SAMPLE ESSAY – THE CONSCRIPTION QUESTION, 1917
When war erupted in 1914 Canada automatically entered the war as an ally of Great Britain. Initially the
war was supported with unbridled enthusiasm in English-Canada. Men enlisted in large numbers at
recruiting stations and armories across the country. The reaction in Quebec was decidedly different as
many French-Canadians questioned Canada’s responsibility to England. As the war proceeded however,
and as reports of the horrors of the trenches made their way back to Canada, this initial enthusiasm
waned. By 1917, Prime Minister Robert Borden was facing a crisis. The disasters of 1916, particularly at
the Battle of the Somme, saw an increase in the number of casualties suffered by Canadians while
enlistment rates in Canada floundered (1). To meet the crisis Borden decided to introduce conscription,
the mandatory enlistment of young Canadian men into the armed forces. This decision proved to be a
disastrous choice for Canada. French-Canadians reacted quickly and violently to a decision that
threatened the unity of the country. As well, young men were forced against their wills to leave the
farms and factories, placing great strains on families and business owners across Canada. Finally, very
few recruits actually made their way to Europe following their training. In all, the decision to force
enlistment on Canadian men was a poor decision that had long lasting consequences that outweighed
any benefits that may have been produced.
When war was initially declared in 1914 many French-Canadian leaders, particularly Henri Bourassa,
expressed their opposition to the war (2). Many Quebeckers challenged Canada’s loyalty to a British
monarchy that had little relevance to the French in Canada. When Borden announced mandatory
conscription, many Quebecers reacted with unbridled opposition. Rioting occurred in the streets of
Quebec City and Montreal (3). The feeling that was pervasive amongst French-Canadians was that their
loyalty to Canada was brought into question. Many Quebecers felt in fact that their primary loyalty was
to Canada and not a foreign country. As these thoughts percolated, some Quebecers began to question
Canada’s loyalty to Quebec. The conscription crisis opened for the first time in Canada the idea of a
Quebec that would be separate from the rest of Canada. In many ways, the conscription crisis was the
first step in a long battle for Quebec separation.
While the question of conscription was being debated in Quebec, it was also met with opposition by
farmers and factory owners (4). Young men who took on many of the major duties on farms and
factories after the initial waves of enlistments were now being pulled their jobs. This placed a
tremendous strain on those industries dependent on these workers. Many women had taken over the
jobs left by the soldiers who had enlisted in the first years of the war but conscription placed a greater
burden than expected. The strain was particularly hard on women who had to take care of the farm
when their husbands left for Europe. They were dependent on their sons who now faced the possibility
of enforced conscription. Despite assurances that there would be exemptions for some families, this
promise was not always kept. The resentment among farmers and factory owners over enforced
conscription continued well beyond the completion of the war.
The resentment over enforced conscription might have limited had it actually had an impact on the war.
Unfortunately, the actual success of conscription was minimal. Of the close to 100,000 men who were
conscripted into the army, only about 48,000 actually made it to Europe (5). Nearly half of these men
did not actually see any action. An additional 50,000 remained in Canada. Considering that over 600,000
served in the armed forces from 1914-1918 (6), the number of men who saw action because of
conscription was miniscule. The fact remains that conscription was introduced too late for it to have any
impact. The war was over before it began for many of the conscripts who had no influence on the actual
fighting at all.
Robert Borden faced a difficult decision in 1917 when he introduced conscription; perhaps the most
difficult decision in the war years. Unfortunately, it was the wrong decision. Conscription was decision
which unfortunate and limited consequences for Canada. It provided to be a divisive issue that
separated the French from the English in this country, particularly considering the unpopularity of the
war in Quebec from the outset. It created a great strain on the economy, especially for farmers and
factory owners who lost young-able bodied men to the war effort. Finally, so few men actually saw
battle that conscription had little to no impact on the war effort itself. The disruption, violence, long
lasting resentment caused by the decision to introduce conscription was not justified when assessing its
impact on the war. Hopefully the lessons learned from conscription in World War I were learned when
Canada once again faced the same issue nearly 15 years later.
ENDNOTES
1 Elizabeth Freeman-Shaw and Jan Haskings-Winner, Canadian Sources : Investigated, 1914 to
the Present (Toronto: Emond Montgomery Publications Limited, 2008), 8.
2 Allan Evans and I.L. Martinello, Canada’s Century (Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Limited,
1978), 221.
3. Ibid, 23.
4. Canadian War Museum, “Canada and the First World War,”
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/guerre/conscription-e.aspx.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Canadian War Museum. “Canada and the First World War.”
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/guerre/conscription-e.aspx (accessed February
28, 2013)
Evans, Allan and I.L. Martinello. Canada’s Century. (Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Limited, 1978.
Freeman-Shaw , Elizabeth and Jan Haskings-Winner. Canadian Sources : Investigated, 1914 to the
Present. Toronto: Emond Montgomery Publications Limited, 2008.