The Home Front THE ROLE OF CANADA AND ITS PEOPLE DURING WWII

Recap  Middle of 1940  Germany has taken over most of Europe  France overrun and defeated  Apart from Commonwealth support, Britain is on its own  Germany, Japan, Italy (and Russia) allied  Japan expanding empire across Pacific  Jewish persecution in Europe continually increasing, Holocaust well underway

Canada’s Ties to Britain  Large population of Canada’s population was of English, Irish, Scottish, and Irish descent  Many Canadians still felt strong connection to Britain  England and the Monarchy were committed to rallying support from Canada in war effort  Mackenzie King was committed to helping Britain, but wanted to keep involvement limited  Didn’t want to fight “Britain’s War” again, even if threat of Hitler was great  Result of WWI left bad taste in Canadian public’s mouth

“All those opposed, say nay…”  Near-unanimous support for war in Parliament, but not in Canadian public  People knew the threat Hitler posed, but were still against war  Conscientious Objectors  People whose beliefs strictly prohibited violence under any circumstance  Ex. Mennonites  Pacifists  Those who believe no violence is always preferable to any violence  Conscientious Objectors believe in pacifism

The East Coast  Newfoundland-Labrador  Site of coastal defenses, airbase, naval bases, communications  Still British colony  Maritimes  Site of Canada’s major ports  Vital to supply convoys, naval protection, construction and repairs  Convoys  Canadian Naval ships escorted supply convoys partway across Atlantic  U-Boats  Threat of U-Boat attacks always present in Atlantic and St. Lawrence

Central Canada  Massive increase in manufacturing  New products being manufactured in Canada  Southern Ontario, Montreal, and certain areas in Manitoba  Manufactured steel, munitions, aircraft, ships, radio equipment, and more

The West Coast  Responding to Japanese threat  Japanese expansion threatened BC coast  Vancouver especially worried; often enforced blackouts every night  Agricultural resurgence  Weather cooperated again after years of drought  Harvests in Saskatchewan reached record-breaking numbers  Food made in Canada vital to soldiers overseas

Role of Women  Like WWI, enlistment of men left many jobs open to women  Industry  Women took jobs in steel mills, munitions factories  Labour shortages forced government to campaign more female demographics  Image of female steel worker became cultural icon  Agriculture  Burden of working farms fell on ~800,000 Canadian women  Often had to work double-time to make up for missing men

Role of Aboriginal groups  Aboriginal people across Canada still experiencing poverty and discrimination  Still desired to help war effort in various ways  Part of the reason many enlisted  $23,000 in donations to war effort  Donated part of federal treaty money back to war effort  Raised money through selling furs and moccasins  Became integral in Industry & Agriculture  Aboriginal land underwent large cultivation transformations  Men rejected from enlisting were relocated to industrial jobs

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP)  Announced December 17 th, 1939 by Mackenzie King  Joint plan created by Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand  Commonwealth pilots would first go to training schools in Canada before going to war  King hopeful this would be Canada’s main contribution to war  Helped Allied effort without risking Canadian lives

BCATP Continued  Canada chosen because of…  Ideal weather  Open space  Large supply of fuel  Industrial facilities  Lack of any real threat from enemies  Relative proximity to both Europe and Pacific theatres

BCATP Continued  Numerous schools for different Air Force roles  Initial training schools  Elementary flying training schools  Service flying training schools  Air observer schools  Bombing and gunnery schools  Air navigation schools  Wireless radio schools  Ended up training approximately 131,500 Air Force personnel