The British Foreign Office has issued the following statement: “Owing to the summary rejection by the German Government of the request made by his Britannic Majesty’s Government that the neutrality of Belgium should be respected…his Majesty’s Government has declared to the German government that the state of war exists between Great Britain and Germany from 11 o’clock p.m., August 4.”

When Britain declared war on Aug. 4, 1914, Canada was automatically committed to fight on her side. As part of the British Empire, Canada could not conduct its own foreign policy

The Beginning Prime Minister Robert Borden promised Britain that Canada would provide all the help she could. In the beginning, support for the war was high throughout Canada Both English and French Canadians were largely in favour of joining the fight

Initial plans called for 25,000 troops – over 30,000 volunteers signed up in the first two months

Financing the War Effort Money was needed to train, transport, feed, equip, and pay soldiers, and to build ships, armored vehicles, airplanes and weapons The government turned to its people for money, food, supplies and labour The people of Canada took up the call

VICTORY BONDS Citizens “loaned” money to gov’t by buying VICTORY BONDS people earned interest and made money on them in the long term the money from these bonds allowed the gov’t to finance the war at the beginning

Canadian Patriotic Fund A monthly separation allowance was provided to the wife of an enlisted man sent overseas In cases of hardship it was necessary to provide additional support based on the number of eligible dependents.

Although the government established the Canadian Patriotic Fund, it was supported initially by donations from the population and by grants from different municipal organizations

People grew VICTORY GARDENS, growing and preserving fresh produce to be shipped overseas. They willing RATIONED their intake of food items, like meat, sugar and bread, so that more could be shipped to the men on the front.

WOMEN TAKE ON NEW ROLES work for women was restricted to low-paying jobs such as teaching, domestic work, and low-skilled factory work as men went off to war, more women were needed in the workforce (but earned less pay) jobs were considered to be temporary

$$$WAR IS COSTLY$$$ At its height, the war effort was costing the government about $1 million a day To continue to pay for the enormous cost the government, in 1917, turned to another source: INCOME TAX It was supposed to have been a temporary measure, but it was never cancelled.

SIR THOMAS WHITE - Minister of Finance (Leeds): Mr. Chairman, I desire today to lay before this committee proposals for a national measure of income taxation. Hitherto we have relied upon duties of customs and of excise, postal rates and other miscellaneous sources of revenue…We are, however, confronted with grave conditions arising out of the war. The time has arrived when we must resort to direct taxation. I am confident, Mr. Chairman, that the people of Canada, whose patriotism during this war has been so often and so nobly proven, will, in light of present conditions, which call for it, cheerfully accept the burden and the sacrifice of this additional taxation.

We cannot see very far ahead in these days. We do not know how long this war will last. We do not know what the attitude of the people of this country will be upon the many questions, social, industrial, financial and fiscal. Therefore, I have placed no time limit upon this measure but merely have placed upon Hansard the suggestion that, a year or two after the war is over, the measure should be reviewed by the minister of finance of the day, with a view of judging whether it is suitable to the conditions which then prevail.

Grin and Bear It Canadians were subject to numerous “temporary” taxes to help the Canadian Government fund the War effort. By the end of the First World War, an additional penny, or two, levy could be found on everything from stamps to tobacco. This caricature depicts a typical Canadian saddled with the additional burden of war taxes. Library and Archives Canada Artist: Clayton Duff

DARK SIDE of WAR

WAR MEASURES ACT gave the federal government sweeping powers to pass laws without the approval of Parliament while Canada was at war the gov’t could overrule provincial laws, censor the news media, tell manufacturers and farmers what they must produce, imprison people without trial, and label some people enemies of Canada GOV’T EXPANDS ITS POWERS

ENEMY ALIENS Before WWI, the Canadian gov’t campaigned to attract immigrants from Europe By 1914, more than a million people from German and Austria-Hungarian Empires lived in Canada Gov’t used War Measures Act to label more than people ENEMY ALIENS

Enemy Aliens were forced to carry identification cards and report regularly to authorities not allowed to publish or read anything in a language other than French or English

could not leave the country without permission placed in internment camps where they were forced to build roads and railways, work in mines, and clear land

EXPANSION of MILITARY Gearing Up for War The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Sir Sam Hughes Sir Sam Hughes was the Canadian Minister of Militia A stalwart supporter of Borden, he was put in charge of Canada’s war effort. Hughes was a controversial figure and his management of Canada’s armed forces was plagued by controversy and divisiveness

Camp Valcartier THE GOOD: built in less than a month in Quebec held an entire tent city, including rail line, chlorinated water supply and rifle range the camp’s rifle range was the largest in the world THE BAD: the camp was not winterized (poor planning), so recruits had to move out when winter arrived.

THE UGLY HUGHES: INCOMPETENT Hughes insisted on using only Canadian-made products to outfit troops A patriotic sentiment, unfortunately much of the equipment was sub-standard Hughes gave war contracts to friends and business associates, often not taking quality or practicality into account Boots had cardboard soles, vehicles lacked spare parts

MacAdam Shovel promoted by Hughes was entirely useless and had to be scrapped heavy, unwieldy and totally non-bulletproof

The Ross Rifle Hughes had supported the development of the Ross Rifle prior to WWI It was a good rifle for marksmanship but tended to jam and/or backfire when it was fired repeatedly or was exposed to mud. WWI required soldiers to fire a lot, quickly from the cover of muddy trenches – the result is obvious The Ross Rifle was unreliable and despised by Canadian soldiers

Hughes ignored or rebuked any claims that the rifle wasn’t an exemplary weapon. When the political pressure required an investigation into the matter, he put the rifle’s inventor in charge of it. The inventor blamed “a batch of bad ammunition” for the troubles Finally, in 1916, the Ross Rifle was retired and Canadian troops received the much superior British-made Lee Enfield Rifle

HUGHES CREATES CONFLICT Hughes also alienated French-Canadians by insisting that they train in English and made sure all army documents were also in English Hughes also often publicly insulted and demeaned Quebec and French-Canadians

HUGHES OVERSTEPS AUTHORITY Hughes also exceeded his authority when he created a council (in England) to oversee the Canadian military. This was the purview of the Cabinet PM Borden reprimanded Hughes and Hughes responded by publicly disagreeing with Borden

Sir Sam Hughes in Review Successes / Failures Reorganized the military to fight in battalions Built Valcartier training camp Had the first 32,000 troops ready to depart in 6 weeks Supported Canadian manufacturers *Demanded that Canadians be allowed to fight in their own units alienated French- Canadians (made bigoted remarks, insisted they train in English) Supplied shoddy trench equipment eg. MacAdam shovel + Ross Rifle Corruption scandals(gave contracts to his friends) Oversteps his authority and embarrasses the PM

BORDEN TAKES ACTION Borden forced Hughes’ resignation in November, 1916.