Canadian Reaction to the Events in
Europe
• Following the lead of British
Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain, William Lyon
Mackenzie King (Prime Minister)
pursued a policy of
appeasement with Germany and
Italy.
• In 1937 King visited Hitler and
found him to be a man of “deep
sincerity and a genuine patriot”
who “truly loves his fellow man”
Canadian Reaction to Events in Europe
• When Germany seized the Sudetenland in
Czechoslovakia, the Munich Pact (signed
by Britain, Germany, France and Italy)
allowed the territorial grab without any
objection. King sent a message to
Chamberlain thanking him for his work
towards peace.
• Hitler quickly followed up by capturing the
rest of Czechoslovakia and started the
Second World War by invading Poland on
Sept 1, 1939.
Canadian Reaction to the Events in
Europe
• At the outbreak of the war, a small
minority of Canadians called for
neutralism and pacifism. The most
notable figure being the CCF
(Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, a
socialist –democratic political party)
leader J.S. Woodsworth.
• Canada went to war not because Hitler
was a monster who had invaded Poland,
not to fight for democracy, not to save the
Jews of Europe but simply because
Britain had gone to war. Britain had
promised to defend Poland if Hitler
invaded.
Canadian Reaction to the events in
Europe
• Because of the *1931 Statute of
Westminster, Canada now had
independent control of its foreign policy.
• It is true that King waited a week after
Britain declared war before doing so
himself, but this was mostly to prove that
Canada could do so; there was never any
doubt that Canada was Britain’s “banking
ally”.
Canadian Reaction to the Events in
Europe
• Few Canadians felt any excitement as the
war began
• Ten years of depression, unemployment, and
hard times had sapped the national will, and
there were too many who remembered the
dead and maimed from the Great War
• King pledged to not introduce conscription
(draft)for overseas service.
• Canada’s role would be one of “limited
liability” during the war. This meant that
Canada would contribute what it could and
use the war to rebuild its economy.
Reaction to Europe in the 1930’s
What similarities and
differences do you see
in how Canada, The
United States, Brazil,
Mexico & Argentina
reacted to the
problems arising in
Europe? Create a chart
discussing each
countries actions.
The Military Role of Canada
•
•
•
To mobilize the economy for
war, King created the
Department of Munitions and
Supply in 1940 under the
direction of industrialist C.D.
Howe.
This department was the driving
force behind Canada’s
industrial contribution to the
war.
At the outset of the war in 1939,
King announced that Canadian
forces would play three key
roles:
Three Key Role
1. an infantry division would be sent to
Europe
2. the Royal Canadian Navy would protect
convoys across the Atlantic
3. the Royal Canadian Air Force would run
the British Commonwealth Air Training
Plan(BCATP)
The BCATP took advantage of Canada’s
wide-open spaces and relative safety.
Aircrew trainees from all across the
Commonwealth came to Canada to be
turned into pilots, navigators, operators,
and bombardiers.
The Military Role of Canada
• Many argue that the 132,000-strong aircrew
produced by the BCATP was Canada’s greatest
contribution to WWII.
• As Germany quickly conquered virtually all of
continental Europe by the summer of 1940,
Canada’s plan for “limited liability” was jettisoned.
• Recruiting was stepped up, war production was
increased to supply the British demand, and units of
infantry, artillery, RCAF squadrons were hurried
across the ocean.
The Military Role of Canada
• From 1939 until late 1941, Canada was
Britain’s principal ally in the war effort.
• Thousands of RCAF members were
integrated into the Royal Air Force’s
Bomber Command where they engaged in
dangerous missions carrying the war into
the heart of Germany every night.
Canada’s Military Role
• Early battles included a few serious losses. For
example, the Canadian infantrymen defending
the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong were
captured by the Japanese on Christmas Day,
1941.
• Also, the attempt to land at Dieppe, France in
August 1942 was a huge military blunder that
resulted in 907 dead and 2000 captured. The
only positive outcomes of the attack on Dieppe
were that it prepared the Allied forces for the
scale of assault needed to make D-Day
successful and it convinced the USSR of the
Allies’ commitment to the war.
Canada’s Military Role
• By 1943, the Royal Canadian Navy was
successful in chasing German U-boats
from the sea and winning the Battle of the
Atlantic.
• Canadians (with Americans and the
British) launched a hard fought campaign
in Sicily and Italy that saw Rome captured
by June 1944. In these battles, soldiers
fought room to room to overtake Italian
and German soldiers. The battle of
Ortona, Italy stands out amongst these
fights.
Canada’s Military Role
• Also in June 1944, the Allied forces launched the
invasion of Normandy, France called Operation
Overlord (or more commonly D-Day). Canadian
forces successfully landed at Juno beach and
commenced their Eastward march across
Europe.
• Canadian soldiers battled through France and
helped to free Holland.
Canada’s Military Role
• The death toll for Canada’s participation in
WWII included 22,917 in the army, 17,101
in the RCAF and 2204 in the Navy.
(approximately 42,000)
• By the end of the war Canada had the
third largest Navy and the fourth largest air
force in the world.
Who do you think had the 1st and 2nd ? Why?
Inter-American Diplomacy
• Both Canada and the USA were worried about their
own national security by the summer of 1940 and
decided to move towards greater cooperation.
• Roosevelt and King were friendly and their
governments had negotiated trade deals in 1935
and 1938, and there had even been tentative
military staff talks in 1938.
• In August 1940 King called FDR and suggested a
meeting at Ogdensburg, New York.
Inter-American Diplomacy
• There they established a Permanent Joint
Board on Defence to plan for the defence
of the continent and to coordinate the
deployment of their forces.
• The Ogdensburg Agreement was historic
because it marked the shifting of Canada
out of Britain’s sphere of influence and into
that of the USA. Responses to the
Ogdensburg Agreement were positive in
North America but Winston Churchill was
understandably critical.
Inter-American Diplomacy
• King again visited FDR in
April of 1941 at the
President’s home in Hyde
Park, New York.
• The resulting Hyde Park
Declaration saw the USA
agreeing to buy more raw
materials and manufactured
goods in Canada as well as
allowing material to be
imported into Canada under
Lend-Lease. This allowed
Canada to sidestep dollar
deficits and more effectively
supply the British war effort.
Inter-American Diplomacy
• Thanks to the Hyde Park Declaration,
Canada’s economic problems were quickly
erased and the Canadian war economy
boomed.
• As a result, Canada was soon in a position
to give away billions of dollars in munitions
and foodstuffs. In total, Canada gave
Britain $3.5 billion in aid.
Inter-American Diplomacy
• By the end of 1941, Canada started to be partly
ignored by Washington, DC. The USA was now
formally aligned with the other superpowers of
Britain and the USSR in waging the war and had
less time for a “middle power”
Inter-American Diplomacy
• In an attempt to have more influence,
Canada applied the functional principle.
• In regards to the Combined Food Board
(which allocated scarce foodstuffs),
Canada forced Britain and the USA to
allow Canada a larger share of decisionmaking as a reflection of Canada’s role as
a principal food exporter.
• Canada was also active in cooperating
with the USA on atomic and scientific
research as well as in intelligence matters.
Impact of the War on Labor
• Increased demands for wheat, lumber, fish and
minerals made unemployment disappear
• Government and businesses desired peace on the
labor front in order to maintain production
• Ottawa passed regulations that recognized labor’s
rights to bargain collectively and organize, to fair
wages and a fair deal. The primary regulation was
Privy Council Act 1003. PC 1003 was modelled on
the US’s Wagner Act and became the basis for all
subsequent labor law in Canada.
Impact of the war on Labor
• One preamble to PC 1003 states that, "the
common well-being" is promoted "through
the encouragement of free collective
bargaining and the constructive settlement
of disputes."
• Union strength doubled from 359,000 in
1939 to 711,000 in 1945.
Impact of the War on Business
• While some business leaders were unhappy
with the new rights of labour, overall business
was good during the war.
• There were products to be made in every factory
and the cost-plus contracts with the government
eliminated the usual risks for owners
Impact of the War on Business
• The government aided the construction of
plants, gave easy write-offs for costs and
depreciation and, although taxes were
high, profits were still good.
• Unnecessary industries were squeezed
out of the marketplace and forced to
convert to war production. Eg. Fridges to
Bren guns or tank tracks
Impact of the War on the Economy
• Living standards improved all across the country
during the war.
• The Gross National Product (GNP) rose from $5.6
billion in 1939 to $11.8 billion in 1945 and average
wages, personal savings and government
expenditures rose with it.
• The cost of living remained static because of price
controls and, in spite of high taxes, there was more
money in Canada than there had been for years.
Impact of the War on the
Economy
• There were few things to buy due to
military production so Canadians gave
billions back to the government when they
bought Victory Bonds.
• It was a people’s war in Canada, fought by
the people with equipment produced by
the people and paid for by the people, and
for once the people seemed to get some
of the benefits.
Conscription
• King did not want to see a repeat of the Conscription
Crisis that had damaged French-English relations
during World War One.
• French and English Canadians needed to remain
united, but this would be impossible if conscription
was imposed on a reluctant Quebec by the AngloCanadian majority
• The National Resources Mobilization Act was passed
in 1940 to create a conscripted force but for home
defence only.
• This policy seemed favourable to most French
Canadians, who had no quarrel with being expected to
defend Canada.
Conscription
• As the war deepened, King came up with
the idea of a national plebiscite to free his
government from its promise to not impose
conscription.
• In early 1942, Quebec voted 72.9%
against conscription while in Ontario (and
most of English Canada) only 17.7% voted
against forced military service overseas.
• King now found himself in a difficult
position: should he listen to the majority
will and impose conscription or favour
national unity and not alienate Quebec?
Conscription
• The National Resources Mobilization Act was
amended to make overseas conscription
possible but only if it was deemed necessary.
• King craftily claimed it was “not necessarily
conscription, but conscription if necessary”
• By 1944, there was a shortage of Canadian
troops in Europe. Because Canada insisted on
controlling its own forces in the war, a long
supply line and reinforcement chain was
necessary. Reinforcement shortages arose and
wounded Canadians were being sent back out
the front.
Conscription
• King decided that conscription had become
“necessary” and sent 16,000 NRMA men
overseas. In the end 2463 NRMA soldiers made
it to the front and, of these, only 69 were killed.
• The fallout in Quebec was sharply critical, but it
did not destroy the Liberal government in
Quebec. King still seemed the best of a bad lot
of Anglo politicians to French Canadians.
• By stalling until the end of the war, King had
avoided a major division and the bloody riots
that had accompanied the conscription crisis
during WWI.
Impact of the War on the Role of Government
• The state began to
intervene in every
sphere of life,
allocating resources,
controlling production,
and determining
wages.
• The Wartime Prices
and Trade Board
froze prices and
wages in 1941 to
avoid spiralling
inflation.
Impact of the war on the Role of Government
• Ration cards or tokens were issued for
scarce items such as gasoline or meat
• Housewives were encouraged to plant
Victory Gardens to produce their own
foodstuffs as well as to save fats and
metals for the war effort.
• The government mobilized for war in a
way that made WWI efforts look
amateurish.
Impact of the War on the Role of
Government
• Canadians were afraid that depression conditions would
return after the war; People wanted jobs, security and a good
standard of living.
• In response and under the influence of Keynesian economics,
the federal bureaucracy became convinced that it needed to
play a major role in directing the economy.
• In 1940 a contributory scheme of unemployment insurance
was created.
• Further, in 1944 the family allowance or “baby bonus” began
sending a monthly payment for each child.
Impact of the War on the Role of
Government
• These and other numerous programs created
the modern welfare state or social welfare net
that Canadians have come to expect.
• The Liberal party stole these social welfare
planks from Opposition parties (most notably the
CCF) and established itself as the primary ruling
party of Canada because it “delivered the
goods”.
• The government had changed with the war, and
ideas of state intervention that in the 1930s had
been denounced as unjustified interference with
the laissez faire tradition were now heralded as
essential
Internment of Japanese-Canadians
Internment of Japanese-Canadians
• With the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbour on Dec. 7, 1941,
the war had been brought close
to North America and panic
struck the West Coast.
• Drawing on a long tradition of
anti-Asian sentiment,
politicians, newspapers and
citizens’ groups called for
action against the 23,000
Japanese-Canadians living in
British Columbia
• Most of these fisherpeople and
market gardeners were
Canadian citizens and the
RCMP and military officials
informed Ottawa that they
posed no threat to Canadian
security.
Internment of Japanese-Canadians
• Despite this, the Japanese-Canadians were
rounded up, deprived of their livelihoods, and
dispersed to internment camps in Canada’s interior.
• Soon their property was sold at drastically
undervalued prices and after the war the federal
government attempted to deport as many JapaneseCanadians as possible back to Japan.
Internment of Japanese-Canadians
• As the largest forced
migration in Canadian
history, this episode of
systematic discrimination is
widely believed to be one of
Canada’s darkest moments.
• In 1988 the Canadian
government officially
apologized for its treatment
of Japanese Canadians. A
symbolic redress payment of
$21,000 was given to each
survivor and an additional
$36 million was put into
cultural programming for the
Japanese-Canadian
community and anti-racism
education more broadly
Impact of the War on Aboriginal Peoples
• 3000 First NationCanadians served during
WWII. This statistic does not account for any
Inuit or Metis participants.
• Because of the entrance restrictions used by
the air force and navy, most Aboriginal people
served in the army.
• Aboriginal men joined to gain employment, to
fight against nazism, and to carry on the
tradition of their fathers and uncles who had
served in WWI
Impact of the War on Aboriginal Peoples
• The war produced many
decorated Aboriginal
heroes. For example,
Tommy Prince of
Manitoba served as part
of an exclusive battalion
doing specialized
reconnaissance and
raiding missions. As the
most decorated
Canadian war hero,
Prince was awarded the
Military Medal by King
George VI.
Impact of the War on Aboriginals
• Despite their sacrifices, Aboriginal soldiers
still faced discrimination and often
returned to a Canada that relegated them
and their families to the second-class
citizenship of reserve life.
• It must be remembered that many First
Nations soldiers were fighting for
democracy abroad while they didn’t even
have the right to vote in federal elections!
Impact of the War on Women
• Wives and older daughters stepped into industry
to supply the necessary labour lost by men
fighting overseas
• By 1944, more than 1 million women were
working full time and this figure does not include
part-time women workers or the 800,000 women
working on farms.
• In 1943, 261,000 women were employed in war
industries making artillery pieces, tanks,
ammunition, ships and aircraft. In contrast to the
sham of “Rosie the Riveter” in the USA,
Canadian women did much of the same work as
men in factories.
Impact of the War on Women
• As a result, women earned substantially higher
wages than were possible before the war.
• Women also participated actively in the war
effort.
• Nearly 50,000 women enlisted in the Canadian
Women’s Army Corps, the RCAF’s Women’s
Division, and the Women’s Royal Canadian
Naval Service.
• A further 4,500 served as nursing sisters in the
forces overseas.
• The war did not emancipate women or win them
full equality, but it did increase their opportunities
by providing room for work outside the domestic
sphere.
Veronica Foster or “Ronnie” The Bren Gun Girl,
John Inglis Co. in Toronto, ON
Reaction to the Holocaust in Canada
• In the 1930s German Jews fled Nazi Germany in
order to escape persecution.
• The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 had removed the
rights of Jewish citizens and Kristallnacht in
1938 was a government-sponsored attack on
the Jewish community.
Reaction to the Holocaust
• Frederick Blair, King’s
anti-Semitic minister of
immigration, had
effectively shut the doors
to any Jews. When
asked how many Jews
should be allowed to
immigrate, Blair
responded, “one is too
many.”
• Canada also turned
away the steamship St.
Louis that was filled with
German Jewish
refugees.
Reaction To The Holocaust
• As a result of Blair’s policies, Canada allowed
fewer than 5000 Jews refuge in Canada
during Hitler’s reign. This is in comparison to
the USA (240,000) and Argentina (25,000).
• Canada during WWII was still a very W.A.S.P.
country and anti-Semitic views were still very
common.
• Though many people view Hitler’s systematic
murdering of 6 million Jews and 5 million
other “undesirables” (Gypsies, homosexuals,
disabled people, Slavs and leftists) as a key
feature of WWII, it was not a primary concern
for Canadians during the war.
Reaction to the Holocaust
• By 1942, information detailing the slaughter of
Jews became available to Allied leaders.
• The Canadian Jewish Congress organized protests
and did publicity to raise awareness of the issue
and to allow refugees into Canada.
• At the end of 1942, Canadian officials admitted
that they knew 2 million Jews had been killed.
Despite this, they argued that the solution was to
defeat Germany militarily, not to admit refugees.
Reaction to the Holocaust
• Due to anti-Judaism within the general
population, there was little support for
accepting refugees or immigrants.
• King was aware that pursuing a strong policy
of refugee admission could possibly cause him
to lose the next election.
Reaction to the Holocaust
• When a petition was put forward by the
Canadian National Committee on Refugees,
nativist and anti-Judaic groups mobilized
against it.
• For example, the Canadian Legion’s paper
wrote, “The future of Canada depends on the
preservation of British institutions...there is no
room in Canada for the cut throat competition
of Japs or refugees” until all returned soldiers
were re-integrated into Canada
Reaction to the Holocaust
• At the end of the war there were 250,000 Jews left in
Europe looking for homes. They were among the millions of
DPs (Displaced Persons) still in camps.
• In 1947 Canada allowed 8000 Jews into Canada under a few
programs for orphans, first-degree relatives and needle
trades/fur workers.
Reaction to the Holocaust
• On the positive side, this reversed the decades-old
trend of refusal and represented a higher percentage
of Jewish immigrants (15%) than the total population
of Canadian Jews as part of Canadian society(1.5%)
• On the negative side, this total was pitiful compared
with the demand. Also, it only came after the crisis of
the Holocaust was over. Finally, and coincidentally,
Canada only opened its doors at the time of the
founding of Israel. Thus, many Jews decided to settle
there instead.
Canada and the Atomic Age
• Canada had assisted the USA in its Manhattan
Project of developing the atomic bomb.
• A research and development facility to be used
as part of the Manhattan Project was scheduled
to be built in Montreal, but was cancelled when
the bomb was developed earlier than planned.
Canada and the Atomic Age
• Canada provided uranium from its western
mines to be used in the atomic bombs.
• After WWII ended the world quickly split
between the capitalist west (USA, Britain,
Canada, France, West Germany) and the
communist east (USSR, and its satellites
such as East Germany, Poland, etc.)
• Although Canada never armed itself with
atomic bombs, it did participate in the Cold
War by joining the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO).