“In its day the Guide articulated a western rural view with vigour, style and effectiveness.”

 

The Grain Growers’ Guide is a rural publication that was circulated in Winnipeg from 1908 to 1928. After 1928 the journal was renamed The Country Guide, reflecting significant changes both in content and target audience. Prior to this transformation, the Grain Growers’ Guide was an advocate for progressive movements such as educational reform and women’s suffrage. Once the publication made the transition to The Country Guide, it was no longer as committed to reform. Rather, it became a source of amusement for rural families.

 

The advertisements that evolve from the Grain Growers’ Guide and into The Country Guide illustrate this shift. The themes of these advertisments indicate the lifestyle being promoted during this time in Canada's West. The impact of the First World War, the Roaring Twenties, and the Dirty Thirties can all be traced through the products and events being advertised in this wordly farmers' publication.