Canada & The Great War (1914-1916): The Home Front
(Sources: Veterans Affairs Canada & A Brief History of Canada by Desmond Morton)
When Britain Declared War...
So did Canada, as we were a member of the British Empire.
To many Canadians, war was met with light-hearted optimism and enthusiasm.
It would be exciting; men could earn some cash; it would be good for business; and the
boys would be home by Christmas.
In Ottawa:
At the outbreak of the war, Robert Borden was the Canadian Prime Minister. Wilfred Laurier was the Liberal leader and opponent of Robert Borden. He showed support for the war by giving this response to Britain's call for armies: 'Ready, Aye Ready' and “It is our duty to let Great Britain know and to let the friends and foes of Great Britain know that there is in Canada but one mind and one heart and that all Canadians are behind the Mother Country”. A man by the name of Sam Hughes was our sitting Minister of the Militia (from 1911 to 1916). Hughes had gained his position more from his political connections than his military expertise. He was often criticized for his mismanagement of Canada’s Expeditionary Forces (CEF). As minister of militia, Hughes insisted on choosing the officers and on retaining the Canadian-made ROSS RIFLE. Since the rifle had serious faults and since some of Hughes's choices were incompetent cronies, the Canadian military had serious deficiencies. In 1916, Borden dismissed Hughes in favour of a more military-savvy minister: Albert Edward Kemp.
Agreement in Ottawa and Across the Country
The war united and inspired Canadians at first. Sam Hughes asked for 25,000 volunteers to train at a new camp at Valcartier, Québec. Over 33 000 appeared.
The war also united the government. Laurier urged PM Sir Robert Borden’s Conservative government to take sweeping powers under the new War Measures Act.
The War Measures Act
Robert Borden enacted the War Measures Act, which:
- Gave emergency powers to the federal government, allowing it to govern by decree in times of war. Governing by decree meant that the government in power could pass laws and make decisions without the hassle of going through the parliamentary process. It was very controversial:
- Many enemy ‘aliens’ of German, Ukrainian, and Slavic descent were interned in labor camps.
- ‘Subversive’ languages were banned.
- Confiscation of immigrant wealth.
- 'Aliens' forced to carry identification and report to authorities often.
- Many labor camps didn’t close until 1920.
- It limited the freedom of Canadians during war.
The War and the Canadian Economy
Canada's war effort was financed mainly by borrowing. By 1915, military spending equalled the entire government expenditure of 1913 and Canada was broke. The country needed money. But, Borden’s government had promised it wouldn’t raise taxes in the previous election. Since Britain could not afford to lend money to Canada, we turned to the US for a loan. The US was still a holdout in ‘Europe’s War’. We received $100 million from the US government and, as a result, our national debt was soaring. In 1915 the government's Victory Loan Campaign began raising huge sums from ordinary citizens for the first time.
A Volunteer Army
What happens when the volunteers stop volunteering? In the war's early stages:
- Unemployed workers flocked to enlist in 1914 & 1915, as did adventure-seekers.
- By the end of 1914 the target for the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was 50 000.
- By summer 1915 it was 150 000 because, during a visit to England earlier that summer, PM Borden was shocked with the magnitude of the struggle.
- For 1916, Borden pledged 500,000 soldiers from a Canadian population of barely 8 million.
An Army of Volunteers
Much of Canada's war effort was also supported by volunteers on the home front. The Canadian Patriotic Fund collected money to support soldiers' families. A Military Hospitals Commission cared for the sick and wounded. Churches, charities, women's organizations and the Red Cross found ways to "do their bit" for the war effort. In patriotic fervour, Canadians demanded that Germans and Austrians be dismissed from their jobs and interned: for example, citizens pressured Berlin, Ontario, to rename itself Kitchener.
Volunteerism Declines
By 1916, volunteering had virtually dried up. The 1914 recruits had been mostly by recent British immigrants; and enlistments in 1915 had taken most of the Canadian-born who were willing to go. The total, 330,000, was impressive but a far cry from the 500,000 promised. Borden soon had to act.
War and Canadian Society: Total War Includes the Home Front
The Order of the White Feather: group organized in London in which young women were encouraged to give a white feather to young men who did not go to Europe to fight. It symbolized cowardice. There were very few in Canada, as Canadians are more subtle. However, recruiting methods became intense and controversial:
- Clergy preached Christian duty;
- Women wore badges proclaiming "Knit or Fight";
- More and more English Canadians complained that French Canada was not doing its share.
- In Québec (and across Canada), unemployment gave way to high wages and a manpower shortage. There were good economic reasons to stay home.
French vs English
Few French Canadians felt deep loyalty to France or Britain. Henri Bourassa, leader of Québec's nationalists, insisted that French Canada's real enemies were not Germans but "English-Canadian anglicisers”. He felt the war was necessary to protect France, but felt only those who volunteered to fight should go. He didn’t agree with the aggressive recruiting in his home province.
The Controversy of War: A “White Man’s War”
- Women were ‘too weak’ for war and to serve in a male-dominated military. However, according to the men in power, women could keep the home fires burning, by making munitions, or by volunteering as nurses or ambulance drivers.
- Until 1915, Aboriginal men were denied the right to volunteer for military service. Racism? The Canadian government said that it was because of concerns that they would be mistreated if they ever became prisoners of war. As the war dragged on, the government changed its mind. In all, 4000 Aboriginal soldiers enlisted. When they arrived in England, they were dispersed. One of the more renowned Aboriginal soldiers, Tom Longboat, known to many as Canada’s greatest long-distance runner, enlisted in the CEF and became a ‘dispatch runner’. Another Aboriginal soldier, Francis Pegahmagabow, achieved fame as the best sniper in the CEF. He is the inspiration for Joseph Boyden's novel, Three Day Road. Both soldiers survived the war.
- Canadians of African descent faced tough circumstances due to longstanding racial discrimination. Robert Borden created a labour battalion in Pictou, Nova Scotia (#2 Construction Battalion). Their job was forestry and very few saw combat during the First World War.
- If they served (and wherever they served), African Canadians and Aboriginals were always commanded by white men and were segregated whenever possible. Even after the war, the military service records of minorities didn’t improve their status. Their contributions remain largely unrecognized in official records of the war.
Crisis in 1916-1917
Conscription is another term for mandatory military service. Early in the war, Canadians with a lot of British ties joined the war quickly. Many French Canadians still felt strong ties to France, and they went off to war as well, such as the Twenty-Second Regiment from Montreal, nicknamed the Van Doos. When war broke out, the Prime Minister promised that there would be no conscription, however, after his visit to Europe in 1916, he saw a need for more troops overseas. By now, men weren’t as enthusiastic to sign up because employment was high, as was the pay and many men thought they could stay home and work to support the war in this way. Plus, they would be safer.
Borden’s Reversal:
Remember Borden went to England and saw how bad things were for the allies? He reversed his earlier promise! There would be conscription in 1917.
