500
The five causes of the Great Depression.
Over-Expansion and Over-Production-Due to the high profits of the booming twenties, factories began doubling their production speed and producing a vast amount of goods. There was far more supply, than Canadians could afford.
Canada's Reliance on Primary Products-During the booming twenties raw material were in high demand and sold extremely well. however, during the depression there was an immense international surplus of these goods. The value plummeted and nations could not afford them.
Canada's Dependence on the US-During the twenties, the US had become Canada's primary foreign investors, and many of Canada's resources were being cultivated for the purpose of trade. However, the depression left the US's economy in shambles, destroying most of Canada's trade revenue.
High Tariffs Choking Off Trade-Canada began to put higher tariffs on trade to protect domestic companies from foreign competition. However, the discouraged foreign investors from trading with Canada.
Too Much Credit Buying-During the twenties the policy of "buy now, pay later" became popularized. However, the monthly payments totaled higher than the initial amount. If you missed payments your goods or house could be repo'd.
Too Much Credit Buying of Stocks-In the twenties, people believed they could make it rich in the stock market. They would buy stocks using an investor to pay for 90% of the price, then sell to make money. If the stock dropped, you would lose money, and be unable to pay off your investor (and interest was high). During the stock market crash, many lost an immense amount of money.