1. The Home Front
WWI in Canada

2. Essentially, the war affected the lives of everyone.
Total War
World War I is considered a total war. This means that it required not only the efforts of soldiers on the front line, but the effort of everyday civilians back home.
Countries gathered up all their resources and geared industry towards the war.
Essentially, the war affected the lives of everyone.

3. Support for the War Effort
Patriotic community groups, government campaigns, and posters suggested that no sacrifice should be spared to ensure victory in Europe.

4. Cutting Back
People reduced the amount of food they ate and tried to waste as little as possible.
Reduced intake of meat, butter, sugar, and bread so that more of it could be sent overseas.
The voluntary reduction of how much food people ate was called “honour rationing”.
Although it was voluntary, people caught hoarding food could be fined or put in jail.

5. The war was costing Canada $1 million a day!
Lend a Buck!
The war was costing Canada $1 million a day!
Victory Bonds
The government urged people to buy Victory Bonds.
People who bought the bonds were lending money to the government.
When the war was over, bonds could be cashed in at a profit.

6. Lend a Buck! Children bought thrift stamps.
Each stamp cost 25¢ and was stuck on a card.
When $4.00 worth of stamps were bought, the child received a War Savings Stamp.
This stamp could be cashed in for $5.00 in 1924.

7. Income Tax Income tax was introduced in WWI.
The first tax in the country on money people made.
It was supposed to be temporary.

8. Soldiers of the Soil
The government urged farmers to produce as much as they could.
By 1917, Canadian farmers supplied most of the bread consumed by Allied soldiers.
When men went off to war, boys were encouraged by the government to become “soldiers of the soil”.
They were given an official uniform and a medal in recognition for their service.

9. Factories
When war was declared, factories were quickly reorganized to produce war supplies
Plants producing airplanes, shells, and ships sprang up across the country.
By 1918, Canadians were employed in these factories and 1/3 of the shells fired by the armies of the British Empire were made in Canada.

10. Women’s Contributions
Women worked in industries to replace them men off fighting.
30000 women worked in munitions factories.
Women also drove buses and streetcars, worked in banks, and on police forces.
Women worked on the farms to bring in the harvest
Groups of women met regularly to organize community fundraisers, knit socks and roll bandages for the troops.
The most popular organizations was the Canadian Red Cross.

11. Propaganda
One way for government to encourage support during the war was through a massive poster campaign.
Propaganda: the systematic spreading of ideas influencing people to support a particular cause or point of view.
Since television had not yet been invented and not everyone owned a radio, posters were the most effective means of getting a message across.
The posters were part of a major propaganda campaign to back the war effort and promote the allied cause.

12. Propaganda What major issue is used in this poster?
Summarize the message of the poster in a sentence.
a. what reasons does the poster suggest for supporting the war effort?
b. does the poster show a bias?
How successful do you think this poster would be? Why?