British Empire Economic Conference
# British Empire Economic 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. 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.

## Heads of delegations

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 |
