2. Canada on the Home Front in World War I

3. What is Total war?
A war in which civilians and soldiers are involved both on the home front and the frontlines

4. Fast facts about the war
This was the First World War of the 20th century
Civilians were used to replace professional soldiers/armies of the past
The home front gave full support to the war on the battlefields
Countries gathered up all their resources and built up their industries to support the war effort.

5. Canadians involved in supporting the war
Men, women, children
All ethnic backgrounds
The elderly
The poor and the wealthy
Everyone participated and everyone was affected

6. Torontonians during the war

7. Government restrictions on life during the war
How to save and ration foods, clean up frugally and conserve food
Make sure everyone who could work had a job
There were controls on specific days-Meatless Mondays and Fuel-Less Sundays
Purchasing “war bread”-made with less flour

8. Government restrictions...
Rationing of foods-if you hoarded you were fined and jailed
The sale and drinking of alcohol was banned
The government was concerned about spending because the war was costing Canada $1 million dollars/day

9. What is rationing?
Government imposed restrictions on the allowance of food, clothing and fuel during the war.

10. Ration Book full of stamps for rationed items

13. What is salvaging?
Collection of materials important for the war effort in making weapons, machinery, or textiles
Types of materials salvaged?
Tin, silk, rubber, nylon, metal, iron, etc.

14. Meat-less Mondays

15. War bonds and taxes
Citizens lent money to the government to pay for the war effort
They could cash in the bonds for profit at the end of the war, but not for an equal return rate
Taxes-Business profits tax and income taxes as well as taxes were put on tea, coffee, tobacco, cars and trains.

16. Supporting the war effort
Posters
Patriotic community groups and government campaigns made sure that everyone was making sacrifices to help the war effort

17. Propaganda Posters Canada World War I

18. Propaganda posters were created by the government to:
Recruit soldiers
Encourage Canadians to support the war
Show people how to ration and save
Encourage people to buy Victory Bonds
To promote the government’s restrictions to all citizens

19. Here are some samples of different posters from the war years

22. Victory Bonds

27. What did ordinary citizens do?
Plant victory gardens
Salvaged--reduced amount of food consumption and wasted as little as possible.
Rationed meat, butter, sugar and bread so that they could be sent overseas to feed soldiers.

28. Children in Western Canada were taken out of school to work on the farms at the time of the harvest because their fathers and uncles were soldiers overseas.
Women worked in community groups
-made bandages,
-held fundraisers,
-played cards
-ran dances
-organized bazaars/craft and rummage sales and variety shows.
Profits were spent on buying writing paper, soap, pencils and candy to send to the troops.

29. How did the war affect the Candian Economy?
Factories and businesses were under the control of the government; factories were converted to build war supplies.
Imperial Munitions Board was created to ensure quality control of munitions.
300,000 Canadians worked in factories

30. Industries
The biggest industries were textiles, pulp and paper, steel and food.
Canadian Wheat Board controlled wheat production and distribution.
War Trades Board- worked with the U.S. to manage imports, exports and scarcity of goods

31. Women on the home front The war brought about big changes for women
Some volunteered as nurses or ambulance drivers and worked overseas at field hospitals
Others worked in munitions factories and other industries ( women)

32. Readjusting the Length of Facing — No
Readjusting the Length of Facing — No. 101 British Percussion Fuze, Russell Motor Car Co. Ltd., Toronto, Ontario, ca This photograph shows one type of work that women performed in factories.

33. The Halifax Explosion, 1917

35. The War came home…
What happened: two munitions ships collided in the Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia
When? December 6, 1917
Mont Blanc -French munitions ship carrying explosives came into the harbour and collided with the Imo-Belgian ship

36. Images of the two ships

37. Headline of the Halifax Herald Newspaper December 7th, 1917

38. December 6, 1917, 9:04:34, Halifax explosion

39. Telegram sent to halt a train from arriving in Halifax before the explosion-saved hundreds of lives

40. Destruction of the Bedford Basin in Halifax, December 1917

41. Map of where the collision happened on Dec 7 1917

42. Smoke from the Explosion-the largest explosion in the world before the atomic bomb!

43. Destruction of buildings downtown Halifax

44. Downtown Halifax is flattened

45. Damage to the Halifax Harbour

47. Searching through the ruins

48. The aftermath of the Halifax Explosion

49. Imo was sailing on the wrong side of the harbour because the rules were: to keep to the right (starboard) in traffic and signal your intentions and respect to others.
After collision: crew of the Imo rowed to shore as Halifax citizens went down near the water to watch the scene.

50. Impact of the explosion
3000 explosives were set off and the impact of the blast leveled sections of Halifax, started fires, and created a tidal wave that washed debris up on shore.
2,000 killed, many left homeless and injured.
Aid and assistance was offered from citizens in Canada and in Boston to help heal, provide medical attention and rebuild the city

52. The Halifax Disaster The children had gone to their lessons
It was the sixth of December Nineteen hundred and seventeen,
Halifax suffered disaster, the worst she had ever seen.
It was five minutes after nine, those still alive can tell,
That the beautiful city of Halifax was just given a taste of hell.
The children had gone to their lessons
Their mothers were busy at home,
While fathers worked in the factories
Little dreaming they’d soon be alone.
There comes creeping up the harbour
A ship loaded down in the rail,
With the most horrible death dealing cargo
That was ever allowed to sail.

53. She carried a deck load of benzol and shells for overseas, in her hold a new explosive they called it TNT, But why should this death-dealing monster be Allowed to come creeping up here, to bathe our beautiful city in widow and orphans’ tears? There comes a cry from a merchant, there’s a vessel afire out there, But a few pay any attention for that is a fireman’s care, The relief ship had rammed the monster tearing a hole in her side, And eased out in the stream again and drifted on with the tide. It was five minutes after nine as those alive can tell that the beuatiful city of Halifax was given a taste of Hell. The earth has its rumble, the cannon has its roar, but this was worse than even those, yes, multiplied by four.

54. And then when the crash was over those still alive struck dumb turned into living statues wondering what next would come, for now one knew what had happened, some though the end of the world While other thought it was the Germans marching in with their banners unfurled. Then rushing out into the streets from their tumbling and shattered Homes. Some with cuts and bruises and toher with broken bones, they were met with sights more horrible than any they’d ever seen, For there lay the dead and dying, it was worse than a battle scene Houses were crushed like paper, people were killed like flies, the coroner’s record tells us the toll was 1200 lives, Two thousand were maimed and wounded, hundred more lost their sight and god knows how many children were alone in the world that night.

55. From the north to Rockhead Hospital and west to the Exhibition Grounds There wasn’t anything living and not a single sound, The streets were filled with debris, with dying and with dead, There lies a little baby’s hand, there an old man’s head. There out upon the commons that cold December morn tender innocent little souls into the world were born, Women hugged their children, their hearts were filled with fear, While husbands lay beneath their homes they all had loved so dear. Old time went on apace, chill night was drawing nigh and many were those whose roof that night was just the bright blue sky. And then the following morning as if to hurt them twice, there came a storm From the ocean, a blizzard of white snow and ice.