What do you think?
Rate this book
The Great Depression: 1929-1939
Over 1.5 million Canadians were on relief, one in five was a public dependant, and 70,000 young men travelled like hoboes. Ordinary citizens were rioting in the streets, but their demonstrations met with indifference, and dissidents were jailed. Canada emerged from the Great Depression a different nation.
The most searing decade in Canada's history began with the stock market crash of 1929 and ended with the Second World War. With formidable story-telling powers, Berton reconstructs its engrossing events the Regina Riot, the Great Birth Control Trial, the black blizzards of the dust bowl and the rise of Social Credit. The extraordinary cast of characters includes Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who praised Hitler and Mussolini but thought Winston Churchill "one of the most dangerous men I have ever known"; Maurice Duplessis, who padlocked the homes of private citizens for their political opinions; and Tim Buck, the Communist leader who narrowly escaped murder in Kingston Penitentiary.
In this #1 best-selling book, Berton proves that Canada's political leaders failed to take the bold steps necessary to deal with the mass unemployment, drought and despair. A child of the era, he writes passionately of people starving in the midst of plenty.
The most searing decade in Canada's history began with the stock market crash of 1929 and ended with the Second World War. With formidable story-telling powers, Berton reconstructs its engrossing events the Regina Riot, the Great Birth Control Trial, the black blizzards of the dust bowl and the rise of Social Credit. The extraordinary cast of characters includes Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who praised Hitler and Mussolini but thought Winston Churchill "one of the most dangerous men I have ever known"; Maurice Duplessis, who padlocked the homes of private citizens for their political opinions; and Tim Buck, the Communist leader who narrowly escaped murder in Kingston Penitentiary.
In this #1 best-selling book, Berton proves that Canada's political leaders failed to take the bold steps necessary to deal with the mass unemployment, drought and despair. A child of the era, he writes passionately of people starving in the midst of plenty.
560 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
49 people are currently reading
733 people want to read
About the author
Pierre Berton
177 books203 followersFrom narrative histories and popular culture, to picture and coffee table books to anthologies, to stories for children to readable, historical works for youth, many of his books are now Canadian classics.
Born in 1920 and raised in the Yukon, Pierre Berton worked in Klondike mining camps during his university years. He spent four years in the army, rising from private to captain/instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston. He spent his early newspaper career in Vancouver, where at 21 he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily. He wrote columns for and was editor of Maclean's magazine, appeared on CBC's public affairs program "Close-Up" and was a permanent fixture on "Front Page Challenge" for 39 years. He was a columnist and editor for the Toronto Star, and a writer and host of a series of CBC programs.
Pierre Berton has received over 30 literary awards including the Governor-General's Award for Creative Non-Fiction (three times), the Stephen Leacock Medal of Humour, and the Gabrielle Leger National Heritage Award. He received two Nellies for his work in broadcasting, two National Newspaper awards, and the National History Society's first award for "distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history." For his immense contribution to Canadian literature and history, he has been awarded more than a dozen honourary degrees, is a member of the Newsman's Hall of Fame and a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Born in 1920 and raised in the Yukon, Pierre Berton worked in Klondike mining camps during his university years. He spent four years in the army, rising from private to captain/instructor at the Royal Military College in Kingston. He spent his early newspaper career in Vancouver, where at 21 he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily. He wrote columns for and was editor of Maclean's magazine, appeared on CBC's public affairs program "Close-Up" and was a permanent fixture on "Front Page Challenge" for 39 years. He was a columnist and editor for the Toronto Star, and a writer and host of a series of CBC programs.
Pierre Berton has received over 30 literary awards including the Governor-General's Award for Creative Non-Fiction (three times), the Stephen Leacock Medal of Humour, and the Gabrielle Leger National Heritage Award. He received two Nellies for his work in broadcasting, two National Newspaper awards, and the National History Society's first award for "distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history." For his immense contribution to Canadian literature and history, he has been awarded more than a dozen honourary degrees, is a member of the Newsman's Hall of Fame and a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 17, 2024
In late 1929, “ … the Depression began on that manic morning of October 29, to be known forever as Black Tuesday, …”
“… when the easy, buoyant era of the twenties – the roaring, turbulent, high-flying twenties – came to a dead stop. Yet those fevered October days were more than symptoms of a deeper malady, undiagnosed and untreated.”
And I had absolutely NO idea of the magnitude and depth of those issues – hard-core right wing fascism that threatened to blossom into actual support of Hitler’s Nazism; a paranoid fear of socialism or public programs which knee-jerk reactionaries labeled as Communism; xenophobia and anti-immigrant racism; the enormity of the already well-developed divide between what Hugh MacLennan would characterize as THE TWO SOLITUDES, Quebec, French Canada and the Roman Catholic Church versus English Canada and all comers; the nasty, near criminal nature of Old Boy politics at municipal, provincial, and federal levels; the decade long (and more) domination of federal politics by RB Bennett and Mackenzie King; illegal right-wing police tactics from both municipal forces and the RCMP; work farms for unemployed men more properly described as prisons and military concentration camps; hunger marches, soup kitchens, protests and riots quelled with police batons and truncheons, endemic unemployment, grasshoppers, dust bowls and multi-year crop failures; … I repeat, I had NO idea!
And, suddenly, on September 8, 1939, “ … Parliament declared that a state of war existed between Canada and Nazi Germany. On that day, the Great Depression can be said to have ended. For war, which would bring mutilation and death, would also bring jobs … Suddenly a country that had been unable to provide work for a fifth of its people found work for all. The chronicle of the Great Depression is a catalogue of ironies, but that is the bitterest irony of all.”
The greatest irony of all is that Canada’s conversion to a left-leaning country with universal government paid health care, unemployment insurance, social welfare programs of all stripes, Old Age Security, Family Allowance, minimum wage laws, accident and sickness insurance, amended income tax laws to correct serious inequalities in wealth distribution, laws limiting hours of work, and a host of other ideas which in the twenties and during the Depression would have been reviled as much dreaded Communism is attributable to Canada’s decision to participate in World War II, to combat the Nazism which so many in Canada at the time seemed to genuinely support and believe in. The bullet that we dodged in our development of the policies of that new nation was not a mere infantryman’s bullet fired from the trenches. It was a full-fledged bomb that any tank in the coming war would have been happy to launch at a Canadian population well on its way to right-wing hatred and governmental autocracy.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION should be considered as mandatory reading in any Canadian history course. It’s not light reading and it’s not a short, easy read by any stretch but it’s informative, it’s compelling, it’s gripping, and it’s genuinely eye-opening. Thank you, Pierre Berton.
Paul Weiss
An interesting personal observation:
One of the developments of that decade was the formation of the CCF, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation – the precursor of today’s NDP - a left-leaning political party whose objective was to formulate and effect change through parliament in the manner of Britain’s still youthful Labour Party. With a rather rueful shake of my head, I can recall ever so clearly my deceased father’s (he was born in 1930) pejorative scornful reference to that party “CCFers? Common Cow F—kers!” I guess that will tell you clearly enough what he thought of any new-fangled socialist ideas at the time!
“… when the easy, buoyant era of the twenties – the roaring, turbulent, high-flying twenties – came to a dead stop. Yet those fevered October days were more than symptoms of a deeper malady, undiagnosed and untreated.”
And I had absolutely NO idea of the magnitude and depth of those issues – hard-core right wing fascism that threatened to blossom into actual support of Hitler’s Nazism; a paranoid fear of socialism or public programs which knee-jerk reactionaries labeled as Communism; xenophobia and anti-immigrant racism; the enormity of the already well-developed divide between what Hugh MacLennan would characterize as THE TWO SOLITUDES, Quebec, French Canada and the Roman Catholic Church versus English Canada and all comers; the nasty, near criminal nature of Old Boy politics at municipal, provincial, and federal levels; the decade long (and more) domination of federal politics by RB Bennett and Mackenzie King; illegal right-wing police tactics from both municipal forces and the RCMP; work farms for unemployed men more properly described as prisons and military concentration camps; hunger marches, soup kitchens, protests and riots quelled with police batons and truncheons, endemic unemployment, grasshoppers, dust bowls and multi-year crop failures; … I repeat, I had NO idea!
And, suddenly, on September 8, 1939, “ … Parliament declared that a state of war existed between Canada and Nazi Germany. On that day, the Great Depression can be said to have ended. For war, which would bring mutilation and death, would also bring jobs … Suddenly a country that had been unable to provide work for a fifth of its people found work for all. The chronicle of the Great Depression is a catalogue of ironies, but that is the bitterest irony of all.”
The greatest irony of all is that Canada’s conversion to a left-leaning country with universal government paid health care, unemployment insurance, social welfare programs of all stripes, Old Age Security, Family Allowance, minimum wage laws, accident and sickness insurance, amended income tax laws to correct serious inequalities in wealth distribution, laws limiting hours of work, and a host of other ideas which in the twenties and during the Depression would have been reviled as much dreaded Communism is attributable to Canada’s decision to participate in World War II, to combat the Nazism which so many in Canada at the time seemed to genuinely support and believe in. The bullet that we dodged in our development of the policies of that new nation was not a mere infantryman’s bullet fired from the trenches. It was a full-fledged bomb that any tank in the coming war would have been happy to launch at a Canadian population well on its way to right-wing hatred and governmental autocracy.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION should be considered as mandatory reading in any Canadian history course. It’s not light reading and it’s not a short, easy read by any stretch but it’s informative, it’s compelling, it’s gripping, and it’s genuinely eye-opening. Thank you, Pierre Berton.
Paul Weiss
An interesting personal observation:
One of the developments of that decade was the formation of the CCF, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation – the precursor of today’s NDP - a left-leaning political party whose objective was to formulate and effect change through parliament in the manner of Britain’s still youthful Labour Party. With a rather rueful shake of my head, I can recall ever so clearly my deceased father’s (he was born in 1930) pejorative scornful reference to that party “CCFers? Common Cow F—kers!” I guess that will tell you clearly enough what he thought of any new-fangled socialist ideas at the time!
April 16, 2013
Pierre Berton was a prolific Canadian author of popular history, authoring over 50 books on subjects as diverse as the Klondike Gold Rush, the War of 1812 and the construction of the national railway. He was also a popular television personality - having conducted the only surviving on-camera interview with Bruce Lee in 1971 and discussed his 40-year long recreational cannabis usage shortly before his death in 2004, showing Canadians how to roll a true joint. Certainly a man of many talents and hobbies!
The Great Depression is a narrative history of the depression, a "people's history" of the period - a decade which began with the stock market crash of 1929 and ended with the beginning of World War 2. 1,5 million of Canadians were unemployed and one in five depended on public assistance - staggering statistics for a young country with a population oscillating around just 10 million inhabitants. Berton is a compelling storyteller and moves swiftly across the vast country, from Atlantic maritimes to the Pacific coast, through the drought struck prairies and starving families in Alberta and Saskatchewan, to high politics in Ontario's Ottawa. Voice is given to the multitudes hurt the most by the depression, but also to the key players of the era - prime ministers Mackenzie King and Richard B. Bennett. Mackenzie King's diaries are quoted at length, providing plenty of insight into the world of a man who was impressed by Adolf Hitler and skeptical of Winston Churchill.
Berton documents the major incidents which occurred during the Depression in vivid detail - the Regina Riot of 1935, the trial for birth control and the On-to-Ottawa Trek. Berton points out the accusing finger at those in power - the traditional English values of Peace and Order were in shambles because of lack of a Good Government. The leaders are portrayed as hopelessly unable to handle the situation and interested more in balancing the budget than providing relief to those who need it, and whose actions were radical and aimed at suppressing those perceived as revolutionaries in a mood ghastly similar to the McCarthyism which would destroy lives south of the border decades later. Deportations of politically undesirable citizens, excessive use of police force, internment camps disguised as labor camps for those who sought relief, trampling of civil, social and political freedom - all of this a result of inept government, events so remote and distant from contemporary Canada, a country famous for its openness, respect for peace and devotion to social welfare. A fascinating book for Canadians and non-Canadians alike - I will certainly be reading more of Pierre Berton and hope to learn more about the history of that vast and fascinating country.
The Great Depression is a narrative history of the depression, a "people's history" of the period - a decade which began with the stock market crash of 1929 and ended with the beginning of World War 2. 1,5 million of Canadians were unemployed and one in five depended on public assistance - staggering statistics for a young country with a population oscillating around just 10 million inhabitants. Berton is a compelling storyteller and moves swiftly across the vast country, from Atlantic maritimes to the Pacific coast, through the drought struck prairies and starving families in Alberta and Saskatchewan, to high politics in Ontario's Ottawa. Voice is given to the multitudes hurt the most by the depression, but also to the key players of the era - prime ministers Mackenzie King and Richard B. Bennett. Mackenzie King's diaries are quoted at length, providing plenty of insight into the world of a man who was impressed by Adolf Hitler and skeptical of Winston Churchill.
Berton documents the major incidents which occurred during the Depression in vivid detail - the Regina Riot of 1935, the trial for birth control and the On-to-Ottawa Trek. Berton points out the accusing finger at those in power - the traditional English values of Peace and Order were in shambles because of lack of a Good Government. The leaders are portrayed as hopelessly unable to handle the situation and interested more in balancing the budget than providing relief to those who need it, and whose actions were radical and aimed at suppressing those perceived as revolutionaries in a mood ghastly similar to the McCarthyism which would destroy lives south of the border decades later. Deportations of politically undesirable citizens, excessive use of police force, internment camps disguised as labor camps for those who sought relief, trampling of civil, social and political freedom - all of this a result of inept government, events so remote and distant from contemporary Canada, a country famous for its openness, respect for peace and devotion to social welfare. A fascinating book for Canadians and non-Canadians alike - I will certainly be reading more of Pierre Berton and hope to learn more about the history of that vast and fascinating country.
September 4, 2011
It is astonishing to think how easily and enthusiastically a man like King could be hoodwinked by Hitler (1937). It is likewise astonishing that men like Mitch Hepburn, George McCullogh, RB Bennet, William Aberhart and many others have never been brought before us as the villains they really were – men who did not believe in democracy, human rights or much at all outside of their own personal fiscal and political gain. Why are we never taught this dark part of our democratic past? You simply cannot write off archives worth of material as a writer’s bias. If anything reading this book underscores the importance of each and every one of us participating in our democracy –but I never have had much patience for people who do not vote. It is the minimum standard of democratic participation and it worries me that we are waning so badly on this score. It is scary to think how easily democracy can be undone… And it nearly was only 80 odd years ago…
July 17, 2022
The Great Depression
by Pierre Berton
I have always enjoyed Berton's histories. The Klondike book is one of the most personal and colorful histories written and I considerate it as one of my favorite reads. In fact I have read ten of his books. I consider this one on the Canadian Great Depression to be one of his best works largely because he is a good story teller, a fine historian and he lived through this period as an impressionable teenager.
You should note that Breton did not think much about Indigenous peoples and sadly there are zero stories related to their plight during the Depression.
Here are some notes.
1. The Great Depression in Canada began exactly like it did in America shortly after the stock market crash.
2. There was a red scare in both the U.S. and Canada in the 1920s and the voices only grew louder by 1929 when the Depression started. In Canada there was less tolerance than in the U.S. and the government used some Draconian and illegal measures to stop the subversion.
3. Tim Buck was a communist agitator who in 1932 landed in the Kingston Penitentiary. When a riot was started at the prison (that he had nothing to do with) he was targeted by prison officials for a convenient assassination. Because it was an amateurish job he was not hit by any of the bullets that entered his cell. The attempt would be suppressed by the government. He fought for years for his release.
4. In 1930, prime minister King was ousted because he was in denial about the severity of the Depression. His successor Bennett was just as callous and clueless but managed to hold on to his position for five years.
5. A lot of discussion of the red menace flew in the face of the Victorian views that so many Canadians held. Berton was more sympathetic to the communists than most.
6. Boxcar cowboys was an excellent chapter on hobo towns and riding the rails. Many dangers came were present but freezing to death on a train was the biggest cause of death. When you hear stories of hobos setting small fires in boxcars it is not hard to understand when it is 40 below zero.
7. The depression only worsened in the early 30s. For example, 22 men went to jail for a riot in Saskatoon that resulted in the death of an RCMP officer. 4 men were arrested in Nelson for simply organizing a jobless parade. The long arm of the law meted out swift "justice" although in many cases no real laws were broken.
8. The news from Germany even in 1934 was hard to ignore. Canadian fascist parties were on the march and although they saw little support from govt they were not squashed like other groups.
9. In 1934, Reverend A.E. Smith was charged with sedition as leader of a labor organization known as the CLDL that had strong communist ties.
10. The govt banned the Man from Mars radio broadcasts by Aberhart in Alberta because they were deemed subversive, although these programs were very much for the common people they did not portray govt in a positive light.
11. The Minimum Wage Act was routinely violated. Some workers were paid as little as two cents an hour.
12. The drought that begin in 1934 was the untold story of the Depression (Canada's anyway) and many women and children wore flour sack dresses.
13. Forced release camps were prevalent and a bit like Hotel California. They came to be known after a few years as slave camps. A paper was published in Vancouver called the Relief Camp Worker and smuggled into relief camps which lead unions forming. The labor camps did provide some work but rarely productive or meaningful work like the CCC camps to the south.
14. In 1935 came the March to Ottawa. Before communities of thousands of relief workers could get to Ottawa they were stopped in Regina where a riot ensued which PM Bennett and the govt were responsible for as they served bogus warrants on the leaders. By the end of the night, There were hundreds of injured residents and Trekkers were taken to hospitals or private homes. Those taken to a hospital were also arrested. Property damage was considerable. The police claimed 39 injuries in addition to the dead police officer, but denied that any protesters had been killed in the melee; the hospital records were subsequently altered to conceal the actual cause of death.
15. Suicides increased significantly during the depression in Canada.
16. In 1936 the Prime Minister (King was brought back to office). He was an isolationist and thus fascism was not seen as an enemy (yet).
17. Canada supplied more troops per capita to the Spanish cause (in the Spanish American War) than any country except France. Of the 1400 who went, 700 never returned.
18. 1937 was the worst year of the drought for the Prairie provinces, they produced less than 15% of the wheat that they did in 1929.
19. Aberhart the leader of Alberta had promised every family $25 a month but after being elected he had no way to pay for it. The Vancouver riot of 1938 was particularly bloody and police targeted Ukranians in the union.
20. PM King was an anti-semite so the gatherings involving the Fascists were not put down so swiftly. Not even Crystal Night in 1938 in Germany elicited any compassionate speeches for the persecuted Jews. The Canadian govt's anti-semitic immigration policies made it nearly impossible for any Jewish refugee to flee to Canada, unless they were wealthy. Instead the govt welcomed 300 Germans from Czechoslavakia who were not on the side of Hitler after the Sudetenland invasion.
21. 1939 was the last year of the Depression.
22. When hundreds of Canadian fighters from the Spanish Civil War returned home, the RCMP sent them to immigration and tried to deny them immigration to their home. One Canadian soldier said, "I went to Spain to kill as many Fascists as possible; that's all the less to kill when they get here."
23. In a stroke of genius, PM King invited King George VI to a royal tour of Canada, and Canadians by the millions turned out to cheer for the Monarch.
24. The Depression ended in 1939 as Canada entered the war and more public funds became available and the drought ended.
4 stars easy.
by Pierre Berton
I have always enjoyed Berton's histories. The Klondike book is one of the most personal and colorful histories written and I considerate it as one of my favorite reads. In fact I have read ten of his books. I consider this one on the Canadian Great Depression to be one of his best works largely because he is a good story teller, a fine historian and he lived through this period as an impressionable teenager.
You should note that Breton did not think much about Indigenous peoples and sadly there are zero stories related to their plight during the Depression.
Here are some notes.
1. The Great Depression in Canada began exactly like it did in America shortly after the stock market crash.
2. There was a red scare in both the U.S. and Canada in the 1920s and the voices only grew louder by 1929 when the Depression started. In Canada there was less tolerance than in the U.S. and the government used some Draconian and illegal measures to stop the subversion.
3. Tim Buck was a communist agitator who in 1932 landed in the Kingston Penitentiary. When a riot was started at the prison (that he had nothing to do with) he was targeted by prison officials for a convenient assassination. Because it was an amateurish job he was not hit by any of the bullets that entered his cell. The attempt would be suppressed by the government. He fought for years for his release.
4. In 1930, prime minister King was ousted because he was in denial about the severity of the Depression. His successor Bennett was just as callous and clueless but managed to hold on to his position for five years.
5. A lot of discussion of the red menace flew in the face of the Victorian views that so many Canadians held. Berton was more sympathetic to the communists than most.
6. Boxcar cowboys was an excellent chapter on hobo towns and riding the rails. Many dangers came were present but freezing to death on a train was the biggest cause of death. When you hear stories of hobos setting small fires in boxcars it is not hard to understand when it is 40 below zero.
7. The depression only worsened in the early 30s. For example, 22 men went to jail for a riot in Saskatoon that resulted in the death of an RCMP officer. 4 men were arrested in Nelson for simply organizing a jobless parade. The long arm of the law meted out swift "justice" although in many cases no real laws were broken.
8. The news from Germany even in 1934 was hard to ignore. Canadian fascist parties were on the march and although they saw little support from govt they were not squashed like other groups.
9. In 1934, Reverend A.E. Smith was charged with sedition as leader of a labor organization known as the CLDL that had strong communist ties.
10. The govt banned the Man from Mars radio broadcasts by Aberhart in Alberta because they were deemed subversive, although these programs were very much for the common people they did not portray govt in a positive light.
11. The Minimum Wage Act was routinely violated. Some workers were paid as little as two cents an hour.
12. The drought that begin in 1934 was the untold story of the Depression (Canada's anyway) and many women and children wore flour sack dresses.
13. Forced release camps were prevalent and a bit like Hotel California. They came to be known after a few years as slave camps. A paper was published in Vancouver called the Relief Camp Worker and smuggled into relief camps which lead unions forming. The labor camps did provide some work but rarely productive or meaningful work like the CCC camps to the south.
14. In 1935 came the March to Ottawa. Before communities of thousands of relief workers could get to Ottawa they were stopped in Regina where a riot ensued which PM Bennett and the govt were responsible for as they served bogus warrants on the leaders. By the end of the night, There were hundreds of injured residents and Trekkers were taken to hospitals or private homes. Those taken to a hospital were also arrested. Property damage was considerable. The police claimed 39 injuries in addition to the dead police officer, but denied that any protesters had been killed in the melee; the hospital records were subsequently altered to conceal the actual cause of death.
15. Suicides increased significantly during the depression in Canada.
16. In 1936 the Prime Minister (King was brought back to office). He was an isolationist and thus fascism was not seen as an enemy (yet).
17. Canada supplied more troops per capita to the Spanish cause (in the Spanish American War) than any country except France. Of the 1400 who went, 700 never returned.
18. 1937 was the worst year of the drought for the Prairie provinces, they produced less than 15% of the wheat that they did in 1929.
19. Aberhart the leader of Alberta had promised every family $25 a month but after being elected he had no way to pay for it. The Vancouver riot of 1938 was particularly bloody and police targeted Ukranians in the union.
20. PM King was an anti-semite so the gatherings involving the Fascists were not put down so swiftly. Not even Crystal Night in 1938 in Germany elicited any compassionate speeches for the persecuted Jews. The Canadian govt's anti-semitic immigration policies made it nearly impossible for any Jewish refugee to flee to Canada, unless they were wealthy. Instead the govt welcomed 300 Germans from Czechoslavakia who were not on the side of Hitler after the Sudetenland invasion.
21. 1939 was the last year of the Depression.
22. When hundreds of Canadian fighters from the Spanish Civil War returned home, the RCMP sent them to immigration and tried to deny them immigration to their home. One Canadian soldier said, "I went to Spain to kill as many Fascists as possible; that's all the less to kill when they get here."
23. In a stroke of genius, PM King invited King George VI to a royal tour of Canada, and Canadians by the millions turned out to cheer for the Monarch.
24. The Depression ended in 1939 as Canada entered the war and more public funds became available and the drought ended.
4 stars easy.
June 15, 2016
One day Paul Gross should direct a movie about Mackenzie King's mom and call it Ghost Mom.
The school system in Newfoundland did a terrible job of educating me about Canadian history. I suspect this is also true in other provinces, Canadians are in general ignorant to our past. And it's a shame because it's riveting stuff.
This is my third Pierre Berton book and it won't be my last. The way he captures history in an exciting, chronological narrative makes a subject many might view as boring anything but. With direct quotes from Prime Minister Mackenzie King's prolific diaries, personal stories of heartache from dust bowl victims in the Prairies, to astonishingly sad and brutal accounts of Canadians being punished for their political views. Nothing about this account of Canada during the Great Depression is boring. Berton is Canada's Ken Burns, or I guess really Ken Burns is America's Pierre Berton. They both excel at making history relevant and exciting.
Canada was a shitshow in the 1930s. A universe away from the social democracy that in many ways in 2016 is viewed as the envy of the world for openness, multiculturalism, and liberal values. We had two Prime Minister's who would not acknowledge that the Depression was occurring. Clinging to antiquated laissez-faire economic policy and the belief that a balanced budget could magically fix the mounting unemployment problem, they viewed FDR's New Deal as insanity. Yes, there was a time Canada was more conservative than our American neighbours. Not only this but at various times both PM Bennet and PM King talked of their great admiration of Mussolini and Hitler. Also, during both of King's tenures as Prime Minister he was seeking advice on a fairly regular basis from his mother and former PM Wilfred Laurier. Which doesn't necessarily sound noteworthy until you realize both were dead at the time. The man who led this country through WWII spoke to ghosts. Like I said, this stuff ain't boring.
Meanwhile Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario had wannabe fascists as Premiers. Donald Trump would have liked these guys. Stomping on free speech, vilifying immigrants, arresting people for their political views, union busting, etc. As if the devastation of the Depression wasn't enough, Canada's political leaders did practically everything to make the lives of their citizens worse, instead of better.
Perhaps because of the magnificent government spending during the war that followed, but most assuredly as a rejection of the insanity, ignorance, and brutality of these Depression years Canada morphed to a country that saw great benefits in socialism. Still seeing benefits of free markets but also the understanding that empathy and government spending could help those less fortunate and those that need a hand.
History puts present day problems in context. We do ourselves a disservice by ignoring it. If you've never read a Berton book, this a great place to start. If books like this were used in schools, books that made history come alive, people would grow up being far less averse to engaging in the subject. If you can't tell by now, I loved this book.
The school system in Newfoundland did a terrible job of educating me about Canadian history. I suspect this is also true in other provinces, Canadians are in general ignorant to our past. And it's a shame because it's riveting stuff.
This is my third Pierre Berton book and it won't be my last. The way he captures history in an exciting, chronological narrative makes a subject many might view as boring anything but. With direct quotes from Prime Minister Mackenzie King's prolific diaries, personal stories of heartache from dust bowl victims in the Prairies, to astonishingly sad and brutal accounts of Canadians being punished for their political views. Nothing about this account of Canada during the Great Depression is boring. Berton is Canada's Ken Burns, or I guess really Ken Burns is America's Pierre Berton. They both excel at making history relevant and exciting.
Canada was a shitshow in the 1930s. A universe away from the social democracy that in many ways in 2016 is viewed as the envy of the world for openness, multiculturalism, and liberal values. We had two Prime Minister's who would not acknowledge that the Depression was occurring. Clinging to antiquated laissez-faire economic policy and the belief that a balanced budget could magically fix the mounting unemployment problem, they viewed FDR's New Deal as insanity. Yes, there was a time Canada was more conservative than our American neighbours. Not only this but at various times both PM Bennet and PM King talked of their great admiration of Mussolini and Hitler. Also, during both of King's tenures as Prime Minister he was seeking advice on a fairly regular basis from his mother and former PM Wilfred Laurier. Which doesn't necessarily sound noteworthy until you realize both were dead at the time. The man who led this country through WWII spoke to ghosts. Like I said, this stuff ain't boring.
Meanwhile Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario had wannabe fascists as Premiers. Donald Trump would have liked these guys. Stomping on free speech, vilifying immigrants, arresting people for their political views, union busting, etc. As if the devastation of the Depression wasn't enough, Canada's political leaders did practically everything to make the lives of their citizens worse, instead of better.
Perhaps because of the magnificent government spending during the war that followed, but most assuredly as a rejection of the insanity, ignorance, and brutality of these Depression years Canada morphed to a country that saw great benefits in socialism. Still seeing benefits of free markets but also the understanding that empathy and government spending could help those less fortunate and those that need a hand.
History puts present day problems in context. We do ourselves a disservice by ignoring it. If you've never read a Berton book, this a great place to start. If books like this were used in schools, books that made history come alive, people would grow up being far less averse to engaging in the subject. If you can't tell by now, I loved this book.
June 29, 2018
This was a good book to read but a depressing one. If you want to see how cruel and evil Canadians were treated by their governments during the Dirty Thirties this book will break your heart. People today say they often wish Trudeau was their POTUS Instead of Trump. Well, I am willing to be Canadians would have traded McKenzie King and R B Bennett for Roosevelt in a flash. Both these men were immensely wealthy. They were part of the Anglo elite in Ontario. They cared nothing for the people and everything for 'balanced budgets' and 'no deficit' They suspended the rule of law, trampled all over the civil rights of the common person and let millions of Canadians starve in this era. They allowed a farm woman to poison her 6 children and then shoot herself because she couldn't feed them. Children could only have a meal on alternate days. Some could only go to school every second day because they only had one dress. The women worked in clothing made of gunny sacks with no underwear or shoes. Quebec, because they were ruled by the Catholic Church, was worst. I could go on and on but you have to read it to believe it. Of special interest to Americans might be the tale of 'Bible Bill' Aberhart who was premier of Alberta. His story is a template for the Trump policies in the USA today. Just as vicious and evil in the name of religion.
March 11, 2023
Piere Berton, the king of Canadiana, successfully humanises the suffering felt across the Dominion during the Great Depression. He achieves this by compiling and narrativising the harrowing personal experiences of numerous Canadian families driven into poverty by economic and social forces beyond their control. In many instances, causing once-prosperous families to the point of starvation or suicide. Berton particularly underscored the violence directed at leftist organisers by the R.C.M.P., goon-squads, and local police departments for seeking to challenge the laissez-faire approaches taken by big business as well as liberal and conservative governments at the provincial and federal levels.
I must admit that my knowledge of Canadian labour history is severely lacking–beyond the details of the infamous 1919 Winnipeg Strike–and this book added greater depth to my grasp of the period. Two anecdotes that stuck with me were the R.C.M.P.’s criminal behaviour during the 1931 Estevan Riot and the attempted assassination of Tim Buck while he was imprisoned on trumped-up charges. I sometimes wished the work had a more serious analysis of Canada’s political economy. Still, as a work of popular history, it did a good job of portraying the period.
Rating: 3.5/5
I must admit that my knowledge of Canadian labour history is severely lacking–beyond the details of the infamous 1919 Winnipeg Strike–and this book added greater depth to my grasp of the period. Two anecdotes that stuck with me were the R.C.M.P.’s criminal behaviour during the 1931 Estevan Riot and the attempted assassination of Tim Buck while he was imprisoned on trumped-up charges. I sometimes wished the work had a more serious analysis of Canada’s political economy. Still, as a work of popular history, it did a good job of portraying the period.
Rating: 3.5/5
May 5, 2017
I'm a huge fan of Berton, not only for his Canadian history books, but the fact that he was a great Canadian who is too forgotten today. Unlike many of his books though, The Great Depression is a bit slanted. Berton lived through that decade as a young person, and his personal viewpoint seems to enter into things a bit too often. I prefer Barry Broadfoot's Ten Lost Years when it comes to a Canadian version of the Depression.
February 7, 2014
I've often said it will take me the rest of my life to get over being the child of a child of the depression. My parents' Depression era experiences have reverberated through the generations. Now I understand what they and their parents went through. This book should be required high school reading.
March 14, 2023
I learned so much from this book. So much discrimination and racism. A real eye-opener to how people view Canada as an oasis. I would have liked more stories of regular Canadians instead of politicians. Although, the unnecessary suicides by those effected by the Depression is sombre to read.
January 4, 2013
I grew up hearing my Grandmother speak of her experiences on her farm during the great depression, but reading this was eye-opening to how horrific the situation was. Grab some Kleenex if you choose to read this book!
July 22, 2011
A fast and compelling read about the Great Depression in Canada. Berton's outrage makes this history anything but dry.
August 3, 2012
There many similarities to the process that is happening today but not quite as dramatic on a national level.
April 16, 2019
I'm a little embarrassed that it has taken me this long to read this book.
Pierre Berton, Canada's late, greatest popular historian, wrote The Great Depression way back in 1990, and what an eye-opening book it is. I knew the great depression was hard on Canada, but I didn't know just how bad it was. You will not recognize the Canada of 1929-39. Communists, or even suspected communists, were thrown in jail. Thousands of people were deported for little or no reason. Young men were forced into work camps for pennies a day. Anti-semitism was rampant, and quite open. The two prime ministers of the time – R.B. Bennett and Mackenzie King – were openly contemptuous of the poor. There's a lot about Alberta in the book, as it saw the rise of 'Bible' Bill Aberhart and his dangerous and crackpot Social Credit party, while in Quebec the government's 'Padlock Law' literally padlocked any building suspected of distributing 'communist' material. And on top of that, the worst drought in our history laid waste to the west.
The Great Depression should be required reading for anyone with an interest in Canadian history.
Pierre Berton, Canada's late, greatest popular historian, wrote The Great Depression way back in 1990, and what an eye-opening book it is. I knew the great depression was hard on Canada, but I didn't know just how bad it was. You will not recognize the Canada of 1929-39. Communists, or even suspected communists, were thrown in jail. Thousands of people were deported for little or no reason. Young men were forced into work camps for pennies a day. Anti-semitism was rampant, and quite open. The two prime ministers of the time – R.B. Bennett and Mackenzie King – were openly contemptuous of the poor. There's a lot about Alberta in the book, as it saw the rise of 'Bible' Bill Aberhart and his dangerous and crackpot Social Credit party, while in Quebec the government's 'Padlock Law' literally padlocked any building suspected of distributing 'communist' material. And on top of that, the worst drought in our history laid waste to the west.
The Great Depression should be required reading for anyone with an interest in Canadian history.
May 13, 2018
Another incredible book by Berton. His explanation & detail of the Great Depression within Canada are incredible. There is no one who can manage to bring Canadian history alive like Berton can. There were moments in this book I was completely inthralled; learning about the history of Hobo's in Canada, riding the rails, the Trek-on-Ottawa and the persecution of supposed "Communists" in Canada was eye opening about a nation I always assumed was so welcoming .
Berton also reveals Canada's Anti-Semitic history surrounding the lead up to WWII. A shameful chapter of our past which Trudeau apologized for earlier this week.
There are stretches of this book that were bogged down in the Political sphere of the times - I didn't anticipate this and my eyes glazed over a few times. Besides that, an amazing work by a national treasure.
Berton also reveals Canada's Anti-Semitic history surrounding the lead up to WWII. A shameful chapter of our past which Trudeau apologized for earlier this week.
There are stretches of this book that were bogged down in the Political sphere of the times - I didn't anticipate this and my eyes glazed over a few times. Besides that, an amazing work by a national treasure.
October 1, 2021
Not nearly as entertaining as Berton’s better-known works such as Klondike and The Last Spike, but an important insight into an unseemly and forgotten chapter of Canada’s history. This is a long and somewhat unwieldy book that was obviously very close to Berton’s heart. The only constant thread through the narrative is the appalling behaviour of Canada’s federal and provincial governments throughout the 1930s, who consistently end up on the wrong side of history through their regressive policies and actions, whether it’s refusing to provide minimal welfare assistance, trampling on civil rights and due process to fight the imagined threats of communism and anti-clericalism, or closing the gates to Jewish refugees and cozying up to Hitler. The Keynesian welfare state that emerged from World War II made Canada a very different place.
October 27, 2024
Non-fiction - Berton offers a well-researched and personal account of Canadian history from 1929 to 1939. I am saddened to the similarities in government actions between then and now. In both cases, right wing governments ignore the plight of their voters while kowtowing to the business elites. I am disappointed to read Berton's accounts of ant-Semitism, police brutality, wifully blind politicians and the inaccurate fear of a Communist takeover. Instead of having a Roosevelt and his New Deal we were stuck with Bennett and King. They were not the politicians needed for the time. It is eye opening to read that in 1939, with the outbreak of WWII, the purse strings suddenly opened so these unemployed men could be shipped overseas.
Canadian references - set in Canada
Pharmacy references - mention of Turner's Drug store in Saskatoon; one character is a pharmacist.
Canadian references - set in Canada
Pharmacy references - mention of Turner's Drug store in Saskatoon; one character is a pharmacist.
Read
March 31, 2020A fantastic narrative account of the Great Depression, breaking down each year into bite-sized sections. Pierre Berton, sympathetic to the many Canadian families pushing up against federal and provincial governments looking for help, explores the mindset behind the decisions of Prime Ministers R.B. Bennett and William Lyon Mackenzie King who refuse to financially support the victims of terrible dust storms, droughts, and famine across the country. Most interesting to me was the extent to which Canadians of that era were anti-communist AND anti-Semitic. It seems that more people sympathized with Hitler's programme than we normally hear about, including the MP for Waterloo North. Also, J.S. Woodsworth is my new hero.
April 20, 2021
It is a comprehensive story of the Canadian depression (1930-1939). Berton as usual makes history both readable and enjoyable for the most part. I heard a little too much about King and other politicians of the time. There are some biases expressed by the author which are easy to see in hindsight. The politicians clearly received a failing mark from the author, especially the two prime ministers of the day. On the other hand, the labour leaders were seen as more hero like. What a desperate, desperate time. My parents as children lived through these, though fortunately both had working fathers, my grandfathers. I see some the traits in my parents that were affected by the times that they grew up in.
March 14, 2024
I always thought that Canada was a country that had less bigotry and that our government was always for the people in general. Pierre Berton as lifted the wool from my eyes. Antisemitism, racism, and political intolerance are just a small fraction of what I thought were small problems in Canada. The more books I read by this author, the more I realize how deeply troubled our past is and how much progress we've made as a nation.
Next hardcover: "Niagara: A History of The Falls" by Pierre Berton (1992).
Next hardcover: "Niagara: A History of The Falls" by Pierre Berton (1992).
December 15, 2020
Pandemic depression
I picked up this book because I had read several Berton books . Always curious how people lived through a depression. Here we are in the midst of the pandemic and a real world crisis. The threat of the conditions of a depression seem very real today. One wonders if we could be as steely about living as these people . Back then it was the Jews now it will be Latinos. Will we allow their migration?
I picked up this book because I had read several Berton books . Always curious how people lived through a depression. Here we are in the midst of the pandemic and a real world crisis. The threat of the conditions of a depression seem very real today. One wonders if we could be as steely about living as these people . Back then it was the Jews now it will be Latinos. Will we allow their migration?
April 24, 2023
Outstanding historical reference, well written and based on extensive research. The ineptitude of Canadian politicians, including Mackenzie King, Richard Bennett and Maurice Duplessis, to name just a few is laid bare by this very talented writer. The book also exposes the rampant anti-semitism that existed in Canada as well as the anti-communist hysteria, the surprising support for facism and the unjust laws adopted by both the federal and provincial governments.
July 23, 2025
This book took me a great time to finish. Pierre Berton makes Canadian history comes to life. Anyone that wishes to complain of the current status in Canada needs to read books such as this. This will enlighten them about how terrible and unjust our past could be. Great things have been done, but a great deal of racism, sexism, criminal intentions are no longer acceptable by the general public. We need to be ever vigilant that no one brings back these "good old days".
November 15, 2021
I was aware of the great depression and aware of the hardships and some of the stories, but this book opened my eyes to the great depression in its fullness: the riots, the make work projects, the hatred of communists and Jews, what desperation caused people to do, the politicians, the newspapers, and more.
July 26, 2025
Narrative history: a searing indictment of Canada’s Depression-era leaders, who refused to challenge their own assumptions and experiment with government stimulus in the face of widespread misery. Who instead employed police repression against the poor and their leftist champions. Strong anecdotes. Mackenzie King a confirmed weirdo.
November 16, 2025
great telling of a period mostly written out of most Canadians understanding of their history. the depths of poverty and callousness Canadians experienced is shocking as is the ignorance and brutality of the Canadian government. takes half the book for the government to even realize there is a depression happening.
June 2, 2019
Berton weaves in so many stories to this story of politics, nationalism, and the Canadian psyche of the Depression years, that I couldn't stop reading. It opened my eyes to several very disappointing things that were done by the people and government of my beloved country.
September 28, 2019
Very educational. It was mind opening regarding how inept the Canadian government was, how unwilling they were to help the people or try anything different and the rampant racism in Canada that existed at the time (and still does).
February 14, 2024
My parents lived through the Depression in different parts of the country and I wanted to know more about that time. I was never taught anything about it in school, so I am making up for it now. Excerpts from this text would be amazing in our history curricula. Why don't we know more?
May 24, 2021
Wow. Going through 2020 was a piece of cake compared to the Depression years
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews