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The Start #1
When Britain went to war in September 1939, Canada remained neutral. This displayed Canada’s newfound right to declare war independently of Britain. One week later, the Canadian Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of going to war. However, Canada was unprepared for war, as it only had a small, underequipped army and a pitiful air force. -
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WW2
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Canadian Training Programs #10
The population of Canada wasquite resistant to the idea of another war, as many still remembered the horrors of World War One. Also, the Canadian government wanted to avoid the conscription crisis that had divided the country years earlier, so the Government instead sent a decreased volume of soldiers to the front, but agreed to host the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to train pilots for war. The federal government also became more involved in the economy, creating munitions for war. -
Operation Barbarossa #9
Hitler decided to attack the Soviet Union, a country which he had signed a non-aggression pact with years earlier. The Germans had the advantage of surprise, but the Soviets had winter. The bitterly cold Soviet winter froze the German army in its tracks, mere kilometres from Moscow. Since the Germans had violated the non-aggression pact, the Soviets fought back with a vengeance, joining forces with the Allies and attacking Germany from the east. -
Dunkirk Evacuation and the Fall of France #9
Thanks to a large force of civilian fishing boats and pleasure craft, the entire British army escaped Dunkirk to fight another day. However, with the British army evacuated, there was nothing barring the French capital from the Germans. On June 22nd, 1940, France officially surrendered to the Germans. This left only the British Commonwealth standing alone against the massive German war machine. -
The Battle of Britain #2
The German war machine now set its sights directly on the British Isles, in order to defeat Britain like it had France. However, the country that had stood against the armies of Napoleon himself would prove to be a tough battle for the German armies. Hitler hoped to destroy the British Royal Air Force, or RAF, that Canada had helped to train. However, the RAF managed to defeat Hitler’s more numerous Luftwaffe in the pivotal Battle of Britain, which proved that Hitler could not defeat the English -
Crimes Against Humanity #6
During what was later referred to as the Holocaust, Nazi Germany began a genocide of Jewish, Roma, and Slav peoples. People were rounded up that fit, or rather didn’t fit, the qualifications, dictated by Hitler, and they were sent to concentration camps. Around elven million people were killed. During the Nureberg Trials twelve Nazi leaders were sentenced to death-the first time that leaders of a country were charged for immoral acts during wartime. -
War in the Pacific #7
The Japanese wanted to expand their territory in the 1930’s and in 1941, America was the target. On December 7, 1941, Japan did a surprise attack on the US Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, on the island of Hawaii. 2400 people were killed and most of the American fleet was destroyed by the bombs dropped by the Japanese planes and the Philippines were also bombed after. Thus after Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy declared war on US, which started the Second World War. -
Canada’s Contributions #5
Canadians contributed to the war in all fronts. Later on Canada expanded its Navy and Air Force and went to help the Allies. The Battle of the Atlantic was an example of this, as Canada’s aid was much needed because of food and military supplies. As the war went on the German ships were destroying the Allies ships, but gradually the situation changed because Canada came to help. Due to the German U-boats destroying hundreds of supply ships, and sinking millions of tonnes of cargo. In response -
War at Home #4
Back at home in Canada women were preforming jobs that were normally reserved for their male counterparts. Loads of goods were being produced to help the war effort; this meant people had tones of money in their pockets. The problem was that all the goods were sent to Europe, so there was nothing for people to spend their new found wealth on. Inflation was going to become huge –soon- so PM King enacted the following.Income tax was increased, wages and prices were froze, and food rationing was in -
Change in Canada #3
Changes in Canada came to be after and during wartime. Some of the changes include how the Federal governments Wartime prices and Trade Board were established. It controlled wages so that striking would be less effective. Workers also wanted higher wages, but also wanted to bargain. Later on, in 1945, Mackenzie King expanded Canada’s social assistance by introducing the Family Allowence program, which helped families cover the cost of child maintenance. So Canada’s policy of ‘cradle to grave’
