World War II
Only twenty years after the 'war to end all wars' the world went to war once again. The war began when Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland in 1939. Great Britain declared war on Germany and Canada followed its former metropolis (mother country) into war one week later. This time, however, the decision was made by the Canadian government because Canada was a fully independent country. World War II (WWII) was brutal and ugly, it expanded around most of the globe with up to 80 million people, most of which were civilians, being killed during the war.
The War Effort in Canada
Canada contributed about 5% of its population, around 600 000 people, to the war effort, 42 000 of whom would be killed. French speaking Canadians were most often placed in the infantry, the most dangerous assignment, and were underrepresented in the officer ranks.
The WWII was very expensive for the federal (Canadian) government and it needed to find news ways to finance the war. It introduced new taxes, increased income taxes, and sold 'Victory Bonds' to raise money. The government took control of planning important sectors of the economy and introduced rationing for things like sugar, meat, and butter.
The WWII was very expensive for the federal (Canadian) government and it needed to find news ways to finance the war. It introduced new taxes, increased income taxes, and sold 'Victory Bonds' to raise money. The government took control of planning important sectors of the economy and introduced rationing for things like sugar, meat, and butter.
Social and Economic Effects
The war had huge impacts on Canadian society and its economy. Below is just a partial list:
|
Political Consequences
WWII also affected politics in Canada in a huge way.
- Centralization of power: the federal government needed the ability to run its war effort. This meant that they also needed to centralize certain powers such as taxation on people and businesses, increasing the size of the government, and 'transfer payments' to provinces. This led to claims by provincial governments that the federal government was going against the main ideas of confederation. It can also be said that these actions by the federal government strengthened calls for Quebec's autonomy.
- Conscription Crises: once again the country faced a conscription (forced military service) crises. A referendum was held for conscription and voters decided to enforce conscription. However, the vote was along linguistic lines with English speakers largely in favour while French speakers were overwhelming against (90%).
- In Quebec, political movements that were seen as being sympathetic to the Axis' cause (Germany, Japan, Italy), such as corporatism and fascism, became less and less popular.
- Woman get the vote in Quebec in 1940.