On to the Ottawa Trek

Thank you for listening!

Injustice or Contribution?

I Believe that this event was in fact, a contribution to Canada. This event, caused the government to have a larger respect for their citizens and make more decisions with the betterment of the Canadian population in mind. It also taught Canada as a Country that bad things happen when they don't look out for each other, thus causing more unity in public decisions and more equality for each class bettering the future of the country overall.

After the Riot...

A few days after the chaotic events in Regina, the trekkers returned home to BC and continued to live life as it was before the Trek. Then the glorious federal election came around and a new Prime Minister was elected, leaving Former PM Bennett dethroned, and his admired relief camps closed down.

YAAY!

Meanwhile in Ottawa...

While the leaders of the trek continued to Ottawa to talk; once they arrived and partook in their meeting, nothing was resolved or improved in any way. All of the Capital leaders insisted that there was nothing wrong with the current relief camp system and the whole conversation was basically a waste of time. All in all, they couldn't care less.

Question: If you were in the position of Prime Minister Bennett, what would you have done about the trekkers and why?

The Riot!

After being stopped in the middle of their plan, the 2000 angry trekkers overthrew the streets with an uncontrollable uproar known as the Regina Riot. This left hundreds of people injured and one official fatality.

Primary Source Evidence

Continued...

On to the Ottawa Trek

To gain more control of the situation, Prime Minister Bennett agreed to meet with the leaders of the trek in Ottawa, and offered to pay for the meals of the rest of the men in Regina while the leaders continued their journey.

Stopped in their tracks

On June 14, 1935, the 2000 trekkers just reached Regina, Saskatchewan, where Prime Minster Bennett and RCMP officers stopped them.

Prime Minster Bennett had thought the men were plotting to overthrow the government, thus wanting to put a stop to the trekkers before their arrival at Parliament in Ottawa.

Question: What do you think was going through the minds of the trekkers when they were stopped in Regina? What would you have done instead of starting a Riot?

Continued...

On June 3, 1935, the trekkers climbed on

boxcars and left Vancouver, on their mission to Ottawa.

Their mission to protest

against the government

had begun.

Taking Action

In April of 1935, hundreds of men walked out of their relief camps in British Columbia and congregated to Vancouver, demanding higher wages and better working conditions.

The workers planned to climb aboard freight trains to take their case to Ottawa to speak with Prime Minister Bennett. Within the next two months, over 1500 men gathered together where they held rallies and collected money for food.

By: Emily Radcliffe and Maddie West

The Spark

During the great depression in October of 1932, Leaders in Ottawa bestowed some attention towards the many single, homeless, unemployed men, and thus established a national system of working camps to put the men to work and give them some money to live off of.

At the working camps, these men were given the general necessities; food, clothes, and shelter, but at a price. The male residents were payed 20- cents per day and worked six and a half days a week in exchange for labour on various projects.