the war at home and what the war meant to canada
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The War at Home and What the War Meant to Canada. Ms. Campbell Socials 11. The War at Home. During WW2 the Canadian Home Front made enormous contributions Total War led many factories to produce war supplies Factories operated non-stop and Canadians worked long hours. The Home Front. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The War at Home andWhat the War Meant to Canada
Ms. Campbell
Socials 11
The War at Home
During WW2 the Canadian Home Front made enormous contributions
Total War led many factories to produce war supplies
Factories operated non-stop and Canadians worked long hours
The Home Front
Women joined the war industries in jobs that were not typical“Rosie the Riviter”
became a popular nickname for working women
The Home Front
Wartime production and employment increase the amount of money available to the average Canadians
But there were fewer goods available to buy
The Home Front Mackenzie King tried to avoid inflation
several ways:Enthusiastically encouraging Canadians to
buy Victory Bonds Increased income taxA freeze on wages in 1941Food rations (1kg meat, 220g sugar, 250g
butter, 225g coffee) These were generous compared to England and
the US
The Home Front
The Wartime Prices and Trade Board was established to reduce social unrest
It limited the power of trade unions by controlling wages to make strikes less effective
The Home Front
The labour shortage made the board’s job difficult and many people went on strike for higher wages and the right to bargain
In 1944 the federal government allowed workers to join a union and forced employers to recognize unions
The Home Front
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was becoming increasingly popular both federally and provincially
Strong party support helped develop Canada’s “Cradle to Grave” policy of social security
The Home Front
In 1939, King promised there would be no conscription
When Hitler took over Europe, it was clear that thousands of soldiers would be needed
Many Canadians demanded the government do more
The Home Front
King’s government brought in the National Resource Mobilization Act (NRMA)
This gave the government emergency powers including conscription for home defence
The Home Front
The Conservative opposition wanted conscription but King knew there would be strong resistance in Quebec
The Home Front
King decided to hold a plebiscite on the issue and used the slogan “Not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary”
In 1942 all provinces except Quebec voted to allow conscription
The Home Front
The National Selective Service Act allowed conscription
Riots were held in Montreal
For two years King avoided sending troops overseas but in 1944 15,000 men were conscripted for active service
Only 2463 of these ever reached the front
What the War Meant to Canada
In 1940 (before joining the war) President Roosevelt called the US the “arsenal of democracy”
He promised the US would arm and supply the war
A program called the Lend-Lease Act was developed to give Britain war goods
What the War Meant to Canada
In Canada, the economy boomed as it produced war goodsAgriculture was overtaken by manufacturing
Canada’s economy transformed from rural to a modern industrial nation
What the War Meant to Canada
Society also changed as women were employed in greater numbers
After the war it was expected that women would give up their jobs to returning soldiers
What the War Meant to Canda
After the war 48,000 war brides came to Canada
Otherwise, immigration decreased