Wage and Price Controls

Military needs took precedence during the Second World War, and this manufacturer of sinks, toilets, and bathroom fittings informed customers that they might not have their orders filled because of wartime demands.

The sale of liquor had been subject to controls long before the Second World War - the need for servicemen and women to carry a purchase permit merely added another layer of complexity.

Like every other commodity, milk was sold at prices that were carefully controlled by federal and provincial authorities.

J.L. Ilsley, Minister of Finance for Canada, was responsible for the nation's economic budget for the duration of the Second World War. These speech extracts outline Canada's pay-as-you-go policy to finance the war and its impact on wartime debts, taxes, and business.

This pamphlet emphasises price-consciousness through an overview of Canada's price control policy and its effectiveness on combating inflation.

This pamphlet, written by the Economic Adviser to the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, offers thoughts on Canada's post-war price stabilization program in terms of inflation, wage control, supply of essentials, and cost of living.

In June 1942 J.M. MacDonnell, a decorated veteran of the First World War, addressed a business group on the implications of wartime economic controls.

During the Second World War, the Wartime Prices and Trade Board printed and distributed labels that allowed envelopes to be reused, as a way to save paper.

The ceiling price - the maximum price that could be charged for any good purchased - was a key element of Canada's wartime strategy to control inflation, and the government relied on shoppers to help enforce price ceilings.