Canada at War: 1914-1918

When war broke out in Europe in 1914, the United Kingdom joined the fight. As a British Colony, Canada was automatically also at war. By the end of the war, Canada had changed greatly; Canadians had been conscripted from Vancouver to St. John's; Quebec was on the verge of separating; agricultural and industrial production had increased four-fold, and Canada's government had assumed control of Canadians' lives. All these measures and many more reflect on the Canadian …

…of opportunity, prosperity and growth. For many men, it meant facing horror, shock and even death in trenches. Some chose to do this willingly, some unwillingly. For enemy aliens, it meant unfair persecution, forced labour and the loss of their citizenship through the loss of franchise. Whether the changes that occurred in the lives in Canadians were positive or negative, Canada had experienced what it was like to be a warfare state through and through.