The War At Home

Total War Total War – Occurs when the virtually every aspect of a country is involved in the war effort Industries were operating full-time (some munitions factories operated 24/7) Unemployment disappeared (1942 no unemployment claims were filed in Nova Scotia!) Children recycled, women worked, young men entered the military Canada had over 1 million men and women in the armed forces during WWII! The Depression was definitely over

Economic Impact Unemployment virtually disappeared (see page 165) Canadian had $$ - increase consumer demand – danger of inflation Government offered the sale of “Victory Bonds” to pay for war and encourage people to save their money

Economic Growth By 1942 Canada was spending $2.5 billion on war industry Total industrial output doubled: $5.6 billion in 1939 to $11.8 billion in 1945 By wars’ end Canadian factories had produced over 800,000 military vehicles

Eonomic Problems of WWII By 1941 – inflation is a problem P.M. Mackenzie King creates the Wartime Price and Trade Board (WPTB) Imposes wage and price freeze Products and Commodities are restricted – you need a permit to buy a electric stove These measures kept inflation in check Paying for the war was expensive; Raise income taxes $12 Billion raised through Victory Bonds!

Above: 28 ton Valentine tank Picture on left: Valentine Tank ready for shipment to Russia Canada produced 5,200 of these tanks for WWII

de Havilland DH98 Mosquito - YouTube

View of the shop floor of the Canadian Car & Foundry Company Ltd View of the shop floor of the Canadian Car & Foundry Company Ltd., which during the war manufactured the Curtiss SB2C1 Helldiver airplane. The Canadian aeronautical industry made over 16,400 aircraft during World War Two for the allies and the RCAF.

Curtis Helldiver

Wage and Price Controls By 1941 consumer goods were in short supply and there was a labour shortage To prevent workers from asking for increased wages (and driving up inflation) the government brought in a cost of living allowance – wages would only increase if prices increased Result – inflation was controlled

Rationing ng 1942 Rationing was introduced Limited what people could buy Canadians received rationing booklets – clipped coupons for essential goods like gasoline, butter & meat.

Another Conscription Crisis Conscription divided Canada during WWI and threatened to do so again in WWII King promises no conscription for overseas service but allows for conscription for service at home 1942 – more troops needed – King holds a plebiscite – a citizens vote on the issue Most English Canadians support conscription, but most French Canadian do not Still Parliament has the authority to issue conscription. 1944 King authorizes conscription, There are protests and riots in Quebec, but not as serious as WWI “conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription”

Japanese Internment Japanese and Chinese Canadians have a presence in Canada going back well before 1900 Asians have suffered a long history of prejudice and discrimination 1907 – race riots in Vancouver targeted Japanese and Chinese Canadians Japanese & Chinese Canadians were denied the right to vote or join armed forces

Japanese Internment Japan became an enemy of Canada after the attack on Pearl Harbor 1941 22,000 Japanese Canadians living in B.C., 14,000 born here War Measures Act permitted the Canadian government to seize the property of Japanese Canadians, remove them from their homes and relocate them into “internment Camps” All their property was auctioned off to pay for the cost of their “internment”!

Does this sound familiar? Japanese Canadians were… Photographed and fingerprinted Issued identification numbers Required to carry their identification cards at all times Sent to interment camps where they were forced to do labour All resisters were sent to a “concentration camp” in Ontario where they were forced to wear “uniforms” bearing a large red circle – the emblem of Japan Could not legally refuse to obey these regulations During war years not one Japanese Canadian was ever charged with treason or sabotage!

Japanese Interment

Dr. David Suzuki – Former interment camp inmate

Genocide Post WWII After WWII the world community vowed it would never again tolerate such a hateful treatment of humanity Since WWII attempted genocides have occurred in: Cambodia Kosovo Rwanda Darfur

British Commonwealth Air Training Program Canada’s most significant contribution to the war was the BCATP Canada became the air training center for the Allies: 107 Flight schools in operation By wars end: 131,553 pilots & air crew 80,000 ground crew 17,000 women graduated – serve as pilots flying aircraft to Britain

Role of Women As in WWI, hundreds of thousands of women contributed to the war effort Aircraft industry employed 116,000 women 373,000 women worked in munitions factories

The Baby Boom During the 1930s and 1940s economic conditions and war prevented many from having babies Post WWII many Canadians, Americans and Europeans began having babies at an enormous rate Canada’s population grew from 13.5 million 1949 to 17.5 million in 10 years More babies – growing economy