1. WWII: The War at Home

2. Total War By 1942, Canada was committed to a policy of “Total War”.
All industries, materials and people were put to work for the war effort.

3. Government and the Economy
The war launched Canada out of the depression and into an economic boom.
C.D. Howe, minister of munitions and supply, quickly organized Canada’s war economy, he assumed near dictatorial powers telling businessmen what they would produce including how much and how fast.
Canada became an industrial power, new factories were built, and old ones adapted for war purposes. Factories churned out thousands of guns, ships, fighter planes and military vehicles.

4. Canadian Production 1939-1945 Aircraft 16 000 Rifles 900 000
Military Vehicles
Merchant Ships
410
Landing Craft
3 302
Navy Tugs
254
Tanks
6 500
Escort Ships
487
Machine Guns

5. Labour With so many men enlisting, Canada faced a labour shortage.
One of the main strategies was to recruit women for the work force
At first only single women were recruited, but upon severe labour shortages, both married women and mothers were sought out

6. “Women, Back Them Up -To Bring Them Back!”
■ The government even funded daycare centers so that women would be free to work.
■ In 1943, there were approximately 225,000 Canadian women working in munitions factories.

7. In The Army Now…
In 1941 women were able to enlist in their own divisions of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Although Canadian women were not allowed into combat during the Second World War, they did just about everything else.

8. Women served as nurses, stretcher bearers, drivers, machine operators, cooks and secretaries. They also flew Canadian built planes to bases in Britain and ferried officers and politicians from Ottawa to London.
They were paid roughly 60% of what their male counterparts made

9. Enlistment By Women In Canada’s Armed Forces:
Over 43,000 women served overseas in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, the Royal Women’s Navy Service and the Women’s Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

10. Enlistment By Women In Canada’s Armed Forces:
Navy
6 781
Air Force
17 018
Army
21 624
Medical Services
4 518
Doctors 58

11. Wartime Prices and The Trade Board
Prime Minister Mackenzie King was determined to avoid the problems of greed and inflation which had plagued the Canadian political landscape during the first World War

12. Wartime Prices and The Trade Board
The government set up the Wartime Prices and Trade Board (WPTB) to control prices and supervise the distribution of food and other scarce goods.

13. Rationing: A Little Goes a Long Way!
To ensure there was a large enough supply to meet both military and civilian needs, certain staple goods were rationed.

14. Rationing: A Little Goes a Long Way!
Rationed Items Included:
Meat, Butter, Tea, Coffee, Gasoline, Tires (rubber), Alcohol, Clothing Fabric and Silk

16. Pitching in on all fronts
Dedication to the war effort also extended outside the factories.
Women’s organizations collected paper, glass, metal, rubber, rags and bones to be recycled into war supplies.
They planted victory gardens, sewed clothes for troops and were recruited to work on farms and in factories.

17. Financing the War
The Canadian Government did raise taxes during the Second World War
The increased revenue from higher taxes accounted for about one-half of all war-related expenses.

18. Financing the War
To help pay for the rest, the Canadian government conducted nine Victory Loan drives
These campaigns raised nearly $12 billion by the end of the war.

19. Top Secret: Camp X Operated in Oshawa, Ontario from 1941 to 1946,
Was a training camp responsible for training recruits for Special Operations during World War II.

20. Top Secret: Camp X It was comprised of two sections:
The Special Training School, which trained allied agents in the techniques of secret warfare
And Hydra, a communications network which delivered messages between Canada, United States, and Great Britain.

21. The Japanese Canadian Question: WWII

22. Japanese Aggression…
Japanese expansion in East Asia began in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria and continued in 1937 with a brutal attack on China.
On February 24th, 1933, Japan stuns the world and withdraws from the League of Nations.

23. With Japan becoming increasingly aggressive in the Pacific by occupying Indonesia, parts of China, the Philippines, Malaya, Burma, and Singapore, anti- Japanese sentiments are increasing around the world

25. The Tripartite Pact
On September 27, 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, thus entering the military alliance known as the "Axis."

26. Embargo Against Japan
The United States, Britain and the Netherlands froze all Japanese financial assets.
The effect was to prevent Japan from purchasing oil, which would, in time, cripple its army and make its navy and air force completely useless.

27. Canadian Sentiment…
At the outbreak of the World War II in 1939, the population of British Columbia included around 21,000 Canadians of Japanese origin, 75% of whom had residence rights.
Common belief held was that the Japanese are unable to assimilate into Canadian society as easily as those of European heritage.
Prime Minister Mackenzie King himself expressed a belief in “the extreme difficulty of assimilating Japanese persons in Canada”

28. Japanese Bomb Pearl Harbour!
December 7, 1941, President Roosevelt declares it “The Day of Infamy”.

30. The Battle of Hong Kong Hong Kong surrendered on Christmas Day 1941.
Of the 1,975 Canadians, 290 were killed and 493 wounded. A further 260 died in the awful conditions of prison camps in Hong Kong and Japan.

31. Do we need proof?
Japanese submarines are known to have been operating off the coast of British Columbia
Although RCMP and Canadian military evaluations suggested no imminent threat by Japanese Canadians, this assessment is not universally accepted, as there exists no guarantee of the loyalty, or passivity of Japanese-Canadians.

32. What should be done?
Resentment against Japanese Canadians exploded into panic and anger in British Columbia.
1,200 fishing boats were seized by the Canadian navy in fear of spying
The war offered a convenient excuse for Canadians to address the Japanese Canadian question.

33. The Canadian War Measures Act
1914 – “gave the government sweeping powers to ensure the security, defence, peace, order, and welfare of Canada.”
Used to imprison CANADIANS of German, Ukrainian, and Slavic descent in WWI.
War Measures Act invoked- this allowed for the internment of enemy aliens

34. Take a stand…. what is more important:
National Security
Individual Rights
…keeping in mind that people make decisions based on what they know at the time!

35. Japanese Internment in Canada
■ The movement of 23,000 Japanese Canadians during the war was the largest mass exodus in Canadian history.

36. Internment Timeline
1941 (December 8): 1,200 Japanese Canadian fishing boats are impounded. Japanese language newspapers and schools close.
1942 (January 16): Removal begins of Japanese immigrant males from coastal areas.
1942 (February 24): All male Japanese Canadian citizens between the ages of 18 and 45 ordered to be removed from 100-mile-wide zone along the coast of British Columbia.

37. Internment Timeline
1942 (February 26): Mass evacuation of Japanese Canadians begins. Some given only 24 hours notice. Cars, cameras and radios confiscated for “protective measures”. Curfew imposed.
1942 (March 4): Japanese Canadians ordered to turn over property and belongings to Custodian of Enemy Alien Property as a “protective measure only”. Eventually these assets were sold and proceeds used to pay for the interment
1942 (March 25): British Columbia Security Commission initiates scheme of forcing men to road camps and women and children to “ghost town” detention camps.

38. Conditions in the Camps
Housed in huts with two bedrooms and a kitchen
shared by two families
No electricity or running water until 1943

39. Camp Conditions continued
Hundreds of women and children were squeezed into livestock buildings
Slept on beds covered in straw for comfort
Conditions were so poor that food packages were sent from Japan through the Canadian Red Cross to those suffering in the camps

40. End of the War
In 1945, the government extended the Order in Council to force the Japanese Canadians to go to Japan and lose their Canadian citizenship, or move to eastern Canada.
Even though the war was over, it was illegal for Japanese Canadians to return to Vancouver until 1949.
Public protest would eventually stop the deportations, but not before 4000 Japanese left the country.

41. Watch
Watch: David Suzuki- Internment Camp (2 min)
Watch: CBC News: Apology to Japanese Canadians (4 min)

42. Acknowledging Wartime Wrongs
43 years after the end of the war, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney acknowledged the wrong doings of the Canadian government and announced the awarding of $21,000 for each individual directly wronged.
Is this an acceptable redress to the issue?
In 1988 Canada apologized for this miscarriage of justice, admitting that the actions of the government were influenced by racial discrimination. The government signed a redress agreement providing a small amount of money compensation.

43. Activity In pairs, examine “QUESTION 2” on the following worksheet:
Debating Issues in World War II
With your partner, identify which arguments are for the “Yes” side and “No” side.