Chapter 10: Depression and War 1930-1945
1)Other than the Unemployment Commission, what did the City of Montréal do to help the unemployed during the Great Depression?
A.It subsidized manufacturing workers' salaries B.It transformed City Hall into a soup kitchen C.It organized a widespread public works programme D.It built low-income housing
Comment: To counter unemployment during the Great Depression, the administration of Mayor Camillien Houde (1889-1958) organized a widespread public works programme. Many construction projects were started in order to employ thousands of jobless workers. The construction of the Montréal Botanical Garden and the Chalet on Mount Royal, both begun in 1932, were the products of this programme, as were countless other public works, such as trestles, public baths and public toilets. These public urinals were commonly called ”camilliennes” after the mayor! Sources: Ville de Montréal. Section des archives, La démocratie à Montréalaise exhibit, www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives (site visité le 28 janvier 2007).
Sources: Ville de Montréal. Section des archives, La démocratie à Montréalaise exhibit, www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives (site visité le 28 janvier 2007).
2) Due to its precarious finances, Montréal was put under government trusteeship between:
A.1930 and 1945 B.1930 and 1933 C.1940 and 1944 D.1942 and 1944
Comment: The Great Depression of the 1930s undermined municipal finances to an unprecedented degree. The need for unemployment aid was so great that the City’s financial aid package soon surpassed its revenues. The City found itself obliged to take out several loans, which it had difficulty repaying. In 1940, the situation deteriorated to the point that banks refused to grant any new loans, forcing the provincial government to put Montréal under trusteeship. Between 1940 and 1944, the City was administered by the Commission municipale de Québec, which remedied municipal finances.
Sources: Ville de Montréal. Section des archives, La démocratie à Montréalaise exhibit, www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/archives (site visité le 29 janiver 2007).
3)A Populist mayor, I refused to cut unemployment during the Depression. Who am I?
A. Louis-Arsène Lavallée B. Médéric Martin C. Charles Duquette D. Camillien Houde
Comment: Camillien Houde, frequently called “Mister Montréal” is without a doubt one of the most famous mayors in the history of Montréal. Born on August 13, 1889, in Saint-Henri, Camillien Houde first worked in banking before going into politics. He was elected at the provincial level for the first time in 1933. Then, he sat on several occasions at the federal level. He is mostly known for his many mandates as mayor of Montréal from 1928 to 1932, from 1934 to 1936, from 1938 to 1940 and from 1944 to 1954. Fiercely opposed to the draft, he was imprisoned for his views from 1940 to 1944. He died in Montréal on September 11, 1958
4)What invention, popularized in the 1920s, helped promote Canadian participation in World War II?
A.Cinema B.Radio C.Television D.All of the above
Comment: The unprecedented scope of the two world wars made it necessary to organize a war effort in Canada. This effort took several forms, particularly media propaganda around the notion of “the home front”. During World War I, this propaganda found a venue in written press and cinema. However, once Montréal’s first radio station was established in 1918, radio began to be used as a means of propaganda. Broadcasting of radio shows and government advertising unilaterally encouraged citizens to support the country’s war effort
Sources: Paul-André Linteau, Brève histoire de Montréal , Boréal, 1992.
