Economy and Development Contemporary Period

Dossier 4

Economic development

• Canada economy relied on the timber agriculture and fishing industries.
• 1850 - industrialization expanded rapidly with a second phase.

The Primary sector 

• World War 2 the countryside was electrified and got electric power and electric appliances such as refrigerators.
• Agriculture was becoming more diversified.
• Farmers were becoming specialized in diary production.
• The number of farms decreased considerably while their size and productivity increased.
• Agriculture  as a family-run business was replaced by small or medium sized farming.

The Secondary sector 

• 19th century - first effected light industries producing everyday necessities such as leather, shoes, etc.
• Pulp and paper and other wood-processed products.
• Ore processing ( for example, aluminum in Sanguenay).
•  Chemical products manufacturing 
• Transportation material particularly for railroads.
• 1970 - A proportion of the secondary sector industries has decreased.
• The textile and the clothing industries suffered from strong competition.

Hydroelectricity 

• Quebec held a major natural advantage.
• Shawinigan water and power ensured both the building of these stations and the production of electricity.
• The companies preferred to sell their electricity at varying price, to large industries 
• 1963 - the government of Quebec nationalized the electricity industry.
• Large projects in James Bay, particularly the Manic-Outardes complex in the 1960s.
• Quebec became the world leader in hydroelectricity.
• Hydro-Quebec ended private control of the hydroelectricity industry.
• Hydro-Quebec attracted high energy consumption industries as clients.

The tertiary sector 

• 20th century - the tertiary sector grew.
• Jobs in the fields of administration and finance were more numerous.
• The social measures by the government created numerous jobs in the field.
• Jobs in the tertiary sector did not necessarily offer better salaries than jobs in the primary and secondary sectors.

Concentration of Capital

• At the end of the 19th century -  the mean of production were concentrated in the hands of a small number of companies.
• The capitalist owners of these companies formed a dominant social class.
• The phenomenon of concentration also occurred with the banks.
• The Canadian pacific railroad and the laurentide paper company borrowed from the banks to build infrastructures. 
• After world war 1 - American investments in the Canadian economy grew, while that of great Britain declined.
• American capital was used to develop the natural resources in Quebec.
• 1920 -  the United States was also the principal clients for Canadian exports.

Economic cycles 

• Quebec experienced economic growth at the start of the 20th century.
• 1929 -  overproduction led to a crisis that effected all industrialized countries.
• In Quebec the average income fell by more than 37% during this time.
• When war was declared in 1939 it brought about a spectacular recovery of the Canadian economy.
• The county furnished its allies with weapons, airplanes, ships, iron, steel, transportation tools and chemical products.
• After  the war, Quebec experienced a strong demographic growth.
• workers had accumulated savings the employment rate was high and wages were increasing.
• 1973 - the energy crists brought about an increase in the price of oil.
• 1981 - the situation gave rise to an economic recession that lasted until the following year when the economy began a slow recovery.
• The end of 20th century was marked by two other short recessions.

Government economic policies 

• 1930 -  the state rarely intervened in economic development.
• The great depression of the 1930s the government came to the rescue of the poor and propose agricultural colonization.
• The Government of Quebec created L'office du credit agricole in 1936.
• The wisdome of economic liberalism was questioned.
• The federal government established programs like unemployment insurance.
• 1960  during the quiet revolution the government of Quebec intervened further in the economy and created.

Foreign Trade polices

• 1860 - the Americans decided not to renew the free trade treaty signed in 1854 for the treaty of reciprocity.
• Canada reacted by developing its internal trade in order to assure its growth.
• The country was hit by an economic slowdown that affected the western economy starting in 1878 
• encourage immigration especially in western Canada.
• improve railway transportation to assure better circulation of goods and people.
• Impose customs traiffs of 25% to 30%.

Work relation 

• Industrialization  created the formation of a new social class.
• The horrible working conditions led workers to form unions.
• 1885 - despte a report by the royal commission investigating the relation between capital and work.
• The government of Quebec that adopted the first real works legislation.
• The 1940 were marked by difficult work conflicts punctuated by a number of strikes.
• The spectacular growth in employment in the tertiary sector and technological progress