The Homefront
Canadian money
Helped pay for the
war
The war cost $337,980,579,560
$123 million a day at the start, and in 1918 it
rose to $224 million.
Canadian factories made the weapons that won the war
Canadian men joined the army to fight and win the war
Recruits
Canadian food fed the troops
Rationing
Food shortages led to the rationing
The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) of
1914 governed all lives in Britain &
Canada during World War One. It listed
everything that people were not allowed to
do in time of war.
no-one was allowed to talk about naval or military matters in public
no-one was allowed to spread rumours about military matters
no-one was allowed to buy binoculars
no-one was allowed to trespass on railway lines or bridges
no-one was allowed to melt down gold or silver
no-one was allowed to light bonfires or fireworks
no-one was allowed to give bread to horses, horses or chickens
no-one was allowed to ring church bells
the government could take over any factory or workshop
the government could try any civilian breaking these laws
the government could take over any land it wanted to
the government could censor newspapers
opening hours in pubs were cut
beer was watered down
customers in pubs were not allowed to buy a round of drinks
Children sold stamps
Children collected scraps
People watched what
they said
Conscription Crisis
As casualties mounted enlistments in the
army declined
1917
Month
Casualties
Enlistments
Jan
4 396
9 194
Nov
30 741
4 019
Prime Minister Borden felt conscription was
needed
There was huge opposition to this in:
Quebec. They did not have the same loyalty
to France as English Canadians had to
Britain.
The movement against conscription
was led in Quebec by Henri Bourassa
French Canadians were enraged at the
discrimination in the armed forces.
Defence Minister Sam Hughes would not
permit orders to be given in French even
to all French units.
Farmers objected as their son’s were need
to operate the farms
Industrial workers complained they were
need in the factories
British Columbia objectors came from
labour unions
Pacifists believed war was inherently
immoral and refused to fight
Conscientious objectors are individuals
who, on religious, moral or ethical
grounds, refuses to participate as a
combatant in war
To get conscription Borden passed:
1) The Military Voters Act which allowed
soldiers overseas to vote
2) The Wartime Elections Act which allowed
female relatives of soldiers to vote
Borden then created a Union Government
which combined both Liberals and
Conservatives in favour of conscription
and called an election in 1917
Borden defeated Laurier in a landslide and
introduced the Military Service Act in
August 1917 which forced men to join the
military.
Conscription Riots followed and
French/English relations suffered greatly
The Halifax Explosion
December 7, 1917
Influenza pandemic
20 - 40 million die world wide in 1918