Social Studies 11 Unit 2 Canada Emerges in

Social Studies 11 Unit 2 Canada Emerges in the 20 th Century The War at Home

A Brief Review Sam Hughes • Poor administrator • Awarded expensive military contracts to friends. • Responsible for Ross Rifle fiasco, poor quality shells that exploded in artillery • Boots made out of pressed cardboard that disintegrated in the rain

A Brief Review continued Financing the War • Cost: $1. 3 billion by March 1919 » >$1 million/day in 1918 • Public Debt: 1911: $350 million » 1918: $1, 175 million • Financing: – Victory Bonds: > $1. 0 billion » > 1 million citizens – Income Tax: ~ $8 million/yr

A Brief Review continued Use of Propaganda • propaganda must meet four conditions to be effective: • - it must be simple • - it must appeal to emotions, not intellect • - it must have an element of truth • - it must be repetitive

• - propaganda appeared in films, radio, speeches, and posters • - propaganda urged the purchase of war bonds, use less fuel, eat less meat, save fats, enlist in the army • - propaganda is selective and it distorts the truth • - it is used to raise morale, exaggerating victories, down-playing defeats and characterizing the enemy as inhuman

The Role of Women • labour shortage lead to increased opportunities for women • some organized committees to raise money and joined the Red Cross • most significantly, women joined the labour force in greater numbers in all industries from fishing to running farms, the civil service and working in factories • women were expected to give up their jobs for returning veterans after the war however • this involvement strengthened the demand for universal suffrage (the vote) and all Canadian women had the right to vote in federal elections by 1918

Halifax Explosion Halifax is a major ice-free port • the harbour was often very crowded with shipping • most military convoys left from this harbour • on December 6, 1917, the Mont Blanc, a French vessel loaded to capacity with 6400 t of dynamite and ammunition, was hit by another vessel • the collision left the boat listless and it drifted, burning, closer to shore

• the explosion devastated Halifax Harbour and much of the city • it could be heard 350 km away • between 2000 -3000 people were killed • it was the largest artificial explosion in the world at that time

Volunteer Shortage • war volunteers could not keep up with the demand for soldiers in Europe • but, Prime Minister Borden had promised that there would be no conscription • British PM David Lloyd George argued that many more men would be needed to win the war at all costs

• on return to Canada, PM Borden introduced the Military Service Act to: • - make enlistment compulsory • - allowed exemptions at first for the disabled, clergy, those with essential skills and conscientious objectors (those who refused to fight on religious grounds) • this law resulted in a controversy that divided Canada

The Conscription Crisis • the lowest volunteer levels were in Quebec and few officers were French-speaking • the majority of French Canadians did not feel a patriotic to either France or Britain as they have lived in Canada for generations • prairie farmers also opposed conscription as sons were needed to do the heavy farm work • resistance to conscription in British Columbia turned violent

The Khaki Election • facing such opposition, Borden called an election to decide the issue • first, he passed the Military Voters Act, allowing overseas men and women to vote (to get their support) • second, the Wartime Elections Act gave the vote to all Canadian women the vote if they were directly related to servicemen (again hoping for support for him and conscription)

• the vote was cancelled for conscientious objectors and any immigrant from the enemy countries in the last 15 years • Borden went further and invited Liberals who favoured conscription to join him in a wartime Union Government coalition (offering them cabinet positions) • Laurier, opposing conscription, lost support outside of Quebec and the Union Government won • those who opposed Union candidates were accused of being traitors • anger and demonstrations continued in Quebec • in the end only 25 000 conscripts made it to France before the end of the war