World War 2 Canada Analysis

World War Two for Canada can be observed as how the nation began to shape itself as an independent country, making its decisions autonomously. Prior to World War Two, Canada held a low, quiet position in the world, as it was overshadowed by its mother-country, Britain. Canada’s contributions to the Second World War was remarkable considering there were only 11 million people in Canada during the war period. As a result of the Second World War, the nation established itself as a middle power, taking a more active role in the world. Majority of Canada's population (i.e. men and women) was involved in the war – either serving in the military or by serving on the home front in industry or agriculture. Canada's war efforts did not go unnoticed as …show more content…
Events leading up to the war, such as the Statute of Westminster, allowed Canada to make its own decision of joining the war. When Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, it was a surprise to many Canadians that Canada was not automatically at war as well. The control of Canadian foreign affairs - including the right to declare war - was transferred to Ottawa, when the British passed the Statute of Westminster in 1931 (Rose, 2017). Although Britain was at war, Canada was not. William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s Prime Minister during the war, announced a special parliamentary session to discuss Canada's involvement in the war. At Parliament, nearly all English-Canadian members of Parliament supported going to war (Rose, 2017). Justice Minister Lapointe, the so-called "Quebec titan," made an appeal to all MPs, English and French alike, to support the war declaration, as he states it’s for "Canada's soul, Canada's dignity, Canada's honour" (Rose, 2017). His patriotic speech which supported the war declaration shocked and outraged many Québécois. Nonetheless, in the end, majority of the Québec MPs was on board. The war declaration passed without a formal vote on September 9th, 1939, and war was declared the next day (Stacey, 2013). This war declaration is important because it signifies Canada’s autonomous decision to enter the war on its own account and it marks the Canadian cultural identity …show more content…
Between 1939 and 1945, the population of Canada ranged between eleven and twelve million (Douglas & Greenhous, 1995). Although the population was small, the nation’s contribution to the war went far beyond what would have been expected by other nations. Well over two million of Canada's population made a direct contribution to the war - either in uniform or by working in industry, in government, or on associated tasks (Douglas & Greenhous, 1995). Additionally, more than one million Canadian men and women served full-time in the armed services during the war period (Stacey, 2013). There were fatalities and casualties as expected, with 44, 000 killed and 55,000 injured (Irwin,