CANADIAN ELECTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20620, 19 July 1930, Page 11

CANADIAN ELECTION.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT ISSUE. TRADE TREATIES PROMINENT. OTTAWA. July 17. r l ho Canadian general election is rapidly approaching, but there is no political excitement of any consequence anywhere in tho Domnion. Tn Alberta the Prime Minister, Mr. Mackenzie King, mot with considerable opposition while ho was addressing a meeting at Calgary, which came in the form of continued interruptions by a largo number of unemployed persons,

The two major issues facing the electors are unemployment and trade within the Empire. The Conservatives have made unemployment a strong issue, while the Liberals point to the fact that although unemployment has been serious in Canada it has not assumed the proportions reached in other countries, particularly the United States. The Liberals promise definitely that if any province finds that it cannot cope with tho situation the Federal Government will be prepared to come to its assistance Free Trade and the Budget. Upon the question of trade within the Empire the Conservatives argue that Mr. C. A. Dunning's Budget is an admission that free trade will be abandoned by the Liberals. Mr. King, however, asserts that the countervailing duties which this Budget provides will be a means of increasing trade within the Empire. One thing is certain, that if the Conservatives are, returned to power they will completely overhaul the trade treaties, including that with Australia, and in some cases perhaps there will bo a complete abrogation of tho pacts. The attacks on the Australian treaty have not been received with any great fervour in the Prairie provinces. State ol Dairy Industry. Whilo Mr. R. B. Bennett, tho Conservative leader, has been lamenting tho fact that the dairy industry has been ruined by the Australian and New Zealand trade agreements, official estimates show that, although the farmers milked fewer cows last year, they actually received more for their products than they did before. According to (he Bureau of Statistics, although there were in Canada in 1920. the last year for which official figures are available, 37,653 fewer cows than in 1925, the value of dairy products in that year exceeded the value of the product ion in 1925 by £2,560,000. The Conservative headquarters claim that they will capture from 10 to 15 seats in Quebec, and that Ontario will lie almost as solidly Conservative as will British Columbia. They expect also to have several gains in Saskatchewan, which now has a Conservative Government for the lirst time for years. Alberta, which has just re-elected its Farmer Government, may hold the key to the situation when the voles are counted. In spite of the Conservative optimism the Liberals assert that there is no likelihood that, the Government will be de- j feat I'd, and that rather they will go back with a clear majority over all the other part ies. As for the man in the street, the consensus of opinion is that it is anybody's election. Jf, however, anything favours the Conservatives, it is tho unemployment situation, which at rock bottom has been causing intense dissatisfaction, particularly in Western Canada, where it is most acute.