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Canada Declares War on Germany (Allies & Historical Perspective)
Following the United Kingdom's declaration of war on Germany. Canada shortly followed on September 10, 1939. This shows Canada agreed with the United Kingdom and other Allies that Nazi Germany is a threat to the whole world. Historical perspective is shown here as Canada's response was expected due to how it viewed nations at the time. "But there was never serious doubt about Canada’s response: the government and people were united in support of Britain and France"
https://www.warmuseum.ca/ -
Canada's War Time Production (Industry & Continuity and Change)
When Canada declared war on Nazi Germany, Canada needed to manufacture tons of war supplies. So, following the start of the war, there was now a high demand for jobs. Many Canadians got jobs and began manufacturing, and Canada produced around $10 billion dollars of resources ($100 billion dollars in today's money). This shows continuity and change as this event Canada become a major industrial power which means Canada changed to an industrial power and stayed one. https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/ -
Victory Bonds (Industry & Continuity and Change)
Canada decided to take a page out of WW1 and use Victory Bonds again in order to help funding for the war. They begun this program in February of 1940 and continued it throughout the war, hitting their goals within a few days of issuing the Victory Bonds. This shows continuity and change as the Canadian government decided to continue an already successful program, just this time it was in a different war.
https://heritagelsl.ca/ -
The Battle of Britain (Battles & Cause and Consequence)
The Battle of Britain was the first major conflict that Canada partook in. Despite it only being the air force and with only about 100 Canadians participating in the battle. It set the stage the Canada would help the Allies overseas and led to increased Canadian involvement in the war. This event shows cause and consequence because Canada had an increased involvement in the war because they contributed to this battle.
https://www.canada.ca/en/ -
Defense of Hong Kong (Battle & Cause and Consequence)
The Defense of Hong Kong was Canada's first ground conflict in WW2. Despite losing Hong Kong, it once again showed that Canada was ready to support the Allies in fighting abroad. Increasing Canada's presence on the global stage. This example shows cause and consequence because it made Canada have an even larger presence on the global stage due to them fighting battles in Europe and now Asia.
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/ -
Declaration by United Nations (Allies & Historical Perspective)
On January 1st, 1942, Churchill, Roosevelt, Litvinov, and Soong signed a short document that made these nations work together in regards to diplomacy. The next day, 22 more nations signed, including Canada. This document was a major step in forming the United Nations. This shows historical perspective because at the time the nations that signed the article believed that conflict could always be avoided if there was a discussion to prevent it.
https://www.un.org/en/ -
Women in the Workforce (Industry & Continuity and Change)
In 1942, Canada's government decided that women that were born between 1918-1922 would potentially be selected to work during labor shortages. As the war went on, hundreds of thousands of women were working and helping the economy and war efforts. This shows continuity and change as the government continued what worked in the last world war, and this helped pave the way for women to be more equal to men.
https://www.warmuseum.ca/ -
The Dieppe Raid (Battles & Cause and Consequence)
The Allies were not strong enough to pull off "Operation Overlord" (D-Day), but they wanted to test out the equipment and gain experience. So, they decided to attack the French port of Dieppe to get the information they needed. The attack consisted of mostly Canadians, with about 5,000 of the 6,100 men being Canadian. This shows cause and consequence because many men died and lessons were learned, but that led to the eventual success of "Operation Overlord".
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/ -
Allied Operations/Conquest of Italy (Allies & Historical Perspective)
Canada worked with the Allies very often throughout the war. A prime example of this was the Conquest of Italy. This was a 20-month military campaign where many of the Allied forces were working together to take over Italy. This shows how Canada and other Allied nations were mutually benefitting each other by working together. This shows historical perspective as military leaders viewed Italy as a weak point, but it obviously wasn't that weak as it took 20-months.
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/ -
D-Day/Invasion of Normandy (Battles & Cause and Consequence)
D-Day or the Invasion of Normandy was the largest and most important battle in World War 2. 18,444 Canadians died during the invasion, but it was a major turning point as the Nazi's were significantly weakened afterwards. The sacrifices that occurred in the battle will always be remembered as it was one of the most important steps to winning WW2. This shows cause and consequence because the Allies and Canada winning this battle led to the eventual victory of WW2.
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/