WW2CANADIAN HISTORY

Canada at War

Canada’s role

We did more than supply soldiersCanada had a choice not to align with

Britain, we were now independent and didn’t HAVE to go to war.

It was in GOOD FAITH that we did (loyalty)Canada drew up a War Plan

It included what was most important for Canadians

The War plan had 8 parts

Canada’s War Plan

The defense and security of Canada

Contribute to Britain’s efforts by supplying food Brits at home, making

sacrifices and to the soldiers on the front lines

Creating and exporting weapons and ammunition

Training pilotsDevelopment of the Royal

Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for home and overseas defense (escort convoys)

Development of the Canadian Navy (sea ships) to escort convoys of food and defense against U-boats

Development of land army (soldiers) for defense of home and abroad

Development of a special troop to additionally escort war materials via boat- Merchant Marines (took over from Navy eventually)

WHAT DO YOU NOTICE IS THE FOCUS OF THE WAR PLAN?

-WHO IS MOST IMPORTANT?-WHY THE CHANGE?

Question to the class-

Weapons in War-Minister of Munitions and Supply (CD Howe)

-Increased production of supplies to avoid Profiteering (do you remember what this is?)

-War was very expensive!

-- $65 million a week!

-Government had to sell victory bond AGAIN to afford war efforts

Rationing was very important at this time The government had to conserve all

supplies to export to war efforts They gave citizens ration books where each

family got a specific amount of food for the month

Once the specified amounts in the ration book were used, you couldn’t buy any more Illegal stores sold items to Canadians if they

had money to pay (this is called the Black Market)

What’s the message is this poster?

Rationing Posters

How are these posters propaganda?

-Make you feel Guilty

-Make you feel that this is your fight too

-Make you feel accountable and responsible for war success

-Makes you feel that you have an important role in the war success

This was serious time

If you didn’t respect your rations- stiff fines were implemented

-Food Controllers were reporters of such “crimes”

-Gas was also rationed

-You could only fill your gas tank once a month

-No cars were bought, car production stopped in 1942

-Appliances were not being made, the steel was used to make bombers

5 cent nickels were made with zinc, the nickel mineral was needed for armor on the tanks

The Lend Lease Act and Hyde Park Declaration made our relationships stronger economically and military wise

New Friendships emerged

-McKenzie King and Roosevelt became good friends during this time

Alaska highway built with consent from Canada- some of it is in Canadian territory

-Roosevelt said he would back up Canada in any circumstance

Britain and the US purchased goods from Canada, this made our Economy quite good during this time– problems would arise when the demand was no longer there

This war was considered “everyone’s war”

Children were involved in efforts too They collected paper, metal, rags, rubber

and bones, string, foil, wrappers (foil) etc Communities had contests for kids on the

largest piles of collectables Students knitted socks and scarves during

lunch for soldiers They wrote letters to lonely soldiers Students made Victory Gardens in public

spaces to pay tribute to soldiers Boys joined cadets Students were given time off from school

to pick and harvest crops

War Volunteers

Regular citizens could volunteer to patrol coastal areas to sight invasions

They were trained (regular citizens) to spot spies in the sky!

The war UNITED Canadians

People objected to the war

Radio and newspapers were censored during war efforts

-The government felt that negative press or words would harm war efforts or the supposed felt unity in Canada

Police had the power to arrest citizens if they suspected they were against the war!

(War measures act from WW1)

The Conscription Crisis– AGAIN! By 1943, volunteer enlisted dropped and

conscription became the next option (forced enrollment)

King did not want conscription to happen again, he feared that it would divide the nation

He put it to a vote, the government can accept the vote or not, this is called a PLEBISCITE

What do you think happened after the vote?

-The country was divided

--Quebec was divided- they saw the war as a British war and wanted no part of it!

--The other provinces had British descendants and they voted in favour of conscription

The Game Changer: The Bombing

When Japan bombed Pearl Harbour (1941) as a warning to the Americans this did not sit well with the Canadian government

People with origins in the Axis nations (Germany, Italy, Japan and Soviet Union) in Canada were thought to not be trusted

Most Japanese immigrants lived in BC and were rounded up and taken to internment/holding camps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

CZFKPLxjq8c