Pictures of relief camps, soup kitchens, protest marches and drought are vivid reminders of the pain of the 1930s and the Great Depression in Canada.

Governments in Canada were slow to respond to the desperate economic and social conditions. Until the Great Depression, governments in Canada intervened as little as possible in the economy and social welfare was left to churches and charities.

The Great Depression led to the creation in 1934 of the Bank of Canada to manage Canada's money supply and help formulate monetary policy. The Great Depression also led to the beginnings of a social safety net in Canada, which now includes minimum wage, employment standards and programs such as health insurance and employment insurance.

Photo: Unemployed Parade in Toronto in the Great Depression
Toronto Star / Library and Archives Canada / C-029397

More Pictures of Canadian History
Pictures of the Battle of Vimy Ridge
Pictures of the Canadian Parliament Buildings Fire of 1916
Pictures of the Raid on Dieppe
Pictures of D-Day