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Alberta, Economic and Political. I. Social Credit Legislation: A Survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

A. F. McGoun
A. F. McGoun*
Affiliation:
Edmonton, Alberta
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Extract

The Legislature of Alberta has distinguished itself by enacting the most drastic reform measures ever seen in Canada. Supported by a very large body of public opinion, it has reduced debts, both public and private, has attempted to take several matters out of the hands of the Courts, and has, so far as legal enactment could do so, substituted the people’s own credit—Social Credit—for the financial credit which has hitherto been relied on. It is thought that this substitution is possible and might be complete. Whether or not this belief is sound, time only can tell. The present, however, offers a good opportunity to survey the situation in the light of the circumstances of the province and the general characteristics of its people.

Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science/Revue canadienne de economiques et science politique , Volume 2 , Issue 4 , November 1936 , pp. 512 - 524
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 1936

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References

1 MacGibbon, D. A., The Canadian Grain Trade (Toronto, 1932), p. 470.Google Scholar

2 The freight rate alone from Edmonton, Calgary, and Macleod to the head of the lakes is 15.6 cents a bushel on wheat. See MacGibbon, , The Canadian Grain Trade, p. 139.Google Scholar

3 The following figures, kindly supplied by Dr. R. H. Coats, Dominion statistician, and taken from the Canada Year Book, 1936, give a comparison between the provinces west of the Maritimes for the fiscal years ending in 1934 and 1935.

Concerning private debts, the following was kindly furnished by the Alberta Department of Trade and Industry, taken from the Dominion Census, 1931:

Total mortgage debt on occupied farms, $107,519,000.

4 A complete list of provincial bond issues was published in the Edmonton Journal, April 4, 1936.

5 The following figures, issued by the provincial government, were published in the Edmonton Journal. They include persons on direct relief, homeless persons in provincially operated relief camps, number given relief on wage basis, and relief settlements:

In June, 1936, the total number of persons assisted in the Dominion was 1,091,841. This information is kindly supplied by Mr. H. Hereford, Dominion commissioner for unemployment relief.

6 The following figures are examples which indicate considerable improvement in the condition of Alberta as compared with 1933. Some comparative figures are also given for Canada as a whole, indicating that recovery in Alberta was somewhat less rapid. Figures for Motor Vehicle Registrations in 1935, and for Municipal Tax Receipts were kindly given by Dr. R. H. Coats. Other figures are taken from the Canada Year Book, 1936, or from Monthly Review of Business Statistics, published by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics.

On October 8, 1936, cash closing prices of No. 1 Northern wheat were $1.09½ at Winnipeg; 89 cents at Edmonton.

7 Preliminary figures for October indicate that, allowing for both re-issues and redemptions, only $61,000 Prosperity Certificates were held by the public on October 18, including souvenirs. This is a decrease of $35,000 as compared with the previous month.