|
Golden Summer | European Powder
Keg | Sarajavo |
Canada Goes to War |
Building an Army |
Union Government |
Women get the Vote |
Canada Divided |
Conscription Act |
Nationalism |
The Home Front |
Victory |
Aftermath
The war had begun with the enthusiasm of
a young man looking for adventure but that outlook was
not nationwide. French Canadians had grave reservations
about going off to fight for the British Empire. The
victory of General Wolfe in 1759 still lay heavily on
the conscience of many in Quebec and the politicians
recognized this. By 1917 the Canadian casualties on the
Western Front were beginning to exceed the number of new
recruits joining in Canada. Prime Minister Borden
returned from the 1917 Imperial War Conference in
London, convinced that he would have to bring in
conscription to maintain the Canadian forces in the
field.
Borden appealed to
Laurier to form a Union Government for the war in order
to present a united front and focus entirely on the war.
The leader of the Liberal opposition realized that
conscription was a deeply divisive issue in Quebec and
that he could not in all good consciences support it. He
brushed aside offers of a Union government if it meant
that conscription would be brought in.
Parliament convened
and Borden pushed through the Conscription Act on July
11, 1917, with many Liberals from English Canada
abandoning Laurier and joining Borden and his
Conservatives. They also passed the Military Voters Act,
and the War Times Election Act, which granted the
right to vote to women who were in the military, had a
son in the military or a brother in the military. It
also excluded from voting, conscientious objectors and
some people who had not been in Canada for a certain
period (who had arrived after 1902) and were of German
or enemy origin.
These actions were of
course intended to increase the vote in the upcoming
election, of the pro empire, English based
Conservative party. On August 28th, 1917 the Military
Service Act was passed which subjected all able bodies
males in Canada between 20 and 45 to compulsory military
service. The exceptions were conscientious objectors,
those necessary to vital industries and those whose
absence would pose serious hardships for their families
or themselves.
The country was split between English Canada which
wanted all able bodied men not yet at war to help
support it as combatants, and French Canada where they
were opposed to being forced to fight overseas in an
alien land for a cause not vital to them.
Borden and his Union Government were
elected with a majority and he included several Liberals
in his Cabinet. Quebec elected 62 Liberals from the 65
seats in the Province, showing their strong
anti-conscription feelings. Anti-conscription rallies
were held in Quebec and eventually some of these
degenerated into riots. It was only after this gut
wrenching, divisive issue had run it's course that it
was realized that the conscription system did not really
help increase the number of new recruits .
The Military Service Act was enough to
kill Conservative Party support in Quebec and many of
those feels have lasted right up to the present day. |
