How did drought and the Great Depression affect Alberta during the 1930s?

During the 1930s, Alberta faced a period of profound hardship characterized by the convergence of economic collapse and environmental disaster. The Great Depression caused widespread unemployment and a collapse in commodity prices, which devastated the province’s agrarian economy.12

This economic crisis was severely exacerbated by a prolonged drought, particularly in southeastern Alberta. Compounded by poor soil conservation practices, the drought turned vast areas of farmland into drifting soil, forcing many farmers to abandon their land. While some migrated to cities or British Columbia, others moved northwest into the Peace River region in search of viable land.2

The severity of these conditions led to significant political upheaval. In 1935, the Social Credit Party, led by William Aberhart, was elected to power in Alberta on a platform that promised to address the gap between production costs and purchasing power through new monetary policies. By the end of the decade, the financial strain on the province was so extreme that the Prairie Provinces were found to be near bankruptcy, prompting federal investigations into the constitutional and financial weaknesses of the Canadian government.12