"FORWARD TO A FARM" The Back-to-the-Land Movernent as a Relief Initiative in Saskatchewan during the Great Depression DAWN SUZANNE BOWEN A thesis submitted to the Department of Geography in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen's University Kingston, Ontario, Canada Jmuary, 1998 copyright O Dawn Suzanne Bowen, 1998 Nationaj Library Bibliothèque nationale I*m of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliog raphic Services senrices bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington OttawaON K1AON4 Ottawa ON KiA ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive Licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distnbute or seU reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/filrn, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othewise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Abstrac t During the early years of the Depression in Canada, political leaders relied on rnake-work projects and direct relief to alleviate distress among the unernployed. Unlike Franklin Roosevelt, the U.S. president who willingly experimented with bold and innovative prograrns. Prime Minister R. B. Bennett refused to take any political garnbles, and assured Canadians that his tariff policies would enable Canada to "blast her way" into world markets. His reliance on traditional, but inadequate, economic stimuli only served to increase the suffering of indigent citizens. In the spring of 1932, Bennett's Labor Minister, W. A. Gordon, introduced a program of land settlement that held out some hope to individual farnilies. Recognizing that many of the unemployed in the nation's cities were recent amvals from the farm, officials formulated a scheme whereby those people could be retumed to the land and provide for their own support. Although only a small number of the unemployed would actually be assisted in this manner, proponents of the plan believed that moneys spent to re-establish families were more worthy expenditures than direct relief. This back-to-the-land scherne was greeted with both optimism and skepticism, a view that was largely shaped by one's political persuasion. This dissertation traces the development of the back-to-the-land policy in Canada, and examines the movement in Saskatchewan where unemployed farnilies from Saskatoon and other Saskatchewan cities created new communities in the northern bush lands. Two communities of city people that were created in northwestem Saskatchewan through this process developed in different ways. One, known as "Little Saskatoon," benefited from its location on fairly good land, close ties of family and fnendship, and the industnousness of its citizens to become a viable comrnunity that existed for more than two decades. Only a dozen miles away, the settlement of Tamarack, plagued by poor soils, social disunity, and its residents poor work ethic, disintegrated afier a few unhappy years. The experiences of these two places demonstrate the positive and negative outcornes of a policy of settling urban relief recipients on the land. This study concludes that the back-to-the-land movement was not a panacea for the myriad problems associated with the Depression, but that it did offer some alternative to bare subsistence in the city, where the prospects for gainful employment were virtually non-existent. The dissertation further suggests that no govemment was willing to expend the funds necessary to support a Full-fledged back-to-the-land movement, and that land settlement offered only temporary respite from a populace clamoring for action. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. GOVERNMENTS' ROLE IN DEVELOPING THE CANADIAN WEST 11 Immigration and Railway Policies 13 Federal PoIicies in the Post-War Era 18 Soldier Settlement 19 Provincial Policies 24 Conclusions 32 3. B ACK-TO-THE-LAND MOVEMENTS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 34 Revitalizing Lives and Livelihoods 36 hproving Rural Life in Canada 40 Rural Life and the Popular Press 50 Back-to-the-Land During the Depression 56 Back-to-the-Land: Meaning and Implication 62 4. GOVERNMENTS' RESPONSE TO THE DEPRESSION Canada in the Depression Econornic Collapse in the Prairies and Govemment Response Saskatchewan, 1929- 1937 The "Hub City of the West": Saskatoon, 192% 1937 5. BACK-TO-THE-LAND AS A RESPONSE TO THE DEPRESSION 98 Saskatoon's Village Settlement Scheme 100 The Saskatchewan Land Settlement Act 104 Federai Back-to-the-Land Initiatives 114 Saskatchewan's Participation in the Federal Land Seulement Prograrns 127 6. "LITTLE SASKATOON" The Saskatoon Initiative The Surnmer of 193 1 Relief Work Developing a Homestead Living on the Land Measures of Agncultural Progress Social Life The Impact of World War II on the Comrnunity The Settlers Remember 7. TAMARACK The SettIement Process A Struggle for Survival An Absence of Community The End of Tamarack 8. REFLECTIONS ON THE BACK-TO-THE-LAND MOVEMENT Northem Saskatchewan Relief Settlement or Agricultural Coionization? An Agricultural Nation The Final Andysis APPENDICES A. A Note on Sources B. A Note on the Maps C. Dominion-Provincial Relief Settlement Agreement, 1932 D. Application for Settlement, Province of Saskatchewan, Relief Settiement Plan, 1932 VTTA Acknowledgments Many people have supported me both professiondly and personally dunng the preparation of this dissertation. Peter Goheen, my supervisor, has been an influentid figure from the start. He has provided critical commentary on the earlier drafts of this work, encouragement to dig deeper, and has also given me tremendous moral support. Sirnilarly. Anne Godlewska has on more than one occasion rerninded me that the task was not insurmountable and that 1 would succeed. Brian Osborne shared with me his love of the Prairies and his interest in the Canadian National Railway as an agent of western development. Ian McKay gave insightful commentary on the project both in its formative stages and in the finaJ version. John Hudson of Northwestem University graciously served as the external member of the dissertation comrnittee, and provided numerous helpful comrnents. One often wonders how important each of the many people named in the acknowledgments actually are and how significant was their contribution. Without their assistance. this research would not be complete. At the Archives of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon office, I wish to extend my gratitude to Nadine Small, Maureen Fox, and D'Arcy Hande who greeted me day after day with smiles and encouragement, and also took a sincere interest in my work. At the archives in Regina, Chns Gebhardt and Tim Novak helped to identify sources and photographs, and Susan Millen made an impossible task possible by her accommodation. At the City of Saskatoon archives, Elizabeth Diamond provided initial access to an uncatalogued array of materials from the city clerk's files. She graciously brought out box after box, and was always willing to search for additional materials. Erik Anderson has now taken over her position and has served as a gracious host for two additional forays into the archives. Ron Jaremko of the Local History Room of the i v Saskatoon Public Library also facilitated access to photographs and local histories. Although most of the staff archivists at the National Archives in Ottawa remained anonymous, their cooperation is sincerely appreciated. James Gouger initially produced Figure 2 for a journal article, and modified it for inclusion in this dissertation. Sheny Dowdy, who produced dl of the other maps, overcame the mathematical formulas and made many improvements to my original sketch maps. A number of funding agencies have made this dissertation possible. First, 1 must express my sincerest gratitude to the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States (The Fulbright Program) for awarding me the Amoco Production Company Fulbright Scholarship in 1992. This funding pemitted me to complete my first year of doctoral study at Queen's University and to travel to western Canada to explore research possibilities. 1 am also grateful to the Academic Relations Office of the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. for its generous support of my dissertation research through its Canadian Studies Graduate Student Fellowship, which 1 received in 1995. 1 received a Graduate Dean's Grant for Doctoral Field Travel from the Office of Research Services at Queen's University, which enabled me to conduct research in Saskatchewan during the summer of 1994. Finally, 1 also thank Queen's University for its support of my educational program by awarding me the R. Samuel McLaughlin Fellowship in 1993-94, and Queen's Graduate Fellowships in both 1994-95 and 1995-96. Finally, in this long list of people and agencies, there is my husband, Marshall Bowen, who really made this al1 possible. Mere words cannot express my appreciation for his support and encouragement. He had been a sounding board, critic, advisor, and proof reader, and has taken each