Canada in World War I

The poster states “the empire needs men! The overseas states all answer the call. Helped by the young lions the old lion defies his foes. Enlist now.” There is an olden lion standing on a rock with four young lions in the background.
A recruitment poster used in Canada during World War I
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The history of Canada in World War I began on August 4, 1914, when the United Kingdom entered the First World War (1914–1918) by declaring war on Germany. The British declaration of war automatically brought Canada into the war, because of Canada's legal status as a British Dominion which left foreign policy decisions in the hands of the British parliament.[1] However, the Canadian government had the freedom to determine the country's level of involvement in the war.[1][2] On August 4, 1914, the Governor General declared a war between Canada and Germany. The Militia was not mobilized and instead an independent Canadian Expeditionary Force was raised.[3]

Canada's sacrifices and contributions to the Great War changed its history and enabled it to become more independent, while also opening a deep rift between the French and English speaking populations. For the first time in Canadian military history, Canadian forces fought as a distinct unit, first under a British commander but ultimately under a Canadian-born commander.[4] The highpoints of Canadian military achievement during the Great War came during the Somme, Vimy, and Passchendaele battles and what later became known as "Canada's Hundred Days".[5] Canada's total casualties stood at the end of the war at 67,000 killed and 173,000 wounded, out of an expeditionary force of 620,000 people mobilized (39 per cent of mobilized were casualties).[6]

Canadians of British descent—the majority—gave widespread support arguing that Canadians had a duty to fight on behalf of their Motherland. Indeed, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, although French-Canadian, spoke for the majority of English-Canadians when he proclaimed: "It is our duty to let Great Britain know and to let the friends and foes of Great Britain know that there is in Canada but one mind and one heart and that all Canadians are behind the Mother Country." However this did not stop Laurier along with Henri Bourassa from leading the opposition to conscription three years later in 1917.[7] Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden offered assistance to Great Britain, which was quickly accepted.

  1. ^ a b James Ciment; Thaddeus Russell (2007). The home front encyclopedia: United States, Britain, and Canada in World Wars I and II. ABC-CLIO. p. 423. ISBN 978-1-57607-849-5.
  2. ^ Karin Ikas (2010). Global Realignments and the Canadian Nation in the Third Millennium. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 37. ISBN 978-3-447-06134-6.
  3. ^ Russell Hart (2001). Clash of arms: how the allies won in Normandy. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-55587-947-1.
  4. ^ Spencer Tucker; Priscilla Mary Roberts (2006). World War I: A Student Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-85109-879-8.
  5. ^ Tim Cook (1999). "'A Proper Slaughter': The March 1917 Gas Raid at Vimy" (PDF). Canadian Military History. 8 (2): 7–24. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  6. ^ Norman Leach (2008). Passchendaele: Canada's Triumph and Tragedy on the Fields of Flanders : an Illustrated History. Coteau Books. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-55050-399-9.
  7. ^ Robert Borden (1969). Robert Laird Borden: His Memoirs. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-7735-6055-0.