CANADA HISTORY

Bennett in Power

The 1930 federal election in Canada stands as one of the most pivotal and politically charged moments in Canadian history. At the heart of the political landscape was Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who had led the Liberal Party through a prosperous period in the 1920s. However, as the Great Depression deepened, King remained optimistic about his party’s standing and believed that the economic downturn, marked by the 1929 stock market crash, was merely a temporary adjustment. King’s misreading of the gravity of the situation and his subsequent political missteps, including his infamous “five-cent piece” comment, would come to define not only his political fate but also Canada’s direction during one of its most difficult eras.

The depression was already taking hold in Canada by the early months of 1930. On January 29, 1930, a delegation of political leaders gathered in Winnipeg to discuss the rapidly increasing problem of unemployment and the growing sense of despair in the West, where drought and plummeting agricultural prices were hitting hardest. They approached Ottawa with the expectation that King would address their concerns with urgent federal intervention. Instead, King, adhering to his belief that the economic problems were temporary, dismissed the delegation's appeals, asserting that unemployment relief was a provincial and municipal matter, not one that fell under federal jurisdiction. His reluctance to act set the stage for a wider national debate.

When Parliament convened on February 20, 1930, the situation had worsened, but King and his Liberal government remained resistant to acknowledging the full extent of the economic crisis. It wasn’t until March 31st that unemployment relief was formally debated in the House of Commons. Even then, King downplayed the situation, claiming that the economic problems were seasonal and that no drastic federal intervention was needed. Ontario and Quebec, the country's economic powerhouses, had yet to feel the brunt of the depression, which reinforced King’s belief that the issue was being overstated by opposition parties and regional representatives, particularly from the Western provinces.

The Conservatives, under the leadership of R.B. Bennett, strongly disagreed, claiming that the country’s economy was rapidly deteriorating. As pressure mounted, King made a crucial political mistake during a debate on April 3rd, 1930, when he famously declared that he would not give "a single cent" of federal money to any Tory government for unemployment relief. He added, “With respect to giving moneys out of the federal treasury to any Tory Government in this country for these alleged unemployment purposes, I would not give them a five-cent piece.” This offhand comment would become a lightning rod for public criticism, especially in provinces governed by Conservative administrations, such as Ontario and Alberta. King's remark symbolized, for many, the Liberal government’s disconnect from the suffering masses.

The fallout from King’s "five-cent piece" comment was immediate and devastating. As the press seized upon his words, the Liberals found themselves on the defensive, and King struggled to distance himself from the statement. By April 8th, King realized the damage that had been done, but it was too late to undo the political harm. Seeing no other option, King decided to call a federal election for July 28, 1930, confident that his party’s platform of cautious economic management would still win the day.

Meanwhile, R.B. Bennett skillfully leveraged the five-cent piece blunder as a central theme of his campaign, contrasting King's inaction with the Conservative promise of direct relief and bold economic intervention. A wealthy lawyer from Calgary, Bennett campaigned on the idea that Canadians needed work, not charity, and he positioned himself as the man who could restore the country’s prosperity. His central promise was to impose higher tariffs to protect Canadian industries and jobs, a position that resonated with many voters despite the global economic problems caused by protectionism.

The summer of 1930 was brutal. Over 200,000 Canadians were unemployed, drought conditions ravaged the prairies, and wheat prices had fallen by over 50%. Bennett, taking full advantage of the situation, delivered a powerful speech in Winnipeg on June 9th, where he promised that under a Conservative government, unemployment would be eradicated and the economy would be revitalized. For the first time in Canadian history, the speech was broadcast on the radio, allowing Bennett’s message to reach households across the country. King, listening in, remained dismissive, convinced that Canadians would not be swayed by what he saw as empty promises.

Bennett continued to hammer home his message on the campaign trail, ridiculing King’s five-cent piece comment at every turn. He painted King as out of touch, while he offered himself as a practical and dynamic leader who understood the struggles of ordinary Canadians. “Mr. King promises consideration of the problem of unemployment,” Bennett said, “I promise to end unemployment. Which plan do you like best?”

King, for his part, tried to focus his campaign on trade and taxation, advocating for a continuation of Liberal policies that had governed Canada through the prosperous 1920s. However, as he traveled across the country, King was met with boos, jeers, and relentless criticism over his five-cent piece remark. He struggled to connect with voters, and his message failed to resonate in a country that was clearly looking for more immediate and radical solutions to the economic crisis. On July 28th, 1930, Canadians went to the polls. The results were a decisive victory for R.B. Bennett and the Conservatives, who won 137 seats to the Liberals’ 91, with smaller parties taking the remaining seats. Bennett’s victory was seen as a mandate to tackle the worsening economic depression head-on. However, as history would show, Bennett’s promises proved far more difficult to fulfill than he had anticipated. The Great Depression would intensify over the next five years, making Bennett’s time in office one of the most challenging in Canadian history. Despite his best efforts to combat the economic collapse with tariff increases and public works programs, Bennett was ultimately unable to reverse the tide of the depression. By the time he called another election in 1935, the public had grown weary of his leadership, and the Liberals under Mackenzie King were seen as a welcome alternative. Bennett left office a broken man, deeply disillusioned by his inability to save the country from its economic woes. He eventually left Canada for England, where he lived out the rest of his life in relative obscurity, embittered by his experience as Prime Minister. King, on the other hand, bided his time during the Conservative government’s struggles, waiting for his chance to return to power. The 1935 election saw King and the Liberals regain their position, and King would go on to serve as Prime Minister for many more years, guiding Canada through World War II and leaving an indelible mark on the nation’s history. The 1930 election and the events surrounding it were crucial moments in Canadian history. They highlighted the deep divisions in the country over how to handle the economic crisis and reflected the growing role of the federal government in addressing issues like unemployment and poverty. King’s “five-cent piece” remark is remembered as a key misstep in his long political career, one that cost him the 1930 election but also set the stage for his eventual political comeback. The legacy of R.B. Bennett, meanwhile, remains one of a leader who tried, and ultimately failed, to stem the tide of one of the greatest economic disasters in world history.