First World War Effects On Canada Essay

The First World War brought profound changes to Canada, positive and negative. It changed the way we saw ourselves as a country and nation, despite the huge costs that it came with, and it helped address topics that probably would never have ever been acknowledged.

To start off, Canadian troops fought well as a combined force and their victories, mainly at Vimy and Passchendaele renowned them as well-organized and heroic fighters. The need for war supplies had stimulated the economy, bringing about major growth in Canadian industry. Women attained the right to vote for the first time which a few years ago, was thought to be absurd. Canada gained international status with its participation at the Paris Peace Conference, and Canadians began

to see themselves less as colonials in the British Empire and more as citizens of an independent country. However, we cannot overlook the cost of this War. 61 000 Canadians died at war and this does not include the many that were injured permanently and the ones who died of the Spanish flu afterwards. It also caused the French English split which led to many unnecessary violent clashes.
The War had many positive effects on Canada including creating many jobs from 1914-1917.

Firstly, women were put to work in military positions. 2000 of them became nurses and tended to injured soldiers, and another 6000 became staff officers. So once could easily say, that finding a job during the war was very easy. Another positive impact was that now women were able to work in factories since the men were at war. Also, women were now able to do jobs that they never would have dreamed of. For example, a street car conductor was a job traditionally meant for men, but now women could be easily see doing this job and it would be nothing out of the ordinary. An additional positive impact would be, after coming back home from war, the returning men had no jobs which would not right away be a positive but the outcome would be. In 1919, there was a giant strike in Winnipeg known as “The Winnipeg General Strike” for soldiers who came back to a country with no job availability as well as unjust working circumstances. The soldiers felt more like they needed to stand up for their own rights and in the long run, they received everything they fought for and established a Union. All this was an indirect effect of what the War caused and one could certainly say that World War One helped to make a better life for the people of

Canada.
There were also many negative impacts as well especially when it came to cultural differences.

There was a lot of bitterness between the French and English due to issues surrounding conscription. Those who spoke against conscription were labeled as unpatriotic and cowardly. Immigrants who came from Europe were discriminated against highly as well and this can be seen in the War Measures Act. The War Measures Act was an act that allowed the government emergency powers under wartime allowing them to detain people and intervene in the economy as well as censoring mail and other such things. This meant that anyone considered an “enemy alien” (immigrant whose homeland was at war with Canada) could be deported or imprisoned. Not only could they be arrested and deported, but they could be thrown into internment camps. Over 8500 people were held here in isolation and all of these policies brought a large amount of nationalism and prejudice in Canadian society. Finally, another negative was that the First World War was very expensive. Canada spent millions of dollars’ worth of materials overseas to support their troops which resulted in a huge debt that would take decades to pay off which eventually also had a part in the great

depression.
In conclusion, the First World War’s positive impacts outweighed the negative. One could say that there was a lot more negative, but it is the how strong the impact is that matters. The part where women were given the right to vote and how their identity changed was huge and completely outweighed half of the negative alone, if not more. As if Canada changing it views as a country and as nation, attaining international status by participating in the Paris Peace Conference and stepping aside from Britain’s shadow and as being acknowledged as an independent country isn’t enough. The First World War marked Canada’s coming of age as it moved from a group of unequal communities to a nation united by a sense of pride and identity.