1942: Manitoba

Manitoba had a quiet year on both the political and agricultural fronts. The province upheld Prime Minister Mackenzie King's request for release from past pledges regarding the drafting of men for overseas service by a vote of more than six to one. The 'yes' vote in the plebiscite, held on April 27, went above 110,000 as against approximately 18,000 'noes.' The margin was more decisive than in any other province.

Crops were good throughout the province, though there was some loss as a result of a shortage of harvest hands. In line with government policies, the acreage devoted to wheat was curtailed slightly, and there was a sharp increase in the acreage seeded in flax, oats, and barley. Winnipeg, the great wheat storage center of Western Canada, was overwhelmed by the demand for storage facilities, and the lack of elevator storage space resulted in an unusual amount — practically half the total wheat crop — being stored on the farm. Wheat growers benefited when the government price for wheat was increased from seventy to ninety cents a bushel, but the bonuses paid to the growers of flax and the coarse grains made the production of these crops relatively more profitable.

The 1941 census figures, released early in 1942, showed Manitoba to have a population of 722,447, exclusive of men in the armed services. The 1931 population was 700,139. Since the province's population increase failed to measure up to that of Canada as a whole, its representation in the Dominion House of Commons was cut from 17 to 14, the second largest loss suffered by any province.

1941: Manitoba

Spurred by a wheat crop that was much lower than the good crops of the two previous years, Manitoba farmers joined with those of the neighboring agricultural provinces in seeking special assistance from the Dominion Government. Early in August, a delegation representing the wheat pools of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta visited Ottawa to press for a change in the Government's wheat policy. The delegation urged that the Government pay a flat $1 a bushel for wheat delivered at Fort William, Ontario, and that the record 480,000,000 bushel carry-over be withheld from the market and kept as a war emergency reserve. When these demands were turned down by James S. Gardiner, Federal Minister of Agriculture, and the 70-cent level of the previous year maintained, the wheat pools redoubled their activities. Meetings were held throughout the province urging that steps be taken to give relief to the farmer. The North West Line Elevators Association, the trade organization of the non-pool elevators, urged either a grant to each family or a cost-of-living bonus based on the wheat acreage sown in 1941. The Seare Grain Company of Winnipeg, a private concern, advocated a bonus of 10 cents a bushel on wheat. In November, as a result of the pressure from the western provinces, the Dominion Government announced a plan for supplementing agricultural income by payment of new acreage bonuses to grain growers.

Manitoba joined with the other provinces in working out an arrangement with the Dominion Government whereby the provinces will withdraw from income and certain other types of taxation during the war so as to leave the field to the Dominion Government. Permanent arrangements as proposed by the Sirois report are to be left until the conclusion of the conflict.

1940: Manitoba

Manitoba became the first Canadian province to form a coalition war cabinet when, on November 4, 1940, Premier John Bracken announced the reconstruction of his government to include representatives from all the major opposition parties. Cabinet posts were given to representatives of the Conservative, Cooperative Commonwealth, and Social Credit parties in addition to Premier Bracken's own Liberal-Progressive followers. It was the first coalition government in Manitoba's seventy-year history as a province. The new cabinet will be tested at the polls in a provincial election scheduled to be held early in 1941.

Another excellent wheat crop assured Manitoba of continued prosperity for another year. Excellent weather conditions during the harvest season brought the yield of the 1940 crop somewhat above the good 1939 crop. Wheat prices were slightly above those of 1939, bringing a greater dollar return to the farmer. Insect damage was not heavy, although grasshoppers were responsible for slight losses. The beet webworm wrought serious damage to the province's gardens during the late summer months.

Mining production was at a high level during the year. A new record was established at the God's Lakes Mines when production for September reached a value of $272,885 from 18,162 tons.

1939: Manitoba

Along with all Canada's western Provinces, Manitoba was blessed with an exceptional wheat crop in 1939, the largest in ten years. The Manitoba crop was estimated at more than 50,000,000 bushels. Winnipeg's storage and shipping facilities were strained to the utmost, as the bumper crop from Saskatchewan and Alberta flowed through this great center.

A dispute broke out in July between the provincial government under Premier John Bracken and W. D. Euler, Minister of Trade and Commerce in the Dominion Government at Ottawa, over a barter agreement between the Province of Manitoba and the German Government. The plan called for the exchange of Manitoba farm products for $300,000 worth of German electrical equipment. In reply to the Dominion Minister's objection that the agreement conflicted with the terms of the existing Canadian-German trade agreement, Premier Bracken declared that he was not going to permit 'anything to stand in the way of an opportunity to secure markets for farm products.' The plan, however, had to be abandoned when war was declared between Canada and Germany.

1938: Manitoba

Wheat Situation.

Wheat, as usual, dominated both politics and economics in Manitoba, during 1938. Although the early prospects for a bumper crop were not fulfilled, the 1938 crop was considerably better than the average for the past ten years and only slightly below that of the previous year. Although rust did great damage in the neighboring province of Saskatchewan, its destructiveness was reduced in Manitoba by the widespread sowing of Thatcher wheat, a comparatively new rust-resisting variety. Farmers were protected against low market prices by the Dominion Government's guarantee of 80 cents a bushel.

John Bracken, Manitoba's Premier, busied himself with several projects designed to aid the wheat situation. He was influential in bringing about an amalgamation of the United Grain Growers and the Manitoba Pool Elevators as the first step in a move to bring about a union of the wheat interests in Western Canada. Speaking at Ottawa on Nov. 28, he called for a definite national wheat policy to meet the challenge of contracting world markets. Steps toward formulating this policy were taken at a conference of representatives from the wheat-growing provinces which met at Winnipeg in mid-December on Premier Bracken's invitation. Proposals were discussed for reducing agricultural indebtedness and reviving world trade.

Finances.

As compared with its neighboring provinces, Manitoba's finances remained in satisfactory shape in 1938. The provincial treasurer, S. S. Garson, announced a surplus for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1938, of $505,189, making further advances from the Dominion Treasury unnecessary. As part of a general plan to consolidate tax collections in the province, the Premier appointed G. Cousley to the post of Commissioner of Taxation.

Mineral Output.

Mineral output in the province for the six months ending June 30, 1938, totaled $7,705,712, an increase of $1,126,034 over the corresponding period of the previous year.