The Homefront World War Two

The Conscription Crisis, 1942 Canadians could volunteer for military service The National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA) Gave the government powers to draft men into the military for short periods, and for service within Canada Volunteer rates varied in different regions of the country Ontario’s volunteer rate was more than double that of Quebec’s Politicians argued that there was a need for soldiers on the warfront Prime Minister King promised numerous times that there would be no overseas conscription and he did not want to break the promise that he had made to Canadians

The Conscription Crisis, 1942 Plebiscite Reflects the views of Canadians on an issue, but the results the results do not have to be put into place by the government The results- the majority voted YES in all provinces except for Quebec King viewed this as a divided response and decided to avoid the issue 1944: shortage of trained soldiers 15,000 soldiers were needed and there were not enough volunteers to meet this demand November 1944 Beginning of conscription government conscripted NRMA soldiers to be sent overseas First conscripted soldiers left for Europe in December and reached the warfront in February 1945 War was almost over Only 2643 conscripts ever reached the warfront

Propaganda Materials designed to convince the public of their opinions/beliefs The Canadian government produced sources of propaganda (posters, films, radio advertisements) Designed to convince Canadians to contribute to the war effort, to express the threat of the enemy, and to increase pride among Canadians

The Treatment of Japanese-Canadians 1941 23,000 Japanese Canadians living in Canada 22,000 of those lived in British Columbia Many of them lived in Japan and had later come to Canada More than half were Japanese descendents who had been born in Canada Japanese Canadians were looked at as suspicious Worried that they supported Japan, not Canada Many Japanese-Canadians served as soldiers during WW1 Were promised the right to vote in 1918 because of this The outbreak of war led to this promise been broken

The Treatment of Japanese-Canadians The bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan led to increased discrimination towards Japanese-Canadians They were worried that Canada would be attacked from within “Relocation Centres”, 1942 Japanese-Canadians in BC were invited to move to an area called the Okananagan Valley where they would live in temporary camps 750 moved voluntarily Internment Camps The government forced the rest of them to leave their homes Families were split up Lived in central BC in wood cabins without insulation or proper heating Some chose to move to another province so that they could remain with their family

The Treatment of Japanese-Canadians January 1943 The Custodian of Enemy Property (federal government official) was given the power to confiscate the property of Japanese-Canadians Sold at low prices, and the owners received little to noting 1945 (at the end of the war) Japanese-Canadians had two (horrible) options Apply for repatriation to Japan, or permanently settle east of the Rocky Mountains 3964 repatriated to Japan, 1979 of whom had been born in Canada Repatriation order cancelled in 1947 1988, the government apologizes for its actions Paid $21,000 to each of the 1400 people still living who had been affected by the Repatriation policy

Can-Am Relations – Canada grows closer to the U.S. during WW2 Hyde Park Agreement (America can buy war materials on credit from Canada,) Alaska Highway Act (a joint highway to protect against a Japanese attack) and the Ogdensburg Agreement (provides for a Canadian member of the Defence Board) all bring Canada and the U.S. closer together

Camp X Top secret base near Oshawa where American, British and Canadian spies are trained

Rationing Wartime Prices and Trade Board (WPTB) controls the distribution of food and other “scares” goods during wartime – every Canadian citizen is issued a ration card to buy their families their limit of gas, butter, sugar, meat, tea, coffee, etc.) – the situation is much worse in Europe

Government and the Economy WW2 finally ends the Depression Unemployment Insurance Act (1940) both workers and employers contribute for unemployed workers First “baby bonus” cheques are also mailed

Howe’s Boys is the nickname given to the group of businesspeople that Minister of Munitions and Supply C.D. Howe leads, all of who agree to produce war supplies for the government for $1 per year the war makes Canada a major industrial power (factory system)