WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
The Prime Minister of Canada
during WWII was William Lyon
Mackenzie King.
King had to oversee Canada’s war
effort, provide leadership to
Canada’s soldiers and govern
Canada effectively.
He once said, "It is what we
prevent, rather than what we do
that counts most in Government."
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
King did not possess a captivating
image. He did not give
spellbinding speeches or
champion a radical platform.
King was mild-mannered, passive
and conciliatory. Yet, he was Prime
Minister for 22 years including half
the Great Depression and all of
WWII.
How?
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
King was born in Berlin (…now
Kitchener…), Ontario.
He was a bachelor with many female
friends.
King was highly eccentric. He
communicated with spirits including
Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Wilfrid
Laurier, his dead mother and several
of his dogs all named Pat. He
sought personal reassurance from
the spirit world, rather than seek
political advice.
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
King hoped WWII could be avoided. He
supported appeasement. King met Hitler
who he described "a reasonable and caring
man...who might be thought of as one of
the saviors of the world."
King told Jews that Kristallnacht "might
turn out to be a blessing.” In 1939, King
refused to allow a 909 Jewish refugees
aboard the passenger ship St. Louis refuge
in Canada. When asked how many Jews
would be allowed to immigrate immediately
after World War II, one of King’s civil
servants quipped, "None is too many".
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
Internment of Japanese-Canadians
After the bombing of 1941 Pearl Harbor,
King directed the forcible internment of
22,000 Japanese-Canadians from
Canada’s west coast. While they were
incarcerated, the Canadian government
confiscated and sold their property and
belongings.
After the war, King offered JapaneseCanadians the option of “repatriation" to a
war-ravaged Japan, and Canadians of
Japanese origin were not allowed to move
back to coastal areas
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
King led Canada through WWII.
During WWII, Canada contributed
food supplies, financial aid, refuge,
spies, the British Commonwealth
Air Training Plan, ships, aircraft,
tanks, ammunition and over a
million Canadian troops to the
Allied cause.
During WWII, 42,000 Canadians
were killed.
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
National unity was Mackenzie King's
most important goal.
He knew that unity did not mean
forcing all Canadians to adopt one
vision for Canada. Rather, unity is
including many…and sometimes
conflicting…viewpoints.
It was this wisdom and his ability to
compromise that allowed King to
successfully negotiate the issue of
conscription in 1944.
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
King promised not to
impose conscription during
WWII.
However after France
surrendered in 1940, King
introduced conscription for
home service. Only
volunteers were to be sent
to fight.
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
By 1942, the Army needed
more soldiers.
So, King held a quasinational vote asking the
nation to relieve him of the
commitment he had made
not to use conscription. He
said that his policy was
"conscription if necessary,
but not necessarily
conscription."
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
French-Canadians voted
overwhelmingly against
conscription, but most English
Canadians supported it. In 1943,
conscripts were sent to fight in
the Aleutian Islands in 1943 technically North American soil,
and therefore, it was not
"overseas"
Over 15,000 conscripts went to
Europe, though only a few
hundred saw combat during
WWII.
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
Perhaps King’s biggest WWII
contribution was the
relationship he maintained with
USA President Franklin D.
Roosevelt to ensure USA
support for the war and
Canadian industry.
For example, Canada and USA
constructed the Alaska Highway
between 1942 to 1943. It is an
all-weather, gravel road
extending 2,451 kilometres from
Dawson Creek, British
Columbia, to Fairbanks, Alaska.
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
After WWII
King helped found the United Nations
in 1945.
After the war, King quickly removed
government controls over the
economy.
He began negotiations to make
Newfoundland a province of Canada.
The Cold War also started. In Canada,
a Russian spy network was discovered.
WWII Prime Minister Mackenzie King
After WWII
In 1947, the first Canadian
citizenship certificate is granted.
“I speak as a citizen of Canada,"
said. Mackenzie King. Prior to
this day in 1947, Canadians
were British subjects living in
Canada.
About Canadian autonomy, King
said, "Without citizenship, much
else is meaningless.”