This federal program supported Prairie farmers during the Great Depression
A federal program established in the 1930s to support Prairie producers received a national historic event designation from Parks Canada.
The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) was a branch of the federal ag department created through the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act in 1935.
Its goal was to “provide for the rehabilitation of drought and soil-drifting areas in the Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.”
At the time, Prairie farmers were experiencing drought conditions similar to the Dust Bowl in the U.S.
Severe drought and dust storms, paired with the day’s farming practices, left soil vulnerable to wind erosion.
Until 1934, the federal government encouraged farmers to leave the Prairies because of the conditions. But by 1935, the government had to discourage farmers from abandoning their farms, leading to the PFRA’s creation.
By 1936, approximately 13,900 farms, or 3 million acres of farmland was left abandoned.
The PFRA provided financial and technical assistance to support the construction of water storage reservoirs and promoted strip farming. The agency also took over poor lands and turned them into community pastures, like Lone Tree and Big Stick in Saskatchewan.
In addition, it helped farmers move to more suitable growing areas and at times provided inputs.
The tree nursery in Indian Head, Sask., for example, distributed seedlings to growers for free to promote shelterbelt planting.
It’s estimated the PFRA taught 100,000 farmers how to recover their lands.
When the drought conditions passed, the PFRA continued to operate.
In total, the agency became a permanent function of the government for more than 70 years.
In 1950, for example, the PFRA initiated construction and operation of the main water storage and delivery works associated with the St. Mary River project.
“These works included the St. Mary, Milk River Ridge and Waterton Reservoirs, the Belly River diversion, and the connecting canals,” An Alberta Agriculture document from August 2004 says.
The agency also provided soil conservation advice and helped promote rural development in the 1980s and 1990s.
As part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s 2011 budget, the Deficit Reduction Action plan mandated departments to look for savings between 5 and 10 per cent.
In 2012, his government announced it would end the PFRA’s Community Pastures Program, handing those responsibilities to the provincial governments.
And in 2013, then Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced the discontinuation of the free seedlings program.
In June 2024, the Senate Ag Committee report on soil and its importance Canada, proposed bringing the PFRA back.
Merle Massie, the executive director of The Do More Agriculture Foundation, provided the nomination.
“Recognizing the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) as an event of national historical significance exemplifies the importance of grit and tenacity, scientific research, and community adaptation in developing viable agricultural techniques that work within and extend the possibilities of landscape and culture,” she said in a statement.
“It's critically important to also recognize the negative impact of PFRA initiatives and agricultural development in general on Indigenous communities. As Indigenous and western agriculture grow in strength, lessons from the PFRA will continue to give critical insight for the path forward."
Top photo: Dust storm at Pearce Airport, Alberta, 1942
© Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection / Will Fairfield fonds / Library and Cultural Resources Digital Collections / University of Calgary / CU1102491 / Public domain