|
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
When the first World War broke out, many
felt that it would be a short dramatic war finished by
Christmas at the latest. A few realized that the
struggle could go on for an extended period, but almost
all, with the exception of a section of the French
Canadian population, were swept up in the patriotic
fever of the events. Once the decision to go to
war had been made, mobilization began and agriculture,
industry, transportation, financial instruments and any
other required component for the war effort swung into
high gear.
The mainly
agricultural base of Canada was to undergo a vast
expansion of industrial production capacity with
existing companies growing exponentially and new
manufacturing springing up everywhere. More trains were
needed to move soldiers, food, weapons, supplies and
workers, more ships were needed to get much needed
material over to England and France and of course more
workers were needed to expand the farming capacity, fill
the new jobs in new factories and of course to replace
all of the young men who had signed up to go overseas.
Control boards were set up by the
government to regulate and oversee all facets of
production, transportation, training and supply. During
the war the Government was forced to take over both the
Grand Trunk and the Canadian Northern Railways in order
to keep the trains moving. The workers were able to
exert more influence over working conditions owning to
the fact that they were in such high demand. Women were
brought into the workforce when all of the men were
either already working or had gone off the fight. Unions
were able to recruit more members then ever and found a
more secure place in the labour management relations of
the economy.
Payment for all of
this activity was raised in several different forms. War
Bonds were sold which would be redeemed after the war
was over, a higher debt was run and new taxes were
introduced such as the first ever personal income tax
and a federal sales tax. Taxes were also placed on
excess profits made by companies that bid for and had
received war contracts. Fund raising campaigns were
started and run by many non=profit, patriotic
organizations.
The anti German feeling across the country resulted in
many incidents of malevolent and violent behaviour
against German Canadian and Berlin Ontario went so far
as to change it's name to Kitchener, after the war
leader General Kitchener. The anti-French feeling also
increased due to the feeling that many English Canadians
had about French Canadian hesitancy to totally join the
war effort and have the young men sign up to fight in
Europe. The contrasting reaction on the French Canadian
side was that the British Empire was trying to force the
Canadians to fight and die for the Empires greater
glory.
The Manitoba
Legislature used the face paced war activities to use
Empire patriotism to pass the Education Act of 1916
which eliminated French instruction in the schools.
The women were happy to fill the roles
they were asked to but they also asked for some basic
rights such as the right to vote and the right to
actually hold office. By 1916, led by such notable
suffragettes as Nellie Mclung, the vote was granted to
women and equality granted.
And finally the
crystallization of a national consciousness started with
Canada stepping up to fight in the war, then the total
effort that was made on the home front combined with the
great victories which the Canadian troops ended up
winning. Through more communication in the quickly
growing industrialized centres, the travel of civilians
and soldiers abroad and just moving to new and old towns
to fulfill the required work force, these all
contributed to a Canada emerging form the great war as
bright new light on the international stage.
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