Prime Minister R.B.
Bennett is directly responsible for the Regina Riot due to
his mishandling of the economic crisis, disregard for worker grievances, and
aggressive tactics against peaceful protesters. The relief camps established by
his government subjected unemployed men to dehumanizing conditions,
including overcrowded tar-paper shacks and meagre pay of 20 cents per day.
These camps, described by critics as "slave camps," offered no dignity or
future, leaving workers with legitimate grievances.¹ In response, the workers
organized the On-to-Ottawa Trek to voice their demands for better treatment.
Despite their peaceful approach, which attracted widespread public support,
including food and shelter from local citizens, Bennett dismissed their cause as
a communistic revolution, ignoring their right to protest.²
The culmination of this neglect occurred during the Regina rally, where
trekkers gathered peacefully to strategize. Bennett's decision to deploy police
and RCMP to arrest their leaders sparked chaos. As described by eyewitness
accounts, the mounted police attacked first, brandishing baseball bats and
charging into the crowd, turning the square into "a mass of writhing, groaning
forms."³ Even when provoked to defend themselves, the trekkers' actions were
reactive rather than instigative, placing the blame firmly on government
forces.⁴ “The foundation for the belief [that the trekkers had to be stopped]
was confidential information which the police officers had from a source which
they considered thoroughly reliable, to the effect that the strikers were making
clubs and preparing for battle with the police.”5
Bennett's failure to address systemic issues and his use of state violence
against peaceful protest demonstrate his accountability for the riot. Rather
than seeking a resolution, he exacerbated the situation, leading to
unnecessary bloodshed and further alienation of Canadian workers. This event
remains a stark example of how neglect and repression by those in power can
escalate societal tensions.
Footnotes
1. Mennill, Paul, Canadiana Scrapbook: The Depression Years: Canada in
the 1930s (Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1978), 26.
2. On to Ottawa Historical Society, “The Hungry 30s: The Camps,”
http://www.ontoottawa.ca.
3. Ronald Liversedge, Recollections of the On-to-Ottawa Trek (Toronto:
McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1973), 112-114.
4. Victor Howard, “On-to-Ottawa Trek,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, last
modified February 23, 2021,
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/on-to-ottawa-trek.
5. Report of the Regina Riot Inquiry Commission, 109–114.
6. https://digital.scaa.sk.ca/populism/search_metadata.php?status=searc
h&ID=21858&metadata=brief&part=115&imagesize=medium&ImageSta
rtPage=&ImageEndPage=&&bool1=&field1=RepositoryCode&search1=S
RSAB&match1=exact&bool2=and&field2=FondsID&search2=F415&match
2=exact&MediaLimit=&ap=&ln=&browsefield=FondsID&start_display=%
3C&exhibit_path=.
Bibliography:
Howard, Victor. “On-to-Ottawa Trek.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Last
modified February 23, 2021.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/on-to-ottawa-trek.
Liversedge, Ronald. Recollections of the On-to-Ottawa Trek. Toronto:
McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1973.
Mennill, Paul. Canadiana Scrapbook: The Depression Years: Canada in the
1930s. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1978.
On to Ottawa Historical Society. “The Hungry 30s: The Camps.”
http://www.ontoottawa.ca.
Report of the Regina Riot Inquiry Commission, 109-114.
https://digital.scaa.sk.ca/populism/search_metadata.php?status=search&ID=
21858&metadata=brief&part=115&imagesize=medium&ImageStartPage=&Im
ageEndPage=&&bool1=&field1=RepositoryCode&search1=SRSAB&match1=exa
ct&bool2=and&field2=FondsID&search2=F415&match2=exact&MediaLimit=&a
p=&ln=&browsefield=FondsID&start_display=%3C&exhibit_path=.
