British Empire Economic Conference

1932 meeting in Ottawa, Canada

Not to be confused with Ottawa Treaty.

1932 British Empire Economic Conference
Imperial Economic Conference

Host country|  Canada
Date| 21 July 1932–
18 August 1932
Cities| Ottawa
Venues| House of Commons chamber, Parliament Hill
Participants| 9
Chair| R. B. Bennett
(Canadian Prime Minister)
Follows| 1930
Precedes| 1937
Key points

Imperial preference, tariffs, monetary standards

Postage stamp, Canada, 1932: commemorative overprint for Ottawa Conference.

The British Empire Economic Conference (also known as the Imperial Economic Conference or Ottawa Conference) was a 1932 conference of British colonies and dominions held to discuss the Great Depression. It was held between 21 July and 20 August in Ottawa.

The conference saw the group admit the failure of the gold standard and abandon attempts to return to it. The meeting also worked to establish a zone of limited tariffs within the British Empire, but with high tariffs with the rest of the world. This was called "Imperial preference" or "Empire Free-Trade" on the principle of "home producers first, empire producers second, and foreign producers last". The result of the conference was a series of bilateral agreements that would last for at least 5 years.[1] This abandonment of open free trade led to a split in the British National Government coalition: the Official Liberals under Herbert Samuel left the Government, but the National Liberals under Sir John Simon remained.

The conference was especially notable for its adoption of Keynesian ideas such as lowering interest rates, increasing the money supply, and expanding government spending.

According to a 2024 study, the impact of the agreement on Canada was limited, as Canada already had a highly protectionist trade policy.[2]

## Heads of delegations

[edit]

The conference was hosted by the Governor General of Canada, The Earl of Bessborough, representing King George V and included the Prime Ministers and other leaders of the Empire and members of their respective cabinets:

Nation  | Name  | Portfolio

|
|

Canada | R. B. Bennett | Prime Minister (Chairman)
Australia | Stanley Bruce | Assistant Treasurer of Australia
India | Sir Atul Chandra Chatterjee | Viceroy's representative
Irish Free State | Seán T. O'Kelly | Vice-President
Newfoundland | Frederick C. Alderdice | Prime Minister
New Zealand | Gordon Coates | Minister of Public Works, Minister in charge of Unemployment
Southern Rhodesia | Howard Unwin Moffat | Prime Minister
South Africa | Nicolaas Havenga | Finance Minister
United Kingdom | Stanley Baldwin | Lord President of the Council

## See also

[edit]

* Import Duties Act 1932
* Imperial Conference

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "Imperial Economic Conference". Encyclopædia Britannica.
2. ^ Lampe, Markus; O’Rourke, Kevin Hjortshøj; Reiter, Lorenz; Yotov, Yoto V. (2024). "The Empire project: Trade policy in interwar Canada". Journal of International Economics. doi:10.1016/j.jinteco.2024.104024. hdl:10419/279168. ISSN 0022-1996.

## Sources

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Empire Economic Conference.

* British Empire Economic Conference, Time magazine, 25 July 1932
* Barry Eichengreen and Douglas A. Irwin, "Trade blocs, currency blocs and the reorientation of world trade in the 1930s", Journal of International Economics, Volume 38, Issues 1–2, February 1995, Pages 1–24
* Robert A. MacKay, "Imperial Economics at Ottawa", Pacific Affairs, Vol. 5, No. 10 (Oct. 1932), pp. 873–885
* Maxwell Slutz Stewart, The Ottawa conference, Foreign Policy Association, incorporated, 1932
* "Imperial Economic Conference, Ottawa, 1932. Summary of Proceedings". Journals of the House of Representatives. Session I-II Appendix, A-06. New Zealand. 1932.
* Potter, Pitman B. (1932). "The British Imperial Economic Conference". American Journal of International Law. 26 (4): 811–813.

* v
* t
* e

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings

Colonial and Imperial Conferences|

* 1887
* 1894
* 1897
* 1902
* 1907
* 1911
* 1917–1918
* 1921
* 1923
* 1926
* 1930
* 1932
* 1937

Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conferences|

* 1944
* 1946
* 1948
* 1949
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966 (Jan)
* 1966 (Sept)
* 1969

Heads of Government Meetings|

* 1971
* 1973
* 1975
* 1977
* 1979
* 1981
* 1983
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1989
* 1991
* 1993
* 1995
* 1997
* 1999
* 2002
* 2003
* 2005
* 2007
* 2009
* 2011
* 2013
* 2015
* 2018
* 2022
* 2024
* 2026

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template