Wage and price controls are enacted to manage the wartime economy
American Rationing Poster. CWM, 19920196-138, 3309-2011-0995-057.base
1941
Established in September 1939, the Wartime Prices and Trade Board was tasked with managing inflation and labour relations during the Second World War. Its powers were increased in 1941. The Board became part of the Department of Finance and was responsible for a price freeze and the stabilization of wages, as announced by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. The Board was administered by experienced businessmen and relied on advertising campaigns urging restraint. During the war, the Board managed to keep price hikes at 2.8 percent.
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