Fighting the War at Home

1. Fighting the War at Home

2. The Role of Govt in Wartime • regular roles but also coordinate & finance the war effort • War Measures Act (August 1914) gave gov’t control over many areas of life in Canada • recent German, Austrian, Italian immigrants suspected as “enemies of the state” (“enemy aliens”) - arrested & interned (prison)

6. Berlin, Ontario • City has large German population • Anti-German violence & vandalism

8. Berlin, Ont. • 1916: Vote to change name to something more ”patriotic”

9. The Role of Govt in Wartime • Gov’t dictates to farmers & factory owners what to produce for the war effort • Ex. 1917: gov’t limits use of grain by distilleries • IMB – controls munitions production • Food Comptroller – food quotas/rationing - legal penalties for hoarding

10. Effects on Everyday Life • “Do your bit”: sacrifice, contribute to victory • “Victory Gardens”: produce as much food as possible

13. Women during the War Years • become essential component of Canada’s war effort • Organized fundraisers, knitted socks, & packaged parcels for the war effort & to support the troops overseas • “Bluebirds”: front-line ambulance drivers & nurses

14. Women during the War Years • 35,000 women work in munitions factories by 1917 • drove buses/streetcars, worked in banks, on police forces, in civil service jobs, on farms

15. Women during the War Years • women with husbands overseas became heads of households for the 1st time • Responsibilities included feeding, clothing, housing their families • “War widows” grow in numbers as war drags on

16. Women during the War Years • Due to participation/sacrifice for war effort, women should have equal share in political decision making • Suffrage – getting the right to vote

17. The Economics of War • 1918: war costing gov’t over $1 million a day • how to finance the war ? • Income tax introduced as a “temporary” measure (yeah, right…)

18. The Economics of War • Victory Bonds: citizens loan money to the gov’t ; cashed in after the war for a higher profit/interest • private & commercial investors loan gov’t over $1 billion

20. New Industries • Industrial production reaches new heights • over 300,000 Canadians employed in war plants (airplanes, shells, ship production) • Sparks the establishment of new industries • Mining, forestry, textile, agricultural sectors boom

22. Canadian Homefront Canada 1914 Canada 1917 600 munitions factories with over 300,000 workers Completing over $ 2 million / day in orders 800, 000 shells/month sent from Canada to Europe • Mainly agricultural • No munitions industry within Canada

23. But, all was not well…

26. But, all was not well…

27. The 1917 Conscription crisis and the “Khaki Election” • Read p. 101 – 104 in text • Define: “conscription” • Why did PM Borden feel it was necessary? • Who opposed Conscription? Why? • What were: The Military Voters Act & The Wartime Elections Act? • What was the result of the “Khaki Election”? • How did Canadians react to the results?

28. Why Conscription?

29. All sides were running out of soldiers. • Losses were 4 times enlistment in Canada in Dec 1916

30. Conscription in Canada • Military Services Act • enlistment mandatory men 18-45 • exemptions for conscientious objectors (opposed fighting on moral or religious grounds) • many French Canadians against conscription (ex. Henri Bourassa.

31. Conscription con’t • Wartime Elections Act • wives, sisters, mothers,daughters of soldiers granted the vote • right to vote was also denied to conscientious objectors and those of “enemy birth” • women who had relatives overseas would support conscription • anyone who would be clearly against conscription (Conscientious objectors) denied the vote.

32. The Khaki Election Canadian nurses voting in France

34. A Country Divided or United?