WWI - Canada

Question 1

Date Canada entered the war

Answer 1

August 4, 1914

Question 2

What does CEF stand for?

Answer 2

Canadian Expeditionary Force

Question 3

Were the initial troops volunteers or conscripts? Where were most of the men from?

Answer 3

Volunteers, most were British-born

Question 4

What was public opinion when the war started?

Answer 4

Public opinion was initially very supportive, though this changed around 1917

Question 5

Which man led the mobilization process for 3 years?

Answer 5

Col. Sam Hughes

Question 6

Explain three ways that Canada’s homefront mirrored that of the US

Answer 6

1. Both had conscription (Selective Service Act of 1917 for US, Military Service Act of 1917 for Canada),
2. Both had propaganda campaigns ( “Every Canadian should do their bit”)
3. Both created government agencies, which they micromanaged
4. both took away/limited civil liberties (Espionage and Sedition Acts, War Measures Act)
5. Both employed war bonds and liberty bonds (Canada more successfully than the US, Canadian Patriotic Fund)
6. Both had a high demand for farming, particularly wheat

Question 7

When were women granted the right to vote in federal elections?

Answer 7

May 24, 1918, though there were restrictions including: had to be a citizen, over 21, she or her husband had to own property

Question 8

Wilfred Laurier

Answer 8

Prime Minister before the war, led the liberal party, lost to Robert Borden in 1917. Distrustful of British imperialism, thought they were greedy. First Francophone prime minister, prior to the war he expanded civil liberties to include other Francophone

Question 9

Col. Sam Hughes

Answer 9

Minister of Militia, operated free of government interference before he got fired

Question 10

Robert Borden

Answer 10

Prime Minister during the war

Question 11

Henri Bourassa

Answer 11

French Canadian, led draft opposition in Quebec

Question 12

Thomas White

Answer 12

Finance Minister, responsible for appropriation of government funds during the war

Question 13

British North America Act

Answer 13

Constitution Act of 1867, Canada was three different areas (Canada, Newfoundland, New Brunswick), combined them into one dominion, established a Canadian constitution within the British Empire

Question 14

War Measures Act

Answer 14

August 1914, expanded government power by government agencies, limited civil liberties against German citizens

Question 15

Canadian Patriotic Fund

Answer 15

Extremely successful, collected money for soldiers’ families, took financial hardship away while soldiers were away overseas, could earn up to $50 a month

Question 16

Military Service Act

Answer 16

August 29, 1917, Parliament voted on implementing a draft, draft would go into effect January 1, 1918

Question 17

Wartime Elections Act

Answer 17

Allowed wives, mothers, and sisters of active soldiers vote, took away civil liberties of conscientious objectors and recent immigrants from Central Power countries

Question 18

Military Voters Act

Answer 18

Expanded the right to vote to all military personnel, including women and nurses. Strategic to give these people the right to vote because they would be in favor of the draft, which would relieve the pressure on current soldiers

Question 19

Ross Rifle

Answer 19

Issued to infantry by Sam Hughes, very heavy, jammed easily, criticized by soldiers who were forced to use it, replaced by the British Lee-Enfield Rifle

Question 20

Farming

Answer 20

High demand, expanded production leads to high profits, Saskatchewan was main wheat producer, took land from First Nations (Native Americans) to increase agricultural production. Soldiers of the Soil -took volunteers of boys and made them farm hands. Farmerettes- girl version of Soldiers of the Soil

Question 21

Shell Committee 1915

Answer 21

created by Sam Hughes, responsible for coordinating the production of munitions for the war effort. Not enough shells were being made so Hughes was fired. A lot of profiteering and corruption within the committee

Question 22

Imperial Munitions Board

Answer 22

put in place to counteract the shell committee, by Joseph Flavelle, lead to Canada production 2 million dollars of munitions daily by 1917, created 250,000 jobs, 30,000 was women, expanded past munitions to go into airplanes, engines, guns, cargo ships, chemicals, etc.

Question 23

Second Battle of Ypres

Answer 23

Date- April-May 1915
Losses = 6,000
Misc. info- First major engagement for the Canadians, gained a reputation for being tough fighters, however, a lot of losses were due to German gas

Question 24

The Somme (Beaumont-Hamel)

Answer 24

Date- July 1, 1916
Losses = The group that fought here was strictly from Newfoundland, lost 710/801, Newfoundland lost an entire generation of men

Question 25

Vimy Ridge

Answer 25

Date- April 9-12, 1917
Losses = 10,600
Misc. info- third major skirmish, France and Britain both lost, Canada won, major symbol for Canada because they did what France and Britain could not

Question 26

Passchendale (Third Ypres)

Answer 26

Date- October-November 1917
Losses = 15,654
Misc. info- Canadians went in to relieve British troops, were successful in taking the village of Passchendaele from German, had a lot of mud that people would get stuck in, they were mired in mud

Question 27

Reasons against conscription

Answer 27

They were war weary, they had been there since 1914, they felt that they had contributed enough already, high casualty numbers

Question 28

Opposition to conscription

Answer 28

The Francophones in Quebec, they didn’t consider themselves French or British, the ones in the military were receiving harsh treatment for being Francophones and for being Catholic and not Protestant. First French Canadian regiment was in 1915, Royal 22nd Regiment, came from Quebec. Led by Henri Bourassa

Question 29

1918 draft riots

Answer 29

Draft dodgers were arrested in Quebec City, four people ended up dying. Riots led by Henri Bourassa

Question 30

Draft exemptions

Answer 30

93% of men drafted sought exemption, only 48,000 draftees went to Europe. Only half of the 48,000 went to the front lines. Could get an exemption if you were a farmer or a farmer’s son. Robert Borden promising farmers and their sons exemptions caused a rural-urban division. Led to a lot of grassroots political parties

Question 31

Election of 1917

Answer 31

Conservative/Unionist Robert Borden VS. Liberal Sir Wilfred Laurier
Main issue- conscription
Winner- Robert Borden, won by a large majority because he gave the right to vote to women and military personnel, though he lost overwhelmingly in Quebec. Quebec would not vote for a conservative for over 40 years after this election

Question 32

Financing the War

Answer 32

Warden was initially opposed to raising taxes, but creates a business tax in 1916
Personal income tax in 1917
Liberty loans/bonds- Thomas White’s goal was to raise 50 million dollars through the bonds, had 100 million by 1915 (Canadian Patriotic Fund), 2 billion dollars raised by the end of the war

Question 33

Total deaths from war

Answer 33

Roughly 65,000

Question 34

Total deaths from Spanish Flu

Answer 34

50,000

Question 35

Divisions

Answer 35

English-French
Rural-urban
Wealthy industrialist-labor
Gaining civil liberties-losing civil liberties

Question 36

Autonomy

Answer 36

British Empire becomes British Commonwealth
Canada signs the Treaty of Versailles independent from GB
Canada gets its own seat in the League of Nations
They have complete autonomy within their own foreign policy