During World War I, Prime Minister Robert Borden’s vigorous attempts to build support for conscription led to significant conflict within Canada. In contrast, Prime Minister Mackenzie King’s low-key and reluctant efforts to implement conscription during World War II minimized internal conflict. Many Canadians, particularly those in Quebec, felt that Prime Minister King handled the conscription issue relatively well.

Canadian Conscription in World War I

Canada sought to create a 0.5 million man army through voluntary recruitment, but this effort failed. Support for conscription to build this army grew. Prime Minister Robert Borden insisted that conscription was a military necessity. German successes on the Eastern Front made it clear that the Germans would have substantial forces to deploy on the Western front that could resolve the War in 1918. Borden saw the military necessity and he also wanted to strengthen Canada's voice within the Empire. Borden crossed the Atlantic to see the situation of the Canadian troops in France. Contrary to what might have been expected, there was no special connection of French Canadians with France during World war I. Borden and the Government were not popular among French Canadians. There were no separate French Canadian units. Nor were their French Canadian officers among the senior commanders. Ethnic tensions in Canada worsened during the War. Especially troubling for French Canadians was that guarantees for French language schools in Manitoba and Quebec were rescinded. This was part of the reason that recruitment in Quebec was especially disappointing. Quebec was about a third of Canada, but contributed only about 5 percent of enlistments. As the war situation worsened even fewer French Canadians volunteered. Canadian units sustained more than 20,000 casualties during the Spring of 1917. During that same period, fewer than 100 men volunteered in Quebec. Borden pushed a conscription law through Parliament--the Military Service Act, believing it necessary to support the army in France. The Act made all Canadian men 20-45 years of age eligible for military service. French Canadians saw this as the English dragooning them into the War. There were draft riots in Montreal and in Quebec City. Borden attempted to form a coalition Government. He asked liberal leader Laurier to join the Conservatives to form a Government. Laurier refused, in part because of the conscription issues as well as other political concerns, but some Liberals did join the Union (Coalition) Government. Borden introduced two new laws (the Military Voters Act and the War Time Elections Act). These two acts were highly controversial, but produced a massive majority for the Union Government (1918).

World War II: Conscription and Age of Soldiers--Canada

Canada entered World War II reluctantly to support Britain (1939). Prime Minister Mackenzie King insisted that Canada control its war effort, in contrast to its World war I experience. King at first believed that the French would prove a bulwark to the Germans and that hoped that Canada might only have to train aircrews and manufacture arms for the Allies. King and his important ally in Québec, Ernest Lapointe, promised that there would be no conscription for overseas service as had been introduced in World War I. The collapse of France and NAZI victories elsewhere in Europe meant that a huge Allied army would have to be raised. As a result the issue of conscription rose again. King did not dare introduce conscription without overwhelming public support. King called for a national plebiscite on conscription (April 24, 1942). The Canadians by a ratio of 3 to 1 voted for conscription (April 27). The English-speaking majority voted overwhelming for conscription. The French-Canadians in Québec rejected it. This was an interesting vote as the primary use of the Canadian Army was to be in Europe to liberate France. We suspect the vote was more of French-Canadian attitudes toward the British than attitudes toward the French. Even after the plebiscite, however, King did not immediately introduce national conscription. In fact he dismissed his pro-conscription defense minister, Colonel J. L. Ralston. As a result, the Canadian Army which stormed ashore at Juno Beach on D-Day (June 6, 1944) was a voluntary force. King did not introduce conscription until late in the War (late 1944). King remained popular even in Québec in part because he was clearly reluctant on the conscription issue. Few Canadian conscripts served overseas.