1. Canadians on the Home Front
The high demand for food, uniforms, munitions, equipment, and other products was good for Canadian businesses
Significant economic growth led to wage and job increases
By 1917, the Imperial Munitions Board in Canada was the biggest business in Canada (150,000 workers)
Canada manufactured airplanes/engines, guns, cargo ships, chemicals, other weapons
War manufacturing in Canada included 1500 factories and employed over 300,000 people

3. Canadian Women in WWI
With 620,000 Canadian men fighting, women were encouraged to take on skilled work at munitions factories
Also ran businesses, worked on farms,
Women’s volunteer groups like the Red Cross and Good Government Group rallied to support troops
Women’s contributions were key to Canada’s successes in the war and growth as a nation
When the war ended, women were expected to go back home, but many refused
Women used their wartime contributions to argue for greater equality in post-war Canadian society, like the right to vote

5. War Expenses
Though the war effort benefited the Canadian economy, the costs quickly rose
Government introduced a business tax in 1916, and in introduced an income tax
Originally temporary, but never removed
Also borrowed from American banks, going into debt for over $1 billion

6. Conscription Crisis 1917, enlistment fell short of its targets
This meant Canadian soldiers killed in battle were not being replaced
Despite his 1914 pledge not to conscript troops, in May 1917, PM Robert Borden announced his plans to pass the Military Service Act
Included conscription

7. Conscription Crisis: French Canadian Opposition
The announcement divided Parliament along French- English lines
Though French Canadians weren’t against Canada’s involvement in the war, they opposed conscription
Most French Canadians felt no allegiance to England or France, and didn’t believe the war had anything to do with their safety or Canada’s security
French Canadian troops were also treated poorly overseas
Both sides scorned the other for lack of understanding

8. Conscription Crisis: Other Opposition
Organized Labour also opposed conscription
Farmers worried they would lose their farms if their sons and young hired hands were forced to serve overseas
Some Canadians objected to the war on religious or moral grounds
Conscientious Objectors who refused military involvement were persecuted and jailed…
…even though the Canadian government had previously promised some groups - like the Mennonites and Hutterites - exemption from military service

9. Propaganda
In WWI, most countries (including Canada) used propaganda to further their war aims.
The best way to do this at the time was through newspapers, since radio and TV did not exist yet.
Posters were mass-produced and appeared everywhere in Canada.
GOALS OF PROPAGANDA?
1. Encourage enlistment (get men to sign up for war)
2. Encourage people at home to buy Victory Bonds
3. Encourage people at home to increase production or conserve foods
4. Make the enemy look really bad (vilify them)

15. Borden’s Strategy The Military Service Act became law on Aug 29, 1917
PM Borden asked Wilfred Laurier (leader of the Official Opposition) to join him in a “union government”
Would make way for the act and eliminate “two-party” politics
Very few Liberals were interested
In December, Borden called an election
Conscription was the main issue

16. The 1917 Election
Borden’s government passed the Wartime Elections Act to help win the election
Gave the vote likely to support conscription, such as women with relatives fighting overseas
The same act took votes away from immigrants from “enemy” countries
Mennonites didn’t get the vote back for decades
Borden won with a sizeable majority

17. Armistice
By the end of October Germany admitted defeat and began looking for advantageous peace terms.
By November, they had no choice but to accept the Allies’ harsh surrender conditions.
On 11 November the Armistice document was signed in a railway carriage at Compiègne, and the guns fell silent at 11am.

18. The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was drafted and signed at the Paris Peace Conference in June 1919.
The Terms of the treaty were harsh, and applied mainly to Germany, required to accept blame for the war.
Germany was forced to:
Limit the size of its army
Give up all colonies in Africa and the Pacific
Pay reparations to the Allied countries
These harsh treaty conditions raised concern that a humiliated and resentful Germany would seek reprisal

19. The map of Europe and the Middle East is arbitrarily redrawn
The map of Europe and the Middle East is arbitrarily redrawn. Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empires are broken up creating many ‘new’ countries
- Yugoslavia - Finland
- Austria - Latvia
- Hungary - Estonia
- Palestine - Lithuania
- Syria - Lebanon
- Saudi Arabia - Iraq

20. Canada after the War
Canada had made a major contribution to the war, and the Expeditionary Force had earned a distinguished record
Fuelled by pride and nationalism, PM Borden demanded (and was given) a seat for Canada at the Paris Peace Conference
Even though Canada hardly played a role in negotiations, and Britain signed the treaty on behalf of the entire British Empire, Borden signed the treaty separately for Canada

21. Statute of Westminster
December 11, 1931, Britain passed the Statute of Westminster
Canada and the other Commonwealth dominions were no longer subordinate to Britain’s constitution
Canada could make its own foreign policy decisions without seeking British approval.
The Statute of Westminster was a significant landmark in the history of Canada. It signalled Canada's growing maturity as a nation.

22. What could have happened if Canadians had not contributed to the war effort in the ways they did? How might the outcome have been different? In what ways might Canada be different today?