In the course of Canadian history, there have been many points where conscription seemed like a necessary evil. Throughout those events conscription has proven to have a negative influence on a country. Canada has repeatedly failed to execute conscription in a manner that would benefit the nation. In both WWI and WWII, conscription has caused political uproar, ethnical seperatism, as well as military weakness due to unwilling conscripts.
Canada over the years have made itself known with it’s aspect of military combat. It’s soldiers have proven themselves undoubtedly strong willed and the prowess of Canadians shown bright in the battlefields of WWI and WWII. However, the brilliance of the Canadian forces was not without its own indigenous faults. In WWI alone, there have been 100,000 men conscripted into the armed forces, upping the count to meet the number Robert Borden, the PM at the time’s promised 500,000 by 1917. Simple math presents that over 20 percent of the men that then made up of Canada’s armed forces were conscripts, and the men were unwilling to do battle. Out of the French, 93% of those who were enlisted had applied for exemption. The lack of discipline out of the French Canadian soldiers even resulted in riots in Quebec. The savagery of the riots shocked conscripts and volunteers alike, and lowering the morales of both Conversely, the majority of soldiers who applied for the exemption of the military did not receive their goal. Nevertheless, those men still found other ways to avoid the frontlines, by assuming non-combat roles with duties of cleaning and other labour. While these militia servants were frowned upon, and even harassed by other soldiers, it did not stop the population of conscripts from ...
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...violence and it leaves the consequence of a divided country in its wake.
In final consideration, the times that Canada has instituted conscription has brought nothing more than turmoil between political parties, especially in Quebec, and the accord between French Canadians and the rest of Canada laid in ruins after prolonged riots. Conscription might’ve helped with the war, but what resulted from it on the homefront, left scarring wounds. The soldiers that had their right taken away through forced military service didn’t even have much of a choice, as if they did not fight, they would be shunned and harassed. Conscription was carried out poorly, and despite some achievements, failed to benefit Canada as a whole. Indeed Canada would not be as it would be today if the events in history did not happen, however Canada had the opportunity to have been so much more.
Essentially, Conscription brought more harm than good and led to a divide between French and English Canadians. As proven in the past, the 'all volunteer' military is more effective than any draft or mandatory conscription for all parties concerned. The Country gets men in the military who truly want to be there. Canada was not in danger of an attack from Germany, and therefore, there was no desperate need to force young men to serve into the army. The Russian Revolution in 1917 meant the Russians would soon quit the war and Germany would be able to bring it’s complete force to bear in the west. Conscription affected Canada’s economy, national unity and resulted in the sheer loss of
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Approximately 620,000 Canadians fought during the First World War. Nearly 700,000 if we account for the men and women that enlisted in the Canadian units outside of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and in the British forces. Of which, almost 173,000 Canadians were wounded and about 67,000 Canadians had lost their lives by November 11th, 1918. These casualties were devastating in numbers. Canada needed to regain the good faith of its people, despite the fact that it was still a colony of Britain. Canadians knew very little about why the war had started, or the significance of the events that instigated it. But, Canadians were called upon to fight it, therefore now was the greatest need for there to be better compensation for our returning Veterans than ever before. This was the time when the ground work for the Veterans Assistance Programs of today was laid down. Of ...
some of the positive ways in which the war changed Canada but the most negative way in which
Contrary to what any believe, the Battle of Vimy Ridge was more than “another bloodshed” to Canada as a nation. This battle confirmed Canada’s eligibility to participate on the world stage and that they are not to be trifled with by other nations. The accomplishments of the Canadian army brought respect from other countries to Canada. The Canadian army gained confidence in themselves after the victory at the battle Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was significant to the growth of Canada as a nation.
An angry Trudeau replied: "There's a lot of bleeding hearts around who just don't like to see people with helmets and guns. All I can say is go on and bleed." "How far are you going to go?" Ralfe insisted."Just watch me!" said Trudeau. And Canadians across the country watched as, at 3 o'clock in the morning, Friday, October 16, Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act. The Press Gallery was packed. Trudeau was careful, cold, analytic - and brilliant. The invocation of the War Measures Act meant the suspension of traditional Canadian civil l...
Because of Canada’s boost in the industrial economy and its status in World War II, job options were abundant. By 1942 there was a full employment as hundreds and thousands of Canadian men and women found work in war industries.
During the First World War, Canada suffered a great conscription crisis that divided the nation. The French-Canadian nationalists, led by Henri Bourassa, opposed conscription and felt that they were fighting an English war, and therefore felt no obligation to fight. The vast majority of those who enlisted during the age of voluntary recruitment were Anglophones; in contrast, very few Francophones volunteered to fight. On 17 May 1917, Prime Minister Robert Borden announced that military service was to become compulsory among men of fighting age of all classes. French-Canadians protested; however, despite their best efforts, the Military Service Bill came into effect. The protest eventually led to lengthy riots. Following this, Canada became
61, 000 Canadians died during World War I and another 172, 000 were injured. World War I was supposed to be “the war to end all wars” however it did not achieve that. Another negative effect was the War Measures Act that Prime Minister Borden introduced in 1914 which gave the government undemocratic powers to deal with war and power to limit the freedom of Canadians. The act suspended habeas corpus which is recourse in law when a person can report unlawful detention or imprisonment before a court. Anyone that was thought to be an enemy alien could be imprisoned or deported, so recent immigrants from Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire had to carry ID cards with them at all times and more than 8, 500 were held in isolation in internment camps. Another negative effect of World War I on Canada was that of conscription, which made it mandatory to enlist after Borden introduced the Military Service Act in 1917. Conscription was very controversial and emotional issue that divided English and French Canadians lasting in scars. French Canadians felt no patriotic connection to Britain or France; they saw the Military Service Act as a way of forcing them to fight in a distant war that had no connection to them. Many French Canadians felt like second class citizens of the home front; there were violent conflicts in Quebec between those
The act of applying conscription during the First and Second World Wars have nearly torn Canada apart. The conscription crisis of 1917 was a treacherous event that occurred during the First World War. During this time the relations between Quebec and the rest of Canada were in an all time low in our Canadian history. The Québécois thought conscription was merely unnecessary no matter what circumstance; while all other Canadians did essentially want conscription occur. The contrast was inevitably high on the issue of conscription between the Québécois and the rest of Canada thus creating a solution when conscription was indeed needed was impossible. However while William Lyon Mackenzie King was the Prime Minister during the Second World War; he reacted differently in comparison to Robert Borden. Although King promised not to introduce conscription as did Borden in his campaign race; he dealt the issue of conscription in a more controlled manner. Essentially Mackenzie King approached the issue of conscription using prior knowledge learnt from World War One.
The post-war time was a period where major changes were occurring. After being involved in two international conflicts, Canada was ready to reestablish their economy. During this time, Canada had started working on ways to become stronger and reputable. It is evident that Canada had matured through the post-war era. Canada’s economic progress left a positive impact on the growth of the country as consumerism became popular, and economic ties with America became stronger. Moreover, the removal of racial and ethical barriers contributed to Canadian social affairs such as the huge wave of immigration and the baby boom. The Canadian government also had become more aware and involved in issues impacting Canadian citizens. Canada as a whole started identifying itself as an independent nation and participating in events that brought a positive reputation amongst them. These economical, social, and legal changes helped Canada mature into the country it is today.
It also has a negative effect on the esteem of Canada as it can be viewed as a hypocritical democratic nation, in which a model peacekeeping nation used a totalitarian force such as the War Measures Act. By unjustly punishing Canadian citizens, enforcing conscription as well as being used unnecessarily to address apprehended threats, the usage of the War Measures Act was neither fair nor necessary. The unjust punishment of citizens allowed by the War Measures Act was iniquitous. When it was used in World War One, World War Two and the October Crisis, it led to the unjust punishment of Canadians by causing the internment of “enemy aliens” as well as the forced registration with the government. In World War One, Canada had been in war with Germany, Austria, Hungary and Ukraine.... ...
The events of July and early August 1914 are known as the sparks that lit the explosion of World War I. Uneasy tensions that had been boiling beneath the surface of Europe for many years soon erupted and with that several alliances that were formed over the past decades were invoked, so within weeks the major powers were at war; via their colonies, the conflict advanced rapidly. When war officially broke out in 1914, Britain joined in the defense of Belgium and in reaction to Germany's violation of the treaty in which the countries neutrality was to be respected by all other nations. Upon this Britain requested that all dominions of the British Empire, including Canada were to fight on its behalf. Canada’s involvement in the War changed history, deepening our independence, strengthening our right the self govern and opening a gap between the French and English-speaking populations. Canadian's were a great asset in WW1, and it marked the beginning of independent Canadian forces fighting under a Canadian-born commander. On August 5, 1914, the Governor General declared a war between Canada and Germany.
Canada has played a vital role in international relations for the majority of its 144 year history since the signing of Confederation in 1867. Canada first participated in World War I, then World War II in 1939-1945. Following World War II, Canada was also involved in the Korean War. Canada has been primarily a peacekeeping nation. There are many questions people ask when a high income country goes to help a lower income nation such as Afghanistan. What are Canada’s motives for helping out Afghanistan? Who will benefit from Canada going to war in Afghanistan? These are some of the questions many people have. While Canada has many domestic problems of its own such as homelessness, poverty and increasing national debt, why should Canada get involved with a problem that is across the globe? Are the costs of going to war out weight the political benefits? Modernity, modernization theory and gender stratification are some key concepts that are related to Canada going to war in Afghanistan.