Wwii and Canada'S Home Front

WWII AND CANADA’S
HOME FRONT
Themes in the 1930s
 Prior to the outbreak of war Canada took an
isolationist policy of remaining outside the affairs of
other countries
 Many in Canada were openly anti-Semitic (remember

Mackenzie King’s real estate purchases)
 Few were like Thomas Crerar (Liberal Cabinet Minister) and
Carine Wilson (first female Senator) who openly supported
accepting Jewish refugees
 Canada admitted 5000 Jewish refugees between 1933
and 1945
Declaration of War
 In 1914, Canada was automatically at war with
Britain’s declaration of war
 In 1939, the Canadian government debated in

parliament and declared war one week after
Britain
 60 000 volunteered to serve despite the war weariness
Canadians felt following WWI
 However, Canada was NOT prepared to go to war
Canada’s Contributions
 Canada established the British Commonwealth Air
Training Plan (BCATP) to train Allied pilots,
engineers and ground crew
 Major contribution as Canada paid over 1.54

billion of the total cost
 King had hoped to mostly send supplies and troops as
he knew that conscription could ruin him and his
government
Canada’s Contributions
 Total War – The federal government used the
National Resources Mobilization Act (June 1940) to
assert government control over all industries
 CD Howe was the dictatorial “Minister of Everything”
 Crown Corporations were created

 Government owned companies that were created to do
the work if no private businesses could provide what
the war effort needed
Political-Economic-Social Changes
 As in WWI women work in factories and have
greater independence
 The federal government feared a return to economic

depression after war
 Victory Bonds and increased income taxes for
financing the war
 Wartime Prices and Trade Board froze wages and
prices
 Rationing of amounts and types of foods
 Proved the government could influence the economy
 Watch for the unintended impact of the
government’s war measures on the social fabric
of Canada’s economy and political landscape,
particularly the rise of the CCF
 War Machine-18:39
 Of Elephants And Chickens 1:11:35
Internment: Context
 BC had a long history of anti-Asian activities and
attitudes
 Many of the Japanese immigrants had prospered in
BC and this was resented by many white British
Columbians
 Hysteria about the threat of Japanese attacks

 December 7 1941 the US base in Pearl Harbor was
bombed by the Japanese drawing the US fully into the war
 Japan also attacked Hong Kong and by Christmas 1941 all
the Canadian soldiers in Hong Kong were dead or in POW
camps
What’s the Problem?
 Ottawa did not have any evidence about the
disloyalty of Japanese Canadians
 Since 1938 the RCMP had observed Japanese

Canadian residents and never found any sign of
treason or treachery
Canadian government Capitulated
 January 1942
 Canadiangovernment created a 100 mile protected area
and removed male Japanese nationals from this area
 February 1942
 announced decision to remove all people of Japanese
descent from the Pacific Coast
 close to 22 000 people affected; almost 75% were born in
Canada or were naturalized Canadians
 Families were often separated with men sent to
work camps while women and children were sent to
different camps
 Those that wanted to remain together were sent to

sugar beet farms in Alberta or Manitoba
War Measures Act invoked 1941
 Living conditions
appalling
 Small shacks some without
running water or electricity
 Bed bugs, cold, isolated,
few possessions, etc.
 Their property was to be held under the protection
of the federal government
 Actually auctioned off for far less than market value
 Following the Allied victory in May 1945 internees

were given the choice of relocation east of the
Rockies or repatriation in Japan
• Apology came in 1988 after many years trying to
gain redress
• Survivors received $20 000 in compensation

Internment
 Watch for all the reasons that Japanese Canadians
were interned and consider the conditions they
faced at the hands of fellow Canadians
 The Dispossessed 32:24
Conscription 1942 and 1944
 When war was declared many people first thought
about conscription and the danger it posed
 At the outset of war Prime Minister Mackenzie King
promised that there would be no conscription
 The National Resource Mobilization Act (NRMA)

allowed for conscription for home defense but this
was insufficient and King held a plebiscite (1942)
 “Not necessarily conscription, but conscription if
necessary”

Wwii and Canada'S Home Front

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Wwii and Canada'S Home Front

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Wwii and Canada'S Home Front

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

WWII AND CANADA’S

 Many in Canada were openly anti-Semitic (remember

 In 1939, the Canadian government debated in

 Major contribution as Canada paid over 1.54

 Crown Corporations were created

 The federal government feared a return to economic

 Hysteria about the threat of Japanese attacks

 Since 1938 the RCMP had observed Japanese

 Those that wanted to remain together were sent to

 Following the Allied victory in May 1945 internees

• Survivors received $20 000 in compensation

 The National Resource Mobilization Act (NRMA)

You might also like