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Canada in WWII: The Homefront (POLITICAL (Canada Declares War (Parliament)…
Canada in WWII: The Homefront
POLITICAL
Canada Declares War (Parliament)
For Canada and Canadians, the Second World War began in Parliament
In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced to the world that he had managed to secure “peace for our time” with the Munich Agreement
The Agreement let Hitler take over part of Czechoslovakia on promise that he would cease his aggression, however Hitler ignored the terms of the Agreement and his troops marched through the rest of Czechoslovakia
In May, Britain’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Canada, the first a reigning monarch had ever visited this country
The purpose of their visit was to rally support for Britain during this tense time
Canadians formed large crowds lining the streets wherever the royal couple appeared
When they left, they were satisfied that the bond between Canada and the former “mother country” remained strong
Prime Minister Mackenzie King did not want Canada to become involved in another world conflict
He had fiercely hoped that Britain’s policy of appeasement towards Hitler would be successful
Unlike in 1914, Canada had made its own separate declaration of war, exactly a week after Britain went to war
The British Commonwealth Training Plan (Air Training Plan)
A massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War
Main idea behind was to properly train Allied aircrews for the Second World War, this included pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators, air gunners, and flight engineers
More than 13,000 crewman and women were trained between 1939 - 1945
This was one of Canada’s greatest contributions to Allied victory in the war
Canada's big open spaces and good climate for flying made it an ideal choice for large-scale flying training
Conscription Crisis
A political and military crisis following the introduction of forced military service in Canada during World War II
It was similar to the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but was not as politically damaging
Divided the nation in the Second World War and threatened the survival of political leaders
Almost all French Canadians opposed conscription; they felt that they had no particular loyalty to either Britain or France
They felt their only loyalty was to Canada
English Canadians supported the war effort as they felt stronger ties to the British Empire
Politics and Government (William Lyon Mackenzie)
Head of the Liberal government throughout the Second World War
Prime Minister in the 1920s, when the country became independent from Britain
Overall King led Canada for 22 years: 1921-1926, 1926-1930 and 1935-1948, and he added the duties of foreign minister for almost all those years as well
Was Canada's greatest political survivor
His constant wartime goal, and greatest success, was to prevent the split between English and French Canada
He looked at Canada and its politics for national unity
Tried to keep a big, diverse and easily divided country together
ECONOMIC
War Economy
The government took full control of the economy, and turned it into a war-winning weapon
Canada was wealthy
Canada was making war production available to the Allied countries which could not afford to buy it at that time
Everyone that wanted to work, was able to
Sometimes there were however shortages and rationing of food or other products
There were also limits on wages as well as restrictions in choosing and/or changing jobs
C.D. Howe
He was the most successful businessman-politician of his day, and provided a link between the Liberal Party and Canadian industry
Led the Canadian industry's effort to manufacture vast amounts of supplies of every kind
Manufactured ships, aircraft, motor vehicles, weapons, ammunition, radar and radio equipment
All for the Canadian armed forces and for Britain and the Allies
Clarence Decatur Howe was an engineer and politician
Munitions
The federal government established the Department of Munitions and Supply in April 1940
They controlled the production of munitions for Canada and its Allies
C.D. Howe was its political head
Received orders from Canada’s armed forces but also from other countries
By 1945 Canada's war production was fourth among the Allied nations
Less than the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom
Later on, the term "munitions" no longer meant just the weapons and equipment used by troops
Now commonly used to include a whole range of manufactured goods used in making war
Many army vehicles were also made
Agriculture
By 1939 Canadian agriculture was still recovering from the worst of the Great Depression
Each region of the country had a distinct evolution in what they produced
A variation of climate and geography have been largely responsible, however, each region was settled at a different period in Canada's economic and political development
Young people left farms for the armed forces and better-paying jobs in industry
Wage and Price Controls
Prime Minister Mackenzie King was determined to avoid many of the problems that were detrimental to Canada during the First World War
With the powers of the War Measures Act, he authorized the Wartime Prices and Trade Board
The main aim was to stop the prices and wages from spiralling out of control
In the end, the Board did very little
Shipping and Shipbuilding
After the fall of France in May 1940, enlarging the Allies’ merchant shipping fleet, replacing lost ships and making sure that there were enough naval escort vessels to guard convoys against German submarines were main priorities
Britain was highly vulnerable
North American arms and supplies were a lifeline
At first Canada was building ships only for them
Later on Britain requested a number of orders for ships
Aircraft Production
During the Second World War, the Canadian aircraft industry grew greatly
There were approximately 116,000 workers employed
About 30,000 were women
16,418 aircrafts were made to fill Allied orders
Production went from very low levels before the war, to 4,000 military aircrafts a year by the end of the war
SOCIAL
Women on the Homefront
Due to the large absence of men from their homes and in the armed forces, industries began to have low production numbers
The Canadian government greatly urged women to work in factories and other places taking over “men’s” jobs
Other women worked more on the farms and at home
They organized and prepared packages for the military overseas as well as for the prisoners of war in the Axis countries
Social Changes (Family Allowances)
In August 1943 the National War Labour Board recommended that the government start to pay out family allowances if it could not remove the freeze on incomes for low wage earners
Progressive Conservatives attacked it as a bribe to Quebec, where many of the biggest families lived
The Cabinet also came aboard: ministers believed that allowances would enable consumers to buy goods and services and ward off a post-war economic slump
The "baby bonus" was created, it began on July 1, 1945
The allowance was paid to the mother in each family, this was what the Quebec provincial government insisted.
The family allowance was paid to fathers there
Axis Prisoners in Canada
Canada was the wartime home to thousands of Allied prisoners of war
Great Britain that was faced with a possible invasion by Hitler, ended up asking Canada in June 1940 to accept 4,000 civilian internees and 3,000 German prisoners of war
By October 1944, nearly 34,000 military prisoners were held in Canada
Many of them in remote camps in northern Ontario and Quebec and in the Rocky Mountains
Prisoners had different jobs and roles that they did
Some prisoners cut timber and wood for a small wage
Others helped farmers in more populated parts of the country
Majority of the prisoners that were taken in Europe had their hands tied or handcuffed
There were a few riots that outbroke by the prisoners
Although there were a number of prisoners that escaped, most were quickly found and re-captured
OVERALL SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
Less Significant Changes
Economic and Technical Growth
During the Second World War, there was large growth economically such as all the munitions, ships and vehicles
More growth than after the First World War
Basic ideas are still used today
Most Significant Change
Women on the Homefront
Without women taking over some of the "men's jobs" while they are away at war, they are now able to do so much more in Canada
Women have many more opportunities now
They did not have as many during the First World War
At one point, the government was considering to replace all men with women