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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
Canada entered the First World in support of
the British
Empire and ended it in many ways a divided country due
to the conscription crisis, but, it also had found a new
sense of nationalism or a Canadian identity which was
forged in the fires of battle and hardened in the
politics of the peace. Much of the consciousness of
being Canadian was in relation to other countries which
Canada had fought with and against during the war.
The Canadian forces that went overseas were originally
going to feed into the British units as replacements and
units within larger British formations. The Canadian
authorities stood up against this and Canadian divisions
were trained on Salisbury plain and then dispatched to
France. Sam Hughes refused to let the Canadian units be
split up and the British leadership slowly acceded to
this desire. The ultimate achievement during the war of
Canadian fighting ability came in April 1917 during the
Battle of Vimy Ridge when several Canadian Divisions and
units, fighting together swept up and over the ridge,
capturing the German positions which the French and the
British had failed to do. The news of this great
Canadian victory, delighted Great Britain and France but
absolutely thrilled Canadians.
A spirit was ignited which held within it
the belief that the young viral country had come of age
and where the other countries could not quite get the
job done, Canada could. Although Vimy Ridge was only one
of many in the war, and only one of many Canadian
engagements, it came to stand for a newfound Canadian
nationalism which showed that the former colony had come
to the rescue of the old world and would no longer be
satisfied with colonial status on any front.
Canada was given a seat during the
Versailles Peace Conference and within a dozen years,
the Act of Westminster was passed which handed over the
control of Canadian policy to Canada.
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