Canadas role in WW2 By: Jenna Scott

How and Why Canada Declared War… Canada’s parliament held a vote to decide if they were going to declare war on Germany, 8 days after Germany invaded Poland, and only 10 days after England declared war on Germany. Canada officially declared war on Germany on September 10th, 1939. They remained at war for almost 6 years. This was the first time ever Canada had declared war on another country on its own. By the time the 6 years came to an finish and the war ended about 1.1 million Canadians and Newfoundlanders joined the war from a population of 11 million.

Propaganda The Canadian propaganda of the Second World War was very “word driven” instead of image driven. The point of the propaganda posters was to make the citizens hate and fear fascism, and to make Canadians have a sense of unity across the nation. There were many different radio programs, films, and posters created to inspire people to enlist and support the Allied war effort.

Canada on the Homefront The Second World War related to the Great War since they both involved the whole country. Almost everyone in Canada had a family member in the armed forces considering almost 1 in 10 enlisted for full time service. When Canada declared war on Germany their industry production was not doing very well due to the Great Depression. In September of 1939, Parliament passed the Munitions and Supply Act and on April 9th, 1940 it was brought into force. The product created by the Department of Munitions and Supply was worth $10 billion, which is equivalent to $100 billion in present day money. Out of all the infrastructure that came out of the Department only about one third was used to support the Canadian forces and two thirds was used to support other Allies and Britain.

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand signed an agreement creating the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) in 1939. The plan was located in Canada so it would be away from the fighting. The BCATP was set in place to train the Allied aircrews for the War, including flight engineers, pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, and wireless operators. Between 1939 and 1945 more then 130 000 crewmen and women were trained making it one of Canada’s greatest contributions to the Allied victory of the war.

Dieppe Raid On August 19th, 1942 the Dieppe Raid was launched. This would turn out to be the bloodiest day for Canada in the Second World War. There were over 6000 men involved in the raid and almost 5000 were Canadian. Of the troops there was 4963 Canadian soldiers and only 2200 were able to return to England most, very injured. About 1950 soldiers were taken as war prisoners. Many war prisoners had to endure very harsh conditions including wartime marches due to the allies advancing further, and the Germans moving the prisoners away.

Italian Campaign (1943-1945) The campaign began with landings of the Allied troops on the island of Sicily. The entire plan was difficult in the war, just getting supplies to the island was very dangerous. Often times ships carrying supplies were sunk by enemy submarines. The Italian Campaign took place over a 20 month period, where 93 000 Canadian soldiers, along with the other Allies pushed from South to North Italy. One of the outcomes of the invasion of Sicily, was the overthrow of the Italian dictator Mussolini. There was 26 000 casualties in the campaign, and almost 6 000 were fatal.

Liberation of The Netherlands The First Canadian Army played a major role in the Liberation of the Netherlands from the fall of 1944 to spring of 1945. For three months the Canadians held the front lines then endured in the final push to liberate the Netherlands. In February of 1945, the First Canadian Army and the allies joined up to push through terrible muddy and flooded conditions to push the Germans out of The Netherlands.

D-Day The battle of Juno Beach occurred on D-Day June 6th, 1944 with 1200 wounded and killed. Of the five Normandy Beaches, Juno was considered one of the most heavily defended and yet Canadians advanced further than any other allied unit. Victory of the Normandy Beaches came with many casualties, the Canadians lost more soldiers than any division in the British Army Group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8TAQFzrB No The battle of Juno Beach occurred on June 6th of 1944 also known as d-day, with 1200 wounded and killed. Of the five Normandy Beaches, Juno was considered one of the most heavily defended and yet Canadians advanced further than any other allied unit. Unfortunately the Victory of the Normandy Beaches came with many casualties, the Canadians lost more soldiers than any division in the British Army Group.

The End of the War On May 7th, 1945 Germany surrendered to the Allies, and Japan surrendered on September 2nd, 1945. Official documents were signed on September 2nd, 1945 putting an end to World War II. By the end of the Second World War Canada had the fourth largest air force, third largest navy, and an army of six divisions. In just under 6 years of war, more than 45 000 Canadians gave their lives and 55 000 were wounded. In the summer of 1946 there was a peace conference in Paris, where they gave some of the Allies an opportunity to give their opinion on the arrangements that had been made. Canada signed treaties with Hungary, Romania, Finland, and Italy. On May 7th, 1945 Germany surrendered to the Allies. Official documents were signed on September 2nd, 1945 putting an end to World War II.

Discussion Questions How do you think the war would have differed if Canada never declared war on Germany? If another World War broke out how do you think our lives would change? Do you think as many Canadians would enlist now, if it was necessary as they did then?

Resources https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/remembrance-day-10-momentous- battles-for-canadians/article15372348/ http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/historical-sheets/wwchronol http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/dieppe-raid http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/dieppe- raid/gallery https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/second-world-war-wwii