The Wages of Relief

Eric Strikwerda teaches Canadian history at the University of Alberta and labour studies/industrial relations at Athabasca University.Eric Strikwerda teaches Canadian history at the University of Alberta and labour studies/industrial relations at Athabasca University.

“Strikwerda unwinds his fascinating tale about the federal government’s slow encroachment on municipal relief machinery. […] It is a well-constructed argument. [The Wages of Relief] would be well-suited to a course on the Depression in Canada given its many threads, thorough research, pleasant writing, and the unresolved debate at its conclusion.”

“Strikwerda employs both solid scholarship and an engaging style... The Wages of Relief provides insight into the origins of some of our current social systems and the strains that can be placed on cities during times of economic distress.”

“In this accessible, clearly written, and convincingly argued book, Eric Strikwerda offers a carefully researched and nuanced take on the history of the Great Depression. […] Choosing to place prairie cities at the centre of this history of urban unemployment offers a refreshing take on the history of the Depression in the West, which is overwhelmingly remembered as a story of drought-ridden farms rather than industrializing and expanding cities and economies tightly linked to agricultural production. […] Strikwerda’s careful and sensitive differentiation between unmarried and married men adds a layer of complexity to the larger category of masculinity and contributes to the historical and theoretical literature on the regulation, politicization, and control of male bodies in an urban, capitalist, and industrial society.”