At Regina, McGuigan was confronted with a bleak situation: James Anderson had been elected Premier of Saskatchewan the previous year with the support of the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan; the Great Depression had left two-thirds of the Saskatchewan population on welfare; and McGuigan's predecessor as Archbishop, the late Olivier Elzéar Mathieu, had left the Archdiocese with $1.2 million in debt.
At Regina, McGuigan faced a tough situation: James Anderson had been elected Premier of Saskatchewan the previous year with backing from the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan; the Great Depression had left two-thirds of the population struggling financially; and his predecessor's departure had resulted in significant financial burdens.