda Wheeler was born in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan. Wheeler was a pioneering Indigenous journalist. She hosted of Our Native Land on CBC for 10 years. Additionally, she wrote children’s books and was a social justice advocate who spoke about her experiences in residential schools and was a founder of the National Association of Friendship Centres.

April 08, 1937

Economy and Society 

Oshawa Strike

More than 4000 workers of the huge General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ont, struck. GM accepted many of the union's demands, without recognizing the union.

June 14, 1937

Arts, Music and Literature 

The Happy Gang

The Happy Gang was a troupe of musical entertainers that had a CBC radio variety show between 1937 and 1959. The show began 14 June 1937 on station CRCT (a CBC affiliate in Toronto), then moved to the CBC network four months later. It ran for 22 years, with nearly 4,900 broadcasts in total. The show was heard in its prime years by some two million Canadians daily and was carried for a time in the US by the MBS network.

June 29, 1937

Science and Transportation 

First Snowmobile Patented

In 1935, Joseph-Armand Bombardier assembled a vehicle that ran on caterpillar tracks similar to a tank’s. The first snowmobile was steered by skis and could hold two or three passengers. In 1937, he patented the snowmobile’s sprocket wheel and track drive system and brought his seven-seat B7 snowmobile to the market. The first buyers were country doctors, ambulance drivers and priests living in remote areas. 

July 1937

International Relations 

Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion Formed

Canadian volunteers who fought during the Spanish Civil War didn’t have their own unit until July 1937, when the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion was formed.

July 23, 1937

Sports and Popular Culture  Indigenous Peoples 

Death of Lacrosse Legend Lance Isaacs

Lance Isaacs and his brothers, Bill and Wade, became some of Canada’s most outstanding lacrosse players. Their father, Man Afraid of the Soap (also Freeman Joseph Isaacs), represented Canada at the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games on the Mohawk Indians team, which won a bronze medal. The Isaacs became star lacrosse players in both Canada and the United States. Lance died from a stress-related heart attack during a game in 1937.

August 15, 1937

Political Parties and Movements 

Dominion-Provincial Relations

PM Mackenzie King appointed the Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations to examine the amendment of the BNA Act, and the relationship of the federal and provincial governments in Confederation.

August 20, 1937

Economy and Society 

Miramichi Strike

1500 millworkers and longshoremen along the Miramichi River in northern New Brunswick struck at 14 lumber firms for increased wages.

November 24, 1937

Arts, Music and Literature 

Governor General’s Literary Awards

When author John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was the governor general of Canada, he became honorary president of the Canadian Authors Association. At the suggestion of the association president, Tweedsmuir created the Governor General’s Literary Awards in 1936. He presented the first awards on 24 November 1937 to Bertram Brooker for Think of the Earth (fiction) and Thomas Beattie Roberton for T.B.R.: Newspaper Pieces (non-fiction), published in 1936.

November 24, 1937

Arts, Music and Literature 

Governor General's Awards

The Governor General's Literary Awards were established by the Canadian Authors Association. The then Governor General, Lord Tweedsmuir, wrote numerous books, including the novel The Thirty-nine Steps, under his name John Buchan.

May 20, 1938

Economy and Society 

Relief Workers' Strike in BC

Unemployed members of the Relief Project Worker's Union in Vancouver occupied the Hotel Georgia, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the central post office and began a sit-down strike.

June 19, 1938

Economy and Society 

Bloody Sunday

A violent confrontation between protesters and the RCMP and city police erupted in Vancouver. Estimates indicate that 42 people were hospitalized, including five police officers, after a brutal fight between law enforcement and those protesting government cuts to unemployment relief camps earlier that year.

1938

Sports and Popular Culture 

Lady Tweedsmuir Donates Trophy for Women’s Curling

Author Susan Charlotte Buchan, Baroness Tweedsmuir of Elsfield (née Grosvenor), was viceregal consort of Canada from 1935 to 1940. In 1938, she donated the Lady Tweedsmuir championship trophy to the Ladies Curling Association of the Canadian branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. It was a counterpart to the Governor General’s Trophy for men’s curling, which had been established in 1874.

April 01, 1939

Science and Transportation 

First Scheduled Cross-Country Passenger Flight

The first Trans-Canada Air Lines passenger service between Montréal and Vancouver departed. Stopping in Ottawa, North Bay, Kapuskasing, Winnipeg, Regina, and Lethbridge, the flight took 15 hours.

May 02, 1939

Arts, Music and Literature 

National Film Board Created

The National Film Act created the National Film Board, headed by Scots film producer John Grierson. The NFB pioneered developments in social documentary, animation, documentary drama and direct cinema. Its films have won hundreds of international awards.

May 17, 1939 - June 15, 1939

International Relations 

1939 Royal Tour of Canada

In 1939, George VI became the first reigning British and Canadian monarch to visit Canada, touring the country by train for six weeks with Queen Elizabeth. The 1939 royal tour was the most successful royal tour in Canadian history. It featured the first royal walkabout when the royal couple joined a crowd of First World War veterans after unveiling the National War Memorial in Ottawa. The tour strengthened Anglo-Canadian relations just before the outbreak of the Second World War.

May 20, 1939

Arts, Music and Literature 

Royal Winnipeg Ballet Founded

Canada's oldest ballet company, the Winnipeg Ballet (designated "Royal" in 1953), was founded by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Hall Farrally.

June 07, 1939

International Relations 

MS St. Louis turned away from Canada

Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany aboard the MS St. Louis are turned away by the Canadian government and are eventually forced to return to Europe.

September 03, 1939

Economy and Society 

Wartime Prices and Trade Board

The Wartime Prices and Trade Board was established to control inflation and to ensure that social unrest did not interfere with the upcoming war effort.

September 10, 1939

International Relations 

Canada Declares War on Germany

Canada declared war on Germany, 7 days after Britain and France. The first Canadian troops left for England in December. Although "obliged to go to war at Britain's side," King's delay of a week was a symbolic gesture of independence.

December 17, 1939

International Relations 

Air Training Plan Established

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was established. Operating from 1940–45 the BCATP trained some 131,000 airmen — one-half the total Commonwealth aircrew — a decisive Canadian contribution to victory in the Second World War.

August 07, 1940

Economy and Society 

National Unemployment Insurance Program

The first compulsory national unemployment insurance program was instituted on 7 August 1940 after a constitutional amendment gave the federal government legislative power over unemployment insurance. The Unemployment Insurance Act came into effect on 1 July 1941. In 1996, the Unemployment Insurance system was renamed Employment Insurance (EI).