World War II WAR ON THE HOME FRONT

 Pacifists: those who oppose war on moral grounds  These people were seen as “un-Canadian” and led to hostility towards these groups  Conscientious Objectors: People who refuse to participate in military service b/c of their moral or religious beliefs  Mennonites were the most widely accepted group OPPOSITION TO WAR

 C.D. Howe, was in charge or the war production effort (guns, tanks, trucks, uniforms, ships, etc.)  Howe asked businesspeople across Canada to take a “holiday” from work and become civil servants until the war ended  Factories that made refrigerators started making tanks or Bren guns, railway shops made tanks, automobile makers made army trucks WARTIME PRODUCTION

 Canadians were making more money than ever before, but Canada’s resources were going into wartime production  The result was fewer consumer goods on shelves. King worried that “so many dollars chasing so few goods” would cause prices to rise  To combat inflation the government restricted the amount of money Canadians had in their pockets (through taxation), which left Canadians with less money to spend PROBLEM OF INFLATION

 Food rationing was introduced in 1942, quotas (limits) were placed on everyday commodities  Canadians were limited to:  250 grams of sugar  250 grams of butter  30 grams of tea  115 grams of coffee  1 kilogram of meat, per person, per week RATIONING

 11 million ration books were handed out, ration coupons became part of Canadian life  Women’s groups taught cooking classes on how to make nourishing meals with fewer supplies  Huge salvage campaigns were run. The motto, “Dig in and dig out the scrap was used”  Salvaged papers, rags, aluminum, iron, edible fats, & bottles  Meat bones used for aircraft glue  Milkweed for life preservers RATIONING

 At the beginning of the war King promised no Canadian would be forced to fight  However, as the war dragged on more men were needed  King decided he would hold a plebiscite (vote on a public issue). King asked Canadians if they would release him from his earlier promise of no conscription. On April 27, 1942, 4 million Canadians voted and the plebiscite passed. King was now free to bring in conscription  King’s famous motto “Not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary”  Quebec was outraged by the decision  In total 16,000 men were conscripted. However, at this point the war was winding down, fewer than 2500 conscripts reached the front CONSCRIPTION