Wage and Price Controls

During the Second World War Canadians would have had to use a ration coupon book just like this one to purchase beer. 

The Government Liquor Control Commission of Manitoba published periodical lists on the legal prices of liquor in accordance with the Liquor Control Act of 1928 and wartime measures on alcohol prices and concentrations. 

In another message to the women of Canada, Donald Gordon, the Chairman of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, he asks of homemakers around the country to "determine whether the most valuable use is being made of the materials, manpower, and factories". In this radio message Gordon asked women across Canada to make a list of commodities, note their quality, write down their prices, and keep this list in mind when shopping to ensure that "ceiling prices" were maintained. 

During the Second World War, the Wartime Prices and Trade Board worked to ensure consumer protections for all Canadians, as well as establishing price and inflation control measures - including rent controls on housing accommodation and shared accommodation during wartime. 

Speaking to the women who controlled four out of every five dollars spent in Canada, Charlotte Whitton explained inflation, price controls, and the power that women could exercise to help with the war.

To combat inflation during the Second World War, the federal government imposed controls on wages and prices. These booklets were distributed widely to women so they could keep track of prices while shopping; stores that appeared to be charging above the price ceiling were to be reported to one of thirteen Women's Regional Advisory Committees for investigation.

This speech by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in October 1941 addresses the increased cost of living during wartime, including potential causes and a plan for stabilization.

This pamphlet, the second in a series, emphasizes price-consciousness through an overview of Canada's price control policy and its effectiveness on combating inflation.

By 1917, Canadians were experiencing a steep rise in the cost of living. A number of Canadians called for the Borden government to implement a system of wartime price-fixing to alleviate the strain of inflation. While systems of food and fuel control would be adopted in mid-1917, formal price-fixing was never adopted. This booklet contemplates the issue and questions why Canadians should be subject to such inflation during wartime.

Quebec regulations allowed adults over the age of twenty to purchase up to forty ounces of alcohol each fortnight; coupons became void once the date on them passed.