Conscription 1917 Ch1201 December 2013

Early Support for War In 1914, Canadians were initially enthusiastic about the war & thousands of young men rushed to volunteer for service As the war dragged on into 1916 & casualty rates increased, the number of volunteers decreased

Propaganda Campaigns The Canadian Government tries to maintain enlistment levels through extensive propaganda campaigns Do you think these Propaganda Campaigns were effective? Would they inspire you to “Answer the Call”?

Early in 1917, Prime Minister Robert Borden visited soldiers at the front & was shocked with casualty rates Military officials urged Borden to send even more Canadian troops to Europe Borden promised another 500,000 Canadian troops & asked Parliament to pass a conscription bill to raise them upon his return to Canada

MONTH ENLISTMENT CASUALTIES JANUARY 9 194 4 396 FEBRUARY 6 809 1 250 MARCH 6 640 6161 APRIL 5 530 13 477 MAY 6407 13 457 JUNE 6 348 7 931 JULY 3 882 7 906 AUGUST 3 117 13 232 STEPTEMBER 3 588 10 990 OCTOBER 4 884 5 929 NOVEMBER 4 019 30 741 DECEMBER 3 921 7 476 TOTAL:

Conscription: means that all able-bodied men would be required to join the army In the summer 1917, Borden passed the Military Service Act which made military service compulsory for all males between the ages of 20- 45

Military Service Act Exemptions Men in vital wartime production jobs Those who were sick Conscientious objectors did not have to join the forces due to their religious beliefs

Conscription Division The implementation of conscription is very controversial & caused great division in our country Farmers / Labourers French Canadians English Canadians

Conscription Division: Farmers/Factor Owners Opposed conscription They were struggling to bring in crops for the war effort & to produce weapons for battle They did not feel that they could spare their remaining sons, hired workers, or young factory workers for the army

Conscription Division: French Opposed to conscription Many did not feel any sense of loyalty to British Empire Many felt like second-class citizens Much of Quebec was agricultural-based which was deemed vital to wartime production

Conscription Division: English Supported conscription Patriotic connections to Britain & had a desire to support Britain in the war

Election 1917 Conscription became the main issue in the December 1917 election Prior to the election, Borden passed two further bills to strengthen his position on conscription Military Voter’s Act: Wartime Elections Act

Election 1917 Military Voter’s Act: allowed soldiers overseas to vote Wartime Elections Act: gave the federal vote to female relatives (moms, wives, sisters, daughters) of soldiers & while at the same time refusing that right to citizens from enemy countries (disenfranchised enemy-aliens).

Election 1917 These two pieces of legislation increased the number of voters most likely to support conscription and eliminated ones unlikely to support compulsory service Borden led the Union government, a coalition of Conservatives and pro-conscription Liberals

Union Government For the December 1917 election, the Conservatives & Liberals who believed in conscription formed a union government It led to a very bitter election in 1917 in which the Union government won an overwhelming majority but only three seats in Quebec, thus dividing the country along French & English lines

Election 1917 While Borden’s Union government won the election, Canada was completely “polarized” and divided English-Canada voted overwhelmingly to support the Union government While Quebec supported Laurier and the Liberals who refused to support conscription

Riots on the Streets of Quebec On Good Friday, 1918 a full- scale riot broke out in Quebec City. Angry Mobs attacked English Owned Businesses. Troops were brought in to restore order. Soldiers fired shots into the crowds killing four civilians. Henri Bourassa was disgusted with the Canadian Government referring to them as “The Prussians next door” (Germans next door) Riot Broke out in Quebec City

The End Result of Conscription The intended result of the Military Service Act was to provide the war effort with an extra 100,000 men (to reach the 500,000 mark that Borden had originally promised the Allied Forces). However, when the war came to an un- expected halt on Nov 11th, 1918, only 24,000 (25% of the conscripted men) had reached Europe. If the war had continued, Conscription would have been a necessity. However, in the end, it’s real result was a serious blow to Canadian Unity (French-English Relations