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The War Measures Act
 This was an act passed in August of 1914
 What were the consequences of the
act????
- Censorship
- Economic control
- Elimination of democratic rights and civil
liberties
- Overriding provincial rights
What is the War measures Act?
 The War measures act is a Canadian
statute that came into effect on August
4th, 1914.
 It allowed the federal government
emergency powers to govern by decree
under circumstances of “war, invasion or
insurrection, real or apprehended”
 IT gave the government the okay to do
everything necessary for the “security,
defense, peace, order, and welfare of
Canada” (Textbook, page 27)
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THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAD NEVER BEEN
GRANTED THIS MUCH POWER BEFORE!!!!!
What does this mean?
 Under the act the Cabinet does not have
to submit its proposals to parliament for
approval
 Lawmaking process in the legislature can
be avoided
 The government can intervene in the
economy of the country
 Strip ordinary citizens of their civil rights
 Censored mail
 Habeus corpus suspended
 Limited the freedom of “enemy aliens” –
recent immigrants from the countries that
we were now at war with
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The Government during WWI
 Intervention in Canadian society increased
dramatically during the war
 1916 – War Profit tax
 1917 – Personal income tax  Temporary
 1917 – Nationalization of half of the
railroads
 1918 – Increased civil service to 40,000
Economics of the war:
 Financing the war was expensive despite
high production levels
 The cost of the war was 1.3 billion by
March of 1919
Public debt in 1911: 350 million dollars vs. Public
debt in 1918: 1,175 million dollars
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Financing the cost of the war:
 How did Canada finance the cost of the
war?
1. Victory bonds
2. Income tax
Victory Bonds:
 In attempts to appeal to patriotism
 Victory bonds were encouraged
 Could be cashed in with interest after the
war
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Income Tax:
 This was supposed to be temporary
 Well off families and individuals: 3% of
their income
 4% on business profits
Not Enough
 The money from income tax and victory
bond initiaitves was not enough
 Canada had to borrow money to fund the
cost of the war
 From other countries (USA)
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Internment of “enemy aliens”
 During WWI 500,000 people that lived in
Canada were from the German, AustroHungarian or Ottoman empires
 8579 people into 26 camps
 performing tasks such as building roads
and clearing the land  WORK CAMPS
 They were paid 25 cents per day
Propaganda
 During WWI Canadians were bombarded
with war propaganda
 Used to get people to support the war
effort
 Films, radio, politics, posters, speeches
 Persuaded young men to volunteer (80%
of Canadians were volunteers during
WWI)
 BUT: it often distorts truth
 Lies about battles on the Western front
 Lies about enemy casualties and allies
successes
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The Halifax Explosion
 When: 1917
 Where: Halifax, Nova Scotia
 What: A huge explosion occurred when a
French ship (Mont-Blanc) loaded with
explosives collided with a Norweigian the
Imo in the harbour.
 Why: The collision was an accident
 The Numbers: Between 2000-3000 killed,
10,000 injured
 This was the largest man-made explosion
(Before the Atomic bomb)
 Germans were inaccurately blamed for
this
Election of 1917
 Referred to as a “Khaki Election”
 A “Khaki Election” is any election that is
influenced a great deal by war, wartime,
or postwar sentiment
 In 1917 the Military Voters Act was
passed and the vote was granted to all
servicemen and women in the Canadian
Expeditionary force.
 Many of these people could now cast their
vote in any riding in Canada
 In 1917 the Wartime Elections Act was
also passed
 This meant that the vote was granted to:
wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters of
soldiers
 The Union Government won the election
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Conscientious Objectors:
 Mennonites and those from similar
churches were exempt from service
 Many were imprisoned
 Mennonite and Hutterite immigrants were
barred
 Canadian conscientious objectors were
given the option of non-combatant service
– medical or dental corps or working in
parks under supervision
 Most chose to work in parks under
supervision and were placed in Alternative
Service Camps
Conscription
 Conscription divided Canadians
 Farmer, Quebecois, British loyalists,
families of soldiers
 In January of 1918 conscription was
imposed.
 400, 000 affected
 100, 000 drafted
 24, 000 soldiers were sent to France
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Conscription crisis:
 1917: desperate need of soldiers
 Attempts to recruit and replace soldiers
failed  conscription was implemented
 English Canadians were less opposed to
conscription because of loyalty and ties to
Britain.
 French Canadians felt no connection to
Britain and opposed conscription
 = Military Voters Act  Voters overseas
could vote for conscription
The Quebecois in WWI
 The French Canadians did not feel that
they needed to serve the British in WWI
 Conscription was the most hated in
Quebec
 Henri Bourassa and Wilfred Laurier were
the leaders of the campaign against
conscription
 They felt that the war was putting
Canadians against each other
 The tension between French and English
Canadians that developed here would last
for many years
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Women in WWI
 WWI affected the role of women and their
position in Canadian society
 They
1. played an essential role in war production
2. They volunteered their time to support troops
3. Served in the Royal Air Force
4. Were nurses
5. Victory gardens, Victory bonds, and rationing
programs
6. Kitchen Brigade
Women’s Suffrage in WWI
 Before WWI some women had local and
provincial voting rights that were generally
dependent upon them owning property
 By 1900, Nellie McClung and The Famous Five
had successfully fought for women’s suffrage in
Manitoba provincial elections
 In 1917, the Wartime Elections Act gave the
vote to British Women who were war widows,
or had sons husbands or brothers serving
overseas
 In 1918, Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden
introduced a bill to extend the franchise to
women  did not apply to Quebec
 Quebec women did not gain full suffrage until
1940
 Who was the first woman elected to
Parliament? Where? When?
 Agnes Macphail, Ontario, 1921
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Women: The Western Front
• 2500  medical and field ambulance
corps
• Nurses  “Blue birds”
• Hospitals in Britain
• Military hospitals in battle zones
Minority Enlistment
• Those who were not welcomed: Nonwhites and those born in enemy territory
• 1915: Aboriginal Canadians were allowed
to enlist
• Some were accepted into the 114th
Battalion
• Blacks in Nova Scotia were told “This is
not for you fellows, this is a white man’s
war!”
• One black unit was formed called the No
2. Construction battalion – they were not
allowed to fight for their country – they
were to build trenches and shelters.
• They trained in Pictou, Nova Scotia
• They formed their own brass band
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Minority enlistment:
• Won the Boston Marathon in record time
in 1907
• He had a professional career as a runner
winning several different titles
• He was a dispatch runner in WWI and
retired after the war
• He was married to Lauretta Maracle
• Interesting fact: He was mistakenly
declared dead during WWI and remarried
afterwards
• He died of pneumonia in 1949
The End.
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