Nov. 20, 2023
Nov. 20, 2023
Nov. 20, 2023
20, 2023
World War 2: July 1940 to war’s end 1945, Canada and total war
The Manhattan Project
o Contributions of uranium, research facilities and laboratories
o Decision at the end of the war to not construct an atomic bomb, due to high
nuclear expertise but lack of collective materials
Under American umbrella of nuclear protection
The treatment of those deemed as “internal enemies”
o German- and Italian-Canadians
As in the First World War, Germans were incarcerated to any support of
Hitler or Nazism
Italians as well to Mussolini
o Russian-Canadians
Due to the Soviet non-aggression pact with Germany, Canadian
communists believed that they should remain out of the war
When Hitler broke the agreement in June 1941, the communists
changed to the defense of the USSR rhetoric
Joseph Stalin, leader of the USSR, and their key losses (80% of the
war on the Eastern Front) was known by the allied term of “Uncle
Joe”
o Japanese-Canadian internment
Thousands of Japanese ethnic migrants came under suspicion, especially
after the Pearl Harbor attack of December 1941
In BC, they created a campaign of anti-Japanese spy conspiracies
and the idea that they would support their ethnic cousins
During a fear crisis, racial tensions rise as people pin the idea of
certain attributes to others (i.e., 9/11 attacks and Muslims)
1942: Mackenzie King removed Japanese-Canadians away from the coast
and moved 100 miles into internment camps inland, some to move into
Western Canada
They lost all their businesses, their homes, and only keep two
suitcases of personal items
John Diefenbaker, future PM, defended the Japanese, and later
championed civil rights in Canada
o Brian Mulroney compensated many Japanese-Canadians
with $20,000
Another conscription crisis
o At the beginning of the war, Mackenzie King promised no conscription and only
voluntary forces
After the Normandy landings and campaign back into Europe, with the
Canadians into the Netherlands, the losses became equal to WW1
casualties
Frontline Canadian troops by the end of 1944 had become “battle
exhausted”, the predecessor term of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
during the 1940s period, new blood was needed
Because of the short rests, PTSD was rampant in the deployed
troops
Mackenzie King brought in conscription, breaking his promise, and
hurting Canadian unity with Québec, not as harshly as in WW1
o Most conscripted troops did not see the frontlines
Major impacts of WW2
o Canadian women
Unlike in WW1, women were allowed to serve in the armed forces in non-
combat roles
Pensions provided in 50-60% compared to their male counterparts,
reaching 2/3 post-war
Over 1 million women served on the production line for war material
factories
Married women faced lack of daycare for their children, which the
government would open daycares next to the factories for
convenience, shutting down post-war
Many historians debate the role of women in WW2 for the establishment
of the second wave of feminism in the 1960s
Some claim it did not, due to post-war married women returned
to homemaker tasks, “not ready for equal rights”
Others argue for some foundational basis
o Political public opinion
During the Great Depression, the governments were extremely
conservative and unwilling to help those in poverty
In WW2, public opinion shifted largely left on the political spectrum,
seeking more active government involvement in resolutions of
socioeconomic issues
1943: Canadian opinion poll, the next federal election of 1943
projected CCF victory
Noting that difference, Mackenzie King shifted more left in his
policies and decisions
1940: Constitutional amendment that transferred jurisdiction of EI
from provinces to the federal government
o Provinces were often too poor to create their own EI
programs
o Unemployment was largely a federal national issue
1944: The pass of a special order, foregoing parliament approval
until the end of the process, the Privy Council Order 1003
o Enshrined compulsory collective bargaining in all
workspaces under federal jurisdiction
o Post-war, this was extended to the provinces due to
wartime strikes and the disruptions
Post-war committee to plan the economy to prevent another
major depression period when government spending becomes
limited
o One of the outlined goals was the promotion of full
employment
The WW2 conscription and Mackenzie King’s creation of the
“Family Allowance Program”, nowadays “Child’s Tax Credit”, to
prevent uproar in Québec
o It provided money for spending of ordinary folk post-war
based upon the number of kids
o The cheques were provided to the mothers as main
caregivers and to prevent waste by the fathers to vices
o It gains extreme popularity in Québec, which signed in
French “compliments of the federal government”, securing
their votes
o Canadian foreign policy and its place on the world stage
Canadian initially pursued a policy of isolationism
Post-war, Mackenzie King realized that return to isolationism is impossible
and that the world was changing towards globalism and hyper-
interconnectivity
New technologies were making the distance of oceans from North
America to Asia or Europe obsolete as defensive strategies
To avoid future wars and having a dynamic economy, Canada must
promote peace and economic trade worldwide
o Post-WW2 became very idealistic and optimistic with
potential USSR peace post-war with the Allies
Canadian policy had effective switched from isolationism to
internationalism ever since
o Promoting the creation of the United Nations
o Public opinion, 90%, supported joining the UN after the
dissolution of the League of Nations
o Feeling to ensure peace, many believed that the UN would
create its own army by member nations to stop other
wars, 76% Canadians believed in this motion
However, this did not happen due to the post-war
crises in the 1950s and 1960s (i.e., decolonization,
Indochina War, Korean War)
For Indigenous Canadians, they faced a decline of northern fur trade and
reserve conditions
Thousands of Indigenous fought for British during the war by
invitation of the Crown
Just as they had in WW1, they distinguished themselves
o Tommy Prince, a Manitoba native, was declared a war hero
Canada had come to the realization that Indigenous Canadians
must be consulted for their future
o Parliament committee invited Indigenous leaders for
amendments of the Indian Act and changes on policies
Duncan Campbell Scott’s additions would be
rescinded in 1951 Indian Act amendments
Freedom of religious practice, removing
prohibitions of Potlatch and Sun Dance
Canada had also signed the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948,
stimulating the public conscience
Removing the 1927 discriminatory laws that
banned band funds for leader travel and
hiring lawyers
Indigenous women could vote in band
elections and run in office
For Canadian war veterans, pensions were extremely poor
Post-war, the Veterans’ Charter was drafted
o Provided generous benefits, such as free university tuition,
grant and loans for upstart businesses and farms
o The federal government has continued to take the lead in establishing policies
and responsibility of Canadian social issues