|
Before, After and During the World War One.
Before the war, The Canadians were having a celebration about the 100 years of peace with the Americans, and they were watching the Grand Trunk and The Canadian Nothern National Railways flounder under a lot of serious debt. This lead in unemployment for men that built these tracks. The Canadian economy was suffering the worst depression since the 1890s.
During the war, Canadas political and economic society had changed in many ways. Canadians have continued losing their innocence, since Confederation. It was an opportunity for the Country to take their place on the world stage and to participate as a Nation.
After the War, The economy went into a major economy decline.
The wages became low and the cost of living was going up drastically. Many returning soldiers and workers could not find any jobs, the prarie farmers faced drought, rising taxes and falling wheat prices.
There were a lot of peer pressure on the Canadians that were staying home during the War. Recruitment posters were everywhere, communities bragged about the number of soldiers they sent and there was tremendous peer pressure on healthy men to enlist. Those who didnt go were shunned.
The lives of the Canadian Women changed as a result of Canada entering the War.Women entered the workforce in unprecedented numbers. They worked in factories, labouring at the same jobs as the men (for different wages). One of the most important changes was the right to vote. The Prime Minister didnt like the idea of women being able to vote, but he wanted them to support his conscription bill. By 1918, the law changed and the parliament granted all women over the age of 21 the right to vote (excluding Natives, Chinese and Japanese women) By 1922 women were voting in every province except Quebec.
Back in Canada, men who were healthy were being pressured to recruit. Recruitment posters were seen everywhere.
By recruiting children to work for the war effort
Boys May be of Material Service to Empire
To help win the war Boy Scouts in England and Dominions we're urged to;
- supply free labour for odd jobs around the community
- camp near water supplies to prevent German agents from poisoning the water.
- serve as guides near stations and docks.
- care for the gardens of men who were at the front.
- guard and partrol bridges, culverts and telegraph lines.
- aid the sick and wounded
- establish first aid stations
- operate refugee and soup kitchens
- deliver notices
- serve as signal riders
- guide vessels
|  |
|
By Helping War Wives......
The Canadian Patriotic Fund raises money during the war to helop support the wives and families of soldiers serving overseas.In April 1915, $273 423.90 was distributed to 14 615 families! The average payment to help each family was $18.71. The maximum daily payment for a family of four would be:
Mother....................................1.00
Child -12 years........................ 0.25
Child -8 years...........................0.15
Child -4 years...........................0.10
By September of 1915, 26 000 families were recieveing $375 000 from the Canadian Patriotic Fund.
The export value of munitions and materials during the war grew rapidly.
1914..........................$28 164
1915....................$57 213 688
1916.................$296 505 257
1917..................$388 213 553
1918.................$260 711 751
Government Expectations:
The Government had very high expectations for Canada to follow. Farmers and Factory workers were expected to pay taxes income tax for the first time, increase the amount of food, conserve electricity, buy savings and victory bonds to support their war funds, make donations to the Red Cross, change farming crops, and reduce food consumption.
House Wives also had to put some work into this. They were needed to encourge their sons and husbands to recruit, work in munition factories, enroll as ambulance drivers and nurses, work in civil service, join in womens groups to learn how to sew garments for the men and to work on the farms!
Children were also affected, and had some expectations as well. They were expected to buy thrifty stamps, join Boy Scouts and serve a paramilitairy role, in which the males that were 15-19 years old were shipped west for farm labour, and to plant gardens in their backyards in order to succeed.
|
|
