The Home Front How did government war policies affect Canadians? How did Canadians support the war effort?

Central Planning  William Lyon Mackenzie King determined to do things differently this time (e.g. Ross Rifle)  Member of King’s Cabinet, C.D. Howe – “ The Minister of Everything ” – handpicked industry leaders to make Canada into an industrial war machine  Government controlled many aspects of personal and business lives, e.g. wages, prices, what to produce, what you could buy, propaganda, etc.

Central Planning  King created the Wartime Prices and trade Board (WPTB) to control the economy:  Wage freeze (stuck at 1941 levels)  Price freeze (also stuck at 1941 levels; people should report overpricing)  Rationing (imported goods, e.g. coffee, tea, sugar; butter, meat; gasoline; new tires for military only)

Paying for the war  Raised income taxes  Victory bonds  Doubling of industrial production  Federal spending on the war effort, = $

Censorship  To stop sensitive information from falling into enemy hands:  Military censored letters to and from the front  Telegrams from war reporters censored  Media (news, radio, movies) was screened by the government and media companies  Would this be possible today?

Propaganda  Posters, radio broadcasts and short films played with movies in theaters; their message:  War is necessary  Showed the gruesome, terrifying consequences of losing the war  The National Film Board was established in 1939 to make Canadian movies; during WWII, it made mostly films to boost morale – Churchill’s Island about the Battle of Britain won Academy Award for best documentary in 1941

Not Necessarily Conscription…  To keep the country united (i.e. avoid alienating Quebec), King rejected conscription for overseas service  National Resources Mobilization Bill (1940) allowed conscription for service at home  1942, King held a plebiscite, i.e. a special vote to see if Canadians would let him break his promise: “not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary.”  Anglophones: 79% yes  Francophones: 85% no

…But Conscription If Necessary  Parliament authorized conscription for overseas service, but King didn’t use it till 1944 after heavy losses at Normandy, Italy, and the Netherlands  King ordered conscripts; sent; 2500 reached front lines; 60 killed in action

Internment Camps  War Measures Act used to create internment and POW camps  At their peak, camps held POWs  Also detained “ enemy aliens,” anyone suspect- ed of sympathizing with Nazis or fascists, and members of the Communist party  Germans and Italians had to report to the RCMP monthly; many sent to camps

Japanese Canadians  Before WWII, people of Japanese descent lived in BC; ¾ of them born in Canada  After Japan bombed Pearl Harbour and attacked Hong Kong, they lost their rights, despite the military and RCMP arguing they were no threat  Men between were rounded up and sent to camps; two days later, the rest were given 24 hrs. to pack up and follow.  Had to turn over property and belongings as a “protective measure only”: everything sold at auction for a fraction of its value; $ used to pay for housing in the camps

 For years, Japanese Canadians campaigned to have the injustice recognized  1988: PM Brian Mulroney formally apologized to survivors and families:  Acknowledgement of what happened  $21000 to all surviving internees  $12 million toward wellbeing of Japanese community  $24 million to set up Canadian Race Relations Foundation  Citizenship to all who had it stripped Japanese Canadians

How Did Canadians Support the War Effort?  Women took jobs vacated by men and in wartime industries  Women worked with the Red Cross, volunteered at soldiers canteens, and knitted socks  Children collected Victory Stamps and read Johnny Canuck comics  Despite hard times during the Depression, Canada’s industries were 4 th among the allies in production; 70% went to help other countries  C.D. Howe directed manufacturers to produce for the war, e.g. munitions, parachutes, ration packs, first aid kits, naval crafts, vehicles, weapons, etc.

How Did Canadians Support the War Effort?  Canadians were encouraged to conserve and reuse scarce materials: rubber, bones, rags, fat, tinfoil, scrap metal, toothpaste/shaving cream tubes, etc.  Victory gardens: grow vegies instead of flowers  Put off education to join army or work in industry

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP)  Canada became the flight school for the allied countries  Every 4 weeks, the BCATP produced 544 pilots, 340 navigators. And 580 wireless operators and gunners  Canadian trained aircrew represented half of all British Commonwealth crew