canada during world war one

life on the homefront

the war measures act

passed by the gov’t in 1914

allowed federal gov’t. to suspend civil rights, and pass laws without going through parliament.

enemy aliens

Because of the War Measures Act the gov’t. was able to :

stop new immigrants from “enemy” countries from coming to Canada.

Immigrants from these countries that were all ready in Canada were fired from their jobs and taken to internment camps.

24 camps across Canada with very poor, harsh conditions.

- other measures included banning the playing of Beethoven and changing the name of Berlin, Ontario to Kitchener.

Internees queue for food in the Fort Henry camp near Kingston Ontario.

Internees hauling in stove wood at the Spirit Lake, Quebec

internment camp.

Ukrainian immigrants in internment camps

PROPAGANDA

the use of posters to send a message or encourage an opinion.

Used during war to encourage support of the War at all levels including...

played heavily on the emotions of the people.

the

Enlistment

Propaganda to encourage raising money to support the war effort

Propaganda to encourage Food Rationing

Propaganda to encourage working and volunteering

Women on the home front

Took up positions in factories to replace men who had gone off to war.

Over the course of the war Canada sent millions of dollars worth of shells and explosives to Europe.30,000 Canadian women worked in the munitions industry.

Women and children also

took over work on the farm

- young boys became known as “soldiers of

the soil”

Imperial Munitions board (IMB)

Set up by Prime Minister Borden to ensure munitions production.

Required the take over and re-tooling of private factories for wartime production.

The wartime elections act of 1917

gave Canadian nurses overseas, and the wives, sisters, and mothers of Canadian soldiers the right to vote.

Borden promised that, if elected, after the war he extend the vote to all women.

The conscription crisis of 1917

Anti-conscription parade in Montreal in 1917

By 1917 Prime Minister Robert Borden saw a real need to conscript Canadian men into the military.

Conscription = compulsory military service.

At the same time Wilfrid Laurier, leader of the opposition, was against it.

Generally - English Canadians were in favour of supporting Britain in the war effort.

French Canadians, however, did not feel strong ties to Britain or France.

Therefore the conscription issue resulted in a rift between French and English Canadians that lasted beyond the war.

In fact of the 400,000 men who were eventually conscripted more than half were approved for exemptions.Only 24,000 conscripts actually saw action in the War.

(See “The Case of Pierre Talon”.)

The canadian patriotic fund

Created to raise money to help families of soldiers survive on a privates pay of $1.10/day.

Paying for the war (temporary measures?)

Victory Bonds - created by the gov.’t to generate revenue to support the war effort.

today -- “Canada Savings Bonds”

Income taxes

- introduced in 1917 - only necessary until the debt created by

war was paid off.

The halifax explosion

December 6, 1917

in 1917 Halifax was a booming as a port of exit for soldiers and supplies.

as the gateway to Canada, Halifax is one of the world’s largest natural harbours.

the constant threat of submarine attacks meant netting needed to be used each night to protect ships in the harbour.

On December 5, the French Ship, The Mont Blanc arrived too late to pass through the nets.

as a result it was not guided into the harbour until the next morning.

meanwhile, the Norwegian ship, The Imo, was in a rush the next morning to get out of the harbour.both ships are rushing through Halifax Harbour at “rush hour” and ultimately collided.the collision resulted in fire, and, 20 minutes later, fire resulted in explosion.

roar of the explosion was heard 320km away.

part of the Mont Blanc’s anchor was found more than 3km away.

a huge tidal wave formed and fell onto the city of Halifax and was followed immediately by fire.

about 200o people killed instantly and 9000 seriously injured.

blindness was by far the most common injury.

Barbara Orr lost her entire family.

This was the greatest man-made explosion to have ever occurred - until the Atomic Bomb was dropped in 1945.

Before and after

Acadia Sugar Refinery

The Richmond School

other images

Rescue, recovery, and clean-up

the following day rescue efforts were hampered by the worst storm Halifax had faced in the past 25 years.

military tents were set up for those left homeless.

while clean-up and the search for family members continued.

help and relief came from areas outside - most notably Boston.

Boston sent train loads of doctors, nurses, and supplies to Halifax and the Boston Symphony raised $5million (in today’s dollars) for the city.

Still today the city of Halifax sends a giant Christmas tree to Boston each December as a thank you for their assistance in 1917.