HIST-1400-A01 – Nov.

20, 2023
World War 2: July 1940 to war’s end 1945, Canada and total war
 The Manhattan Project
o Contributions of uranium, research facilities and laboratories
o Decision at the end of the war to not construct an atomic bomb, due to high
nuclear expertise but lack of collective materials
 Under American umbrella of nuclear protection
 The treatment of those deemed as “internal enemies”
o German- and Italian-Canadians
 As in the First World War, Germans were incarcerated to any support of
Hitler or Nazism
 Italians as well to Mussolini
o Russian-Canadians
 Due to the Soviet non-aggression pact with Germany, Canadian
communists believed that they should remain out of the war
 When Hitler broke the agreement in June 1941, the communists
changed to the defense of the USSR rhetoric
 Joseph Stalin, leader of the USSR, and their key losses (80% of the
war on the Eastern Front) was known by the allied term of “Uncle
Joe”
o Japanese-Canadian internment
 Thousands of Japanese ethnic migrants came under suspicion, especially
after the Pearl Harbor attack of December 1941
 In BC, they created a campaign of anti-Japanese spy conspiracies
and the idea that they would support their ethnic cousins
 During a fear crisis, racial tensions rise as people pin the idea of
certain attributes to others (i.e., 9/11 attacks and Muslims)
 1942: Mackenzie King removed Japanese-Canadians away from the coast
and moved 100 miles into internment camps inland, some to move into
Western Canada
 They lost all their businesses, their homes, and only keep two
suitcases of personal items
 John Diefenbaker, future PM, defended the Japanese, and later
championed civil rights in Canada
o Brian Mulroney compensated many Japanese-Canadians
with $20,000
 Another conscription crisis
o At the beginning of the war, Mackenzie King promised no conscription and only
voluntary forces
  After the Normandy landings and campaign back into Europe, with the
Canadians into the Netherlands, the losses became equal to WW1
casualties
 Frontline Canadian troops by the end of 1944 had become “battle
exhausted”, the predecessor term of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
during the 1940s period, new blood was needed
 Because of the short rests, PTSD was rampant in the deployed
troops
 Mackenzie King brought in conscription, breaking his promise, and
hurting Canadian unity with Québec, not as harshly as in WW1
o Most conscripted troops did not see the frontlines
 Major impacts of WW2
o Canadian women
 Unlike in WW1, women were allowed to serve in the armed forces in non-
combat roles
 Pensions provided in 50-60% compared to their male counterparts,
reaching 2/3 post-war
 Over 1 million women served on the production line for war material
factories
 Married women faced lack of daycare for their children, which the
government would open daycares next to the factories for
convenience, shutting down post-war
 Many historians debate the role of women in WW2 for the establishment
of the second wave of feminism in the 1960s
 Some claim it did not, due to post-war married women returned
to homemaker tasks, “not ready for equal rights”
 Others argue for some foundational basis
o Political public opinion
 During the Great Depression, the governments were extremely
conservative and unwilling to help those in poverty
 In WW2, public opinion shifted largely left on the political spectrum,
seeking more active government involvement in resolutions of
socioeconomic issues
 1943: Canadian opinion poll, the next federal election of 1943
projected CCF victory
 Noting that difference, Mackenzie King shifted more left in his
policies and decisions
 1940: Constitutional amendment that transferred jurisdiction of EI
from provinces to the federal government
 o Provinces were often too poor to create their own EI
programs
o Unemployment was largely a federal national issue
 1944: The pass of a special order, foregoing parliament approval
until the end of the process, the Privy Council Order 1003
o Enshrined compulsory collective bargaining in all
workspaces under federal jurisdiction
o Post-war, this was extended to the provinces due to
wartime strikes and the disruptions
 Post-war committee to plan the economy to prevent another
major depression period when government spending becomes
limited
o One of the outlined goals was the promotion of full
employment
 The WW2 conscription and Mackenzie King’s creation of the
“Family Allowance Program”, nowadays “Child’s Tax Credit”, to
prevent uproar in Québec
o It provided money for spending of ordinary folk post-war
based upon the number of kids
o The cheques were provided to the mothers as main
caregivers and to prevent waste by the fathers to vices
o It gains extreme popularity in Québec, which signed in
French “compliments of the federal government”, securing
their votes
o Canadian foreign policy and its place on the world stage
 Canadian initially pursued a policy of isolationism
 Post-war, Mackenzie King realized that return to isolationism is impossible
and that the world was changing towards globalism and hyper-
interconnectivity
 New technologies were making the distance of oceans from North
America to Asia or Europe obsolete as defensive strategies
 To avoid future wars and having a dynamic economy, Canada must
promote peace and economic trade worldwide
o Post-WW2 became very idealistic and optimistic with
potential USSR peace post-war with the Allies
 Canadian policy had effective switched from isolationism to
internationalism ever since
o Promoting the creation of the United Nations
o Public opinion, 90%, supported joining the UN after the
dissolution of the League of Nations
 o Feeling to ensure peace, many believed that the UN would
create its own army by member nations to stop other
wars, 76% Canadians believed in this motion
 However, this did not happen due to the post-war
crises in the 1950s and 1960s (i.e., decolonization,
Indochina War, Korean War)
 For Indigenous Canadians, they faced a decline of northern fur trade and
reserve conditions
 Thousands of Indigenous fought for British during the war by
invitation of the Crown
 Just as they had in WW1, they distinguished themselves
o Tommy Prince, a Manitoba native, was declared a war hero
 Canada had come to the realization that Indigenous Canadians
must be consulted for their future
o Parliament committee invited Indigenous leaders for
amendments of the Indian Act and changes on policies
 Duncan Campbell Scott’s additions would be
rescinded in 1951 Indian Act amendments
 Freedom of religious practice, removing
prohibitions of Potlatch and Sun Dance
 Canada had also signed the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in 1948,
stimulating the public conscience
 Removing the 1927 discriminatory laws that
banned band funds for leader travel and
hiring lawyers
 Indigenous women could vote in band
elections and run in office
 For Canadian war veterans, pensions were extremely poor
 Post-war, the Veterans’ Charter was drafted
o Provided generous benefits, such as free university tuition,
grant and loans for upstart businesses and farms
o The federal government has continued to take the lead in establishing policies
and responsibility of Canadian social issues

Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent (1948-1957)

 The Liberals had a policy of alternating French and English leadership, allowing for Louis
St. Laurent to have his turn, which continues into today
o Like Mackenzie King, he was lucky for this context of his PM tenure of post-war
optimism
 o He was known for being a benevolent figure of Canadian politics, winning a
series of several elections, and known as “Uncle Louis”
 By the election of 1948, Louis St. Laurent was in a Canadian era of prosperity
o There was a minor economic downturn post-war, but lasted only a year
o Canadians had sacrificed their luxuries and impulse consumption and production
between the Great Depression and WW2, growing large consumer demands
 This allowed for the creation of jobs, building more houses, and
expanding their families (The Baby Boom)
 As families grew larger, their housing and amenity demands were equally
growing larger
 1952: 50,000 children entered the school system, sparking
building booms and constructing more public facilities, increased
Canadian education spending by the federal government
 1952-1965: Federal government spending for education increased
by 2,500%
 The Construction Boom was due to federal promotion of homeownership,
such as the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation with
guaranteed mortgages up to $100,000, alleviating bank and credit union
issues with lesser mortgage pays by citizens
 The creation of major shopping centers and malls (i.e., Polo Park),
harming centralized commercial districts downtown for more
consumer choice
 Increased global demands for Canadian exports and resources
 The Americans are the primary import customer of Canadian
metals and other major resources
 1960s: 65% increase of Canadian exports to the United States