The 1920s and the 1930s were very separate decades in Canada. The economy between the time periods shifts from prosperity to destruction. Entertainment also evolves over the decades. Finally, women’s roles changed after the effects of the Great Depression. The economy, entertainment, and the roles of women make the 1920s and 1930s quite different.
Firstly, the economic situation in Canada goes from being perceived as prosperous and thriving to one of the greatest recessions in history. The 1920s were a happy time for Canada as the country made a lot of money from the abundance of natural resources, such as wood, minerals, and wheat. There was a large rise in technology in the 1920s which created a lot of economic growth. For example, the number of families with a telephone went from 1 out of 4 in 1920 to 3 out of 4 in 1929 because telephones became more accessible to purchase.¹ Additionally, the 1920s were good for employment as only under 5% of Canada’s population between 1922 and 1928 were unemployed, which is the optimal amount for a country.²
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People soon learned that the consumer culture of the 1920s was unsustainable and had underlying effects, such as overproduction and dependence on natural resources, that led to an extreme economic recession. The Great Depression was a time of poverty for Canadians, who were affected by the various effects of the time. Many people were forced to sell their belongings to afford the costs of living due to being unemployed or having a lowered salary.³ The percentage of unemployed citizens in June 1933 in Canada was 19.3%.⁴ Additionally, the Gross National Expenditure of Canada went down by 42% between 1929 and 1933.⁵ This shows that a major part of the population was affected by the Great Depression, and the economy reached a rapid downfall since the