After the Canadians suffered a great loss of soldiers after the Battle of the Somme - they needed to have more soldiers to be sent overseas. There was one problem, though; little people volunteered to join the war. This left the Canadian Prime Minister, Sir Robert Borden, with only one choice - introduce conscription.
Sir Robert Borden's actions infuriated many people across Canada, especially the Francophones. The main reason the Francophones were so highly upset was because they felt that this was Britain's war, not Canada's, and they had no feelings or emotional connection with Britain whatsoever, therefore; they did not feel the need to volunteer. This was a problem because the Canadian government needed all the help they could get from the citizens and the population of Quebec wasn't pulling their weight.The introduction of conscription in 1917 brought our the anger of Canadians towards the government, but it also brought out the long lasting rivalry between the Anglophones and the Francophones of Canada.
Sir Robert Borden (above) Anti-Conscription rallies held in Quebec City. (above right) Exemption slip from the Military Service Act (right)
Military Service Act
Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden felt the the Military Service Act was the best way to keep Canadian troop number
s up. The Military Service Act made it compulsory for men
aged 18 - 45, however; there were many exceptions including:
- clergymen
- those with special skills
- men who's religion it went against
- people with disabilities,
- men that it would cause special hardships - ex: farmers
Farmers and workers opposed The Military Service Act because if they were taken away from their jobs, their families would suffer great hardships
without them being there to support them. The farmers had a very good reason to oppose the act because their farms would suffer and their products would die. Women also opposed the act because if their men were sent away to war, they would have no source of income for the family.
Those who lived and derived from Quebec had the least amount volunteering for the war and they strongly opposed the Military Service Act for multiple reasons. The one main reason as to why they opposed conscription so much was that they felt no strong ties towards Britain and felt that Canada was fighting in Britain's war.
There were very few people that agreed with the Military Service Act. Mainly, those who were "for" the act were those who were protected from being sent away. Veterans in Canada and soldiers overseas also supported the Military Voters Act because they saw what happens when a lack of men were overseas - what they saw wasn't good. Although the soldiers were in support of the Military Service Act, they had no way to vote for it, until another act was passed called the Military Voters Act.
Military Voters Act
(above) Soldiers crowd around a flat surface of a car so they can fill out their ballot for the General Election, 1917
When Prime Minister Borden realized that the soldiers overseas were in favour of conscription, he granted them the right to vote in August, 1917. This is because all soldiers fighting overseas, men and women, would want more help over there, therefore; they were in favour of conscription.
War Times Elections Act
(above) Nurses serving in France cast their votes for the General Election, 1917
Prime Minister Borden was afraid that Canadians who weren't of British decent would fight and vote against conscription. The War Times Election Act ensured Prime Minister Borden would have all the possible votes he could bring in to support him. He gave the right to vote to all women who are related directly to those who were working overseas, because they were most likely to vote in his favour. At the same time, it denied the right to vote to all objectors and all enemy aliens, those from the enemy countries, who had immigrated to Canada after 1902. The only exception to this were citizens related to men fighting overseas.
Union Government
In May 1917, Prime Minister Borden proposed to the liberal leader, Wilfred Laurier, to form a union government with his Conservative party to ensure conscription would succeed. Wilfred Laurier was highly opposed to conscription and he was afraid of losing the support of Henri Bourassa, who had the general power over Quebec, therefore, Laurier turned down Prime Minister Borden's offer. Prime Minister Borden then decided that he would invite all liberals who favoured conscription to join him in creating
a union government. These liberals received important Cabinet positions because of their choice of joining the union government.
(above) A propaganda poster about why you should vote for the Union Government
1917 General Election
The general election of 1917 was basically based around one issue; were you in favour or against conscription? Prime Minister Borden's Union Government were the ones you would vote for if you were in favour of conscription. On the other hand, if you were against conscription, you would vote for Wilfred Laurier's Liberal Government. Because Quebec was so strongly against conscription, all of their support went behind Laurier's Liberals.
The election was held on December 17, 1917. Prime Minister Borden's Union Government won the election with considerably large numbers. The Military Voters Act and the Wartime Elections Act were a huge help. Despite the overwhelming victory, the election caused many consequences, the main one was that the election was the push that divided the country. Those who were in Quebec were very upset about the fact that the Union Government had succeeded in winning the election. After the election, Quebec had a lot of resentment and anger towards the rest of Canada, so they decided to seclude themselves. The rest of Canada was also angry towards those who lived in Quebec and those who voted against conscription because they went against the majority's view towards conscription.
(left) A propoganda poster about how to vote "yes" on a ballot for the election.
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