Cartoon Articles Archive

This cartoon originally appeared in the November 2, 1940 edition of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a Canadian farmer shouldering the heavy burdens of two bags labelled “food” and “surplus.” The caption states that “It may change from a burden to a blessing.” The cartoon was intending to say that the burden of surplus and unmarketable crops that Canadian farmers had suffered under for ten years of the Great Depression was coming to an end. This was because...

This cartoon originally appeared in the August 24, 1940 issue of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a uniformed egg labelled “100,000,000 Bushels of Canadian Wheat” reporting for duty to John Bull, the national personification of the United Kingdom. Appearing as it did in late-summer 1940, when Britain stood alone against Hitler’s armies, this cartoon represents the sense of duty with which Canadian farmers viewed their contributions to the war effort. While exports of...

This cartoon first appeared in the October 19, 1940 edition of Canadian Countryman. It depicts a goose representing “Canadian employment figures” soaring skywards, while a duck representing “farm prices” looks upward followed by the caption “Will they go up together?” It essentially asks the question of whether rising employment among Canadians will be followed by a similar increase in the price of agricultural produce. This was an important question...

This cartoon first appeared in a December 1944 edition of Canadian Countryman. It depicts an imprisoned man representing “world trade” sitting in his cell, accompanied by a caption reading: “another prisoner who must be ‘Free’ again.” The cartoon represents free trade as a solution to the economic problems caused by the Second World War, which was almost at its end. This was a solution offered up by those who were eager to avoid a repeat of the economic...

This cartoon originally appeared in the March 9, 1940 issue of Canadian Countryman. It is a humorous depiction of the reforestation spirit that was sweeping the nation during this period, particularly in the countryside. The forestry industry in Canada had expanded dramatically from the turn of the century up until 1940, and formed a staple of the country’s economy. Little thought, however, had been paid to conservation efforts during this period. In response to shrinking woodlands,...