World War One and its effect on Canadian Sovereignty, History


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World War One and its effect on Canadian Sovereignty

World War One and its effect on Canadian Sovereignty Pre-World War One, Canada was looked upon not only by foreigners, but also by Canadians, as being just a British Colony. In June 1914, Archduke Ferinard of Austria-Hungary and his wife Sophie were assassinated in the small state of Serbia. Throughout June and July of 1914 tensions in Europe rose. When Austria-Hungary threatened Serbia, Russia promised to help the small country. A chain of events then involved each of the major European powers in the worsening situation. On August 1st, the French army was mobilized, and on August 3rd, the German army invaded Belgium. This attack brought in the British, who had promised to defend Belgium. World War One had begun. During this time, Canada was still a member of the British Empire and was legally at war the minute that Britain was. Even though the Canadian government was had no control about being at war, it did have control over what role Canada would play during the war. Canada could send soldiers, food and clothing, or they could even do nothing about the war. Robert Borden, who was Prime Minister at the time, felt that Canada should send soldiers, food, and clothing to Britain. He felt that Canadian’s should be proud to fight for their king and country. Wilfrid Laurier, who was leader of the Opposition at the time, was hoping that the war would be over soon, and that we should offer money and food to France and Britain. Henri Bourassa, who was the publisher of Le Devoir news paper felt that Canada should do nothing, and that Britain got into the mess by themselves, so to can they get out of the mess. After much debate, the government decided to send soldiers, and economic aid to Britain for the war. When the war broke out, it had become the Entente against the Alliance. The Entente consisted of the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Canada, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Egypt, Arabia, and Belgium. The Alliance consisted of Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, Libya, Sicily, Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire. Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden remained Neutral Nations throughout the war. One change that occurred as the war went on is that in 1915, Italy re-aligned to the Entente from the Alliance. In September 1914, the First Canadian Division assembled and left for Britain. Volunteers jumped at every opportunity to join the army. In a country of just eight million people, and average of ten thousand men volunteered each month. Why did these men volunteer for a war that was being fought so far away? Some were attracted by the adventure and romance of war, but most volunteered out of a sense of patriotism or duty. The patriotism was for Britain though, not for Canada. In some parts of Canada, support for the war was so strong that young men not in uniform were called cowards. The Canadian army entered combat in the spring of 1915. Five thousand Canadians were killed or wounded in the first week alone. Canadians back at home read about the poison gas attacks at Ypres and the hand-to-hand fighting between Canadians and Germans. The war dragged on, and the Canadian army was involved in many bitter battles. Thousands died in the trenches, and yet the struggle aroused pride in Canadians. Canada’s army quickly gained a reputation for bravery and being a good organization. There were many Canadian victories in battle, such as Ypres, Vimy Rigde, Passchendaele, Hill 70, Sanctuary Wood, Amiens, and Cambrai. During the battle at Ypres, the Germans used chlorine gas against the Canadian troops. The troops knew that they had to have some sort of damp material over their noses and mouths or they would be killed by the gas. Having no source of liquid around them and no time to go back for water, the troops simply had to urinate on their handkerchiefs and hold them to their noses. The Canadian troops pushed on through the gas, and defeated the Germans, earning themselves a victory at Ypres, their first successful takeover during the war. Casualties in the battles of World War One were very high. Before long, there were no longer enough volunteers to replace those killed or wounded in battle. The government decided that conscription would be needed. This led to a split between Anglophone and Francophone Canadians. Many Quebeckers opposed any Canadian participation in the war. They saw the war as a British affair that had nothing to do with Canadian interests. In Quebec, there was organized opposition to conscription, which at times led to violence. Many English-speaking Canadians viewed such opposition as unpatriotic. Francophones weren’t the only ones opposed to conscription. In Ontario and Manitoba, farmers opposed the conscription of their sons as the argued that the war effort would suffer worse if there were no young men to help with the harvests. Other people refused to fight because of their religious beliefs. Those people were known as conscientious objectors. Though it was legal for these people to avoid military service, they were often insulted by other citizens and called cowards. This was the beginning to the hard feelings between English Canadians, and French Canadians. Back on the home front, the war was responsible for a booming growth in the economy. Many new factories were opened, and existing factories switched their production to war goods. Agricultural production increased greatly as Canada sent food to Europe. The war was very expensive, as it cost Canada nearly 3 billion dollars. The debt caused by the war totaled almost 150 million per year. Canadians helped to pay for this by buying war bonds, and when this was not enough, the government introduced the first income tax in Canada. Women were also very important in the war, they not only took over jobs of the men who had enlisted in the armed forced, but they also served as nurses and ambulance drivers overseas. Canada has sent 608 thousand soldiers overseas to fight in the war, but received 238 thousand casualties from the war. Back on the home front, there were 1000 plus new factories built. Cheese exports increased by 300%, Pork exports increased by 535%, Wheat exports increased by 2183%, and Beef exports increased by 6755%. The war also created 350 thousand jobs, and the total value of war production totaled 1 billion dollars. After the war was over, Prime Minister Borden demanded that Canada have it’s own seat at the Versailles peace conference in 1919, and later with the League of Nations. Before then, Canada was represented internationally by Britain. After the war, Canada continued to looses it’s ties with Great Britain, and eventually became a fully independent nation. Bibliography:

Word Count: 1114