King believed it was a 'short term problem' Felt it was the responsibility of the Provincial and Municipal government King would not contribute a 'five cent piece' to any Provincial government that was not Liberal He didn't handle the problem of unemployment Lost the 1930 election to R.B Bennett of the conservative party. Later on comes back into power and creates relief programs for people suffering from the depression. National Housing Act National Employment Commission
William Lyon Mackenzie King was slow to respond to the mounting crisis. Just prior to the election, Mackenzie King carelessly responded to criticism over his handling of the economic crisis; he stated that he "would not give a five-cent piece" to any non-liberal provincial governments. The worst of the Depression had passed by 1935, and King implemented relief programs such as the National Housing Act and National Employment Commission. All in all, it took King a large amount of time before he actually began to try and help people who were struggling during the depression.