Grade by Grade
C. Canada, 1929–1945 · Canada, 1929–1945: Depression, Extremism and the Second World War

Protest and New Parties: The CCF, Social Credit, the Union nationale and the On-to-Ottawa Trek

C1.5 C2.1 C3.1 A1.3 A1.5About 70 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe the new political parties of the 1930s and what each wanted.
  • I can place parties on the political spectrum and explain what left and right mean.
  • I can explain the causes and consequences of the On-to-Ottawa Trek and the Regina Riot.
  • I can describe examples of cooperation, such as the Antigonish Movement, and conflict, such as the Oshawa strike.

Words to know

political spectrum
A way of arranging political ideas from left (more equality and government action to change society) to right (more tradition, order and free markets).
socialism
The belief that key industries and services should be owned or controlled by the public (government) to share wealth more equally.
democratic socialism
Socialism achieved through elections and Parliament, not revolution. The CCF's approach.
communism
An ideology aiming for a classless society with no private ownership of industry, which Communists believed would come through workers' revolution.
populism
A political approach that claims to speak for ordinary people against powerful elites.
manifesto
A public statement of a party's beliefs and goals, such as the CCF's Regina Manifesto (1933).
co-operative
A business owned and run by its members, who share the profits.
Section 98
A section of the Criminal Code (1919 to 1936) that made it a crime to belong to groups seen as promoting violent change; used against Communist leaders in 1931.

Hook: a train full of angry men

In June 1935, about a thousand unemployed young men climbed onto the roofs of freight trains in Vancouver and headed east. They came from the government's relief camps, and they wanted to tell the prime minister in person that 20 cents a day was not a life. People in towns along the way brought them food. They never reached Ottawa.

When old parties and old answers fail, people look for new ones. The 1930s produced new parties and protest movements, on the left and the right.

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)

  • Founded: 1932 in Calgary, by farm groups, labour groups and socialist thinkers.
  • Leader: J. S. Woodsworth, a former Methodist minister and Member of Parliament who had supported workers during the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.
  • Ideas: the Regina Manifesto (1933) called for public ownership of key industries and banks, unemployment insurance, health care, and economic planning, all achieved democratically, through elections.
  • Results: In 1944 the CCF under Tommy Douglas won in Saskatchewan and formed the first socialist government in North America. In 1961 the CCF became today's New Democratic Party (NDP). Many CCF ideas later became mainstream policy.

Social Credit

  • Leader: William Aberhart, a Calgary high school principal who became famous through a popular radio program.
  • Ideas: based on the theories of a British engineer, C. H. Douglas. Aberhart argued that the problem was a shortage of money in people's hands, and promised every adult a monthly "dividend" of $25.
  • Results: Social Credit won Alberta's 1935 election by a landslide. Its banking and money laws were struck down as outside provincial powers, and the dividend was never paid. The party still governed Alberta until 1971.

Historians usually describe Social Credit as populist: it spoke for ordinary people against bankers and "eastern" financial interests.

Quebec: Maurice Duplessis and the Union nationale

  • In 1936, Maurice Duplessis became premier of Quebec with his new party, the Union nationale.
  • He promoted Quebec nationalism, rural values, close ties with the Catholic Church and provincial rights against Ottawa.
  • His Padlock Act (1937) let police padlock any building used to spread "communism", a word the law never defined. It was used against unions and left-wing groups and was struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1957.
  • Duplessis lost power in 1939 but returned in 1944 and governed until 1959.

The Communist Party and the Reconstruction Party

  • The Communist Party of Canada (leader Tim Buck) organized the unemployed and unions. In 1931 Buck and other leaders were arrested and imprisoned under Section 98 of the Criminal Code. Section 98 was repealed in 1936.
  • The Reconstruction Party (1935) was founded by H. H. Stevens, a former Conservative minister who had investigated unfair prices and wages in big business. It won only one seat but split the Conservative vote.
Parties of the 1930s on the political spectrum (approximate)← LEFTRIGHT →more government control, equalitytradition, order, private propertyCommunist Partyabolish capitalism;revolutionCCFdemocratic socialism,by electionsLiberalscentre; cautiousreformConservativestariffs; traditionSocial Creditmoney reform; populistUnion nationaleQuebec nationalist;conservative
Left and right are approximate. Notice that new parties appeared at both ends: when the economy fails, voters look beyond the parties in the centre.

The On-to-Ottawa Trek and the Regina Riot

  • Cause: In the federal relief camps, single men did hard labour in remote places for 20 cents a day. In April 1935, workers in British Columbia's camps went on strike and gathered in Vancouver.
  • The trek: In June, led by Arthur "Slim" Evans and others, about 1,000 men rode freight trains east to take their demands (real wages, work and social insurance) to Ottawa. More joined along the way.
  • Regina: Bennett ordered the RCMP to stop the trek at Regina. Eight leaders went to Ottawa and met Bennett on June 22; the meeting turned into a shouting match.
  • The Regina Riot, July 1, 1935: Police moved in to arrest leaders at a public rally. A riot followed. One police officer was killed, dozens of people were injured and about 130 people were arrested.
  • Consequences: Public anger at Bennett grew; he lost the October 1935 election, and King closed the relief camps in 1936.
The On-to-Ottawa Trek, 1935April to MayBC relief campworkers strikeand gather inVancouverJuneabout 1,000men ridefreight trainseast; morejoin along thewayMid-June,ReginaBennett ordersthe RCMP tostop the trekJune 22,Ottawatrek leadersmeet Bennett;the meetingfailsJuly 1, Reginapolice breakup a rally:the ReginaRiotOrder of events left to right; not a map.
Follow the trek step by step. Each event caused the next: the strike led to the trek, the trek led to the order to stop it, and the failed meeting led to the confrontation in Regina.

Cooperation and conflict across Canada (C2.1)

  • Cooperation: the Antigonish Movement. In eastern Nova Scotia, Father Moses Coady and Father Jimmy Tompkins of St. Francis Xavier University organized study clubs where fishers, farmers and miners learned to set up co-operatives and credit unions. People pooled their money and owned their own stores, fish plants and banks. The movement spread across Canada and around the world.
  • Conflict: the Oshawa strike (1937). Workers at General Motors in Oshawa, Ontario, struck to win recognition for their union, the United Auto Workers. Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn opposed the union and even created a special police force (nicknamed "Hepburn's Hussars"). The workers won better wages and hours, though not formal recognition of the UAW, and it was a turning point for industrial unions in Canada.

Judging political sources (A1.3)

Political speeches, party manifestos and election posters are persuasive sources. Ask:

  • What does the author want the audience to do or believe?
  • What do they leave out?
  • Who is the audience: farmers, workers, business owners, Quebec voters?

A manifesto is excellent evidence of what a party wanted; it is poor evidence of what it actually achieved.

Worked example

Let's place a party on the spectrum using evidence

Where would you place the CCF on the political spectrum, and why is it not in the same place as the Communist Party?

  1. Find the evidence: the Regina Manifesto wanted public ownership of key industries and banks and social programs. That is a left-wing goal (more government action for equality).
  2. Compare with the Communists: both wanted to replace capitalism, but the Communists believed in revolution and followed the Soviet line, while the CCF insisted on elections and Parliament.
  3. Decide: the CCF goes on the left, but to the right of the Communists: it is democratic socialist.
  4. Check the limits: the spectrum is a simplification. Social Credit, for example, mixed populist money reform with conservative social views.

The CCF belongs on the left, as democratic socialist, separated from the Communists by its commitment to democracy rather than revolution.

Just for fun

Riddle: Why did the political spectrum refuse to pick a favourite party?

Because whichever way it leaned, someone said it was biased. (Which is a good reminder to check the source.)

Hands-on activity

Design a 1935 election poster

You need: paper, pencils or markers (or a free design app).

  1. Choose one party: CCF, Social Credit, Liberal, Conservative, Reconstruction or (for Quebec 1936) Union nationale.
  2. Make a poster with a slogan, two promises that match the party's real ideas from this lesson, and a picture showing who the party wants to win over.
  3. On the back, write a source analysis of your own poster: purpose, audience, what it leaves out.

What to look for: promises that match the party (for example Social Credit's $25 dividend; the CCF's public ownership and unemployment insurance; King's "King or Chaos"), and an honest note about what the poster leaves out, such as cost or constitutional limits.

Your turn

1

Where and when was the CCF founded, and who led it?

2

What did the Regina Manifesto call for?

3

What did William Aberhart promise Albertans?

4

What was the Padlock Act?

5

Why did relief camp workers begin the On-to-Ottawa Trek?

6

What happened on July 1, 1935, in Regina?

7

Describe the Antigonish Movement.

More practice: warm-up

1

What did the CCF become in 1961?

2

Which party won Alberta in 1935?

3

Who led the Union nationale?

4

Who led the Communist Party of Canada in the 1930s?

5

In which city was the On-to-Ottawa Trek stopped?

More practice: on your own

1

Explain how the CCF and the Communist Party differed.

2

Why do historians call Social Credit populist?

3

What were two consequences of the On-to-Ottawa Trek?

4

How was Section 98 used in 1931, and why did critics oppose it?

5

Give one example of cooperation and one of conflict from 1930s Canada.

Challenge

1

Why did so many new parties appear in the 1930s? Use cause and consequence.

2

Assess the significance of the CCF, even though it never formed a federal government.

3

Was Bennett right to stop the trek in Regina? Consider at least two perspectives from 1935.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which party issued the Regina Manifesto in 1933?

2.

What did William Aberhart promise every adult Albertan?

3.

What was the main difference between the CCF and the Communist Party?

4.

Where did the On-to-Ottawa Trek end?

5.

What was the Antigonish Movement?

6.

Who became premier of Quebec in 1936 with the Union nationale?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson covers political developments (C1.5), cooperation and conflict (C2.1) and the contributions of leaders such as Duplessis, Woodsworth and Aberhart (C3.1). It practises judging persuasive sources (A1.3) and cause and consequence (A1.5).

Common difficulties:

  • Left vs right. Many teens think "left = good/bad". Stress that the spectrum describes ideas about government's role, not right or wrong.
  • CCF vs Communists. The key difference is democracy vs revolution.

How to help: Ask your teen where today's federal parties might sit on the spectrum and why, and how that compares with the 1930s. Keep the conversation about evidence (platforms, votes), not personal loyalties.