Conscription Crisis of 1917
Conscription Crisis of 1917–1918 | |||
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Military Service Act, Conscription | |||
Goals |
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Methods | Mass protests, riots | ||
Resulted in | Military Service Act | ||
Parties | |||
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Lead figures | |||
Sir Albert Edward Kemp
Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Henri Bourassa |
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (
The most violent opposition occurred in Quebec, where anti-war attitudes drawn from
Background
Canada entered World War I on 4 August 1914.
Relatively few
Political pressure in Quebec, along with some public rallies, demanded the creation of French-speaking units to fight a war that was viewed as being right and necessary by many Quebecers, despite Regulation 17 in Ontario and the resistance in Quebec of those such as
As the war dragged on, soldiers and politicians soon realized there would be no quick end. Eventually, people learned of the trench conditions and some casualties in Europe, and men stopped volunteering. There were over 300,000 recruits by 1916, but Prime Minister Robert Borden had promised 500,000 by the end of that year, even though Canada's population was only 8 million at the time.
Conscription Crisis 1917
After the Battle of the Somme, Canada was in desperate need to replenish its supply of soldiers; however, there were very few volunteers to replace them. The recruiting effort in Quebec had failed, and the Canadian government turned to its only remaining option: conscription.[2]
Almost all French Canadians opposed conscription; they felt that they had no particular loyalty to either Britain or
After visiting Britain for a meeting of First Ministers in May 1917, Borden announced that he would introduce the
The election of 1917
To solidify support for conscription in the
Borden's Unionist Party won the election with 153 seats;[2] Laurier's Liberals secured 82 seats, 62 from Quebec.
Conscription in practice
After the Military Service Act was passed in 1917 tensions ran high throughout Canada. Not all Canadians were as enthusiastic about joining the war effort as the first Canadian volunteer had been. In fact, many people objected to the idea of war completely. The conscientious objectors or unwilling soldiers sought exemption from combat. Instead, many joined the Non-Combatant Corps, where they took on other roles. Their duties consisted of cleaning and other labour. They did not carry weapons but were expected to dress in uniform, and they practised regular army discipline. Often the conscientious objector was abused, deemed a coward, and stripped of basic rights.[5] In the British House of Commons, a resolution for the disenfranchisement of conscientious objectors was defeated by 141 to 71. Lord Hugh Cecil, who was a well-known churchman and statesman, said that he was "entirely out of sympathy for conscientious objectors, but he could not force them to do what they thought was wrong or punish them for refusing to do something they thought was wrong".[6]
However, the government was making an effort to be sympathetic toward those who refused to take part in military service. Many communities set up local tribunals. If a man refused to serve he was put in front of a panel of two judges: one appointed by a board of selection named by Parliament, and the other by the senior county judge. The man was to plead his case, and if the panel was not convinced, the man asking for exemption was allowed to appeal.[7] If the judges found that it was best if the person stayed at home, then he was not sent overseas. Many Canadians were unhappy with the conscientious objectors' choice to refuse combat. Many people believed that if people were not willing to give service against the enemy, then the only choice for them was between civil or military prisons.[8]
Conscription posed a difficult question for the government. Conscription was unprecedented, and the problem proved to be that the government did not know who was best suited to become a soldier, a toolmaker or a farmer. The issue of manpower and ensuring that the proper men were being relocated to the most appropriate roles overseas was an issue that lasted the duration of the war.[9]
Imperialism and nationalism
Even though 35,000 French Canadians served overseas throughout the war, the conscription question resulted in French Canadians feeling more isolated than ever from the rest of Canada. They never fully supported the war effort, which resulted in the Federal government expressing deep concern over French Canada's nationalist and anti-war stance.
Quebec Easter riots and the end of the war
On January 1, 1918, the Unionist government began to enforce the Military Service Act. The Act made 404,385 men liable for military service, from which 385,510 sought exemptions. The Act was vague and offered many exemptions, and almost all of these men were able to avoid service, even if they had supported conscription. The most violent opposition occurred in Quebec, where anti-war attitudes drawn from
This escalation of violence along with rumours of an alleged province-wide uprising prompted Quebec City Mayor Henri-Edgar Lavigueur to contact Ottawa and request reinforcements. Alarmed by the two days of rioting, the Borden government invoked the War Measures Act of 1914, which gave the federal government the power to directly oversee the maintenance of law and order in Quebec City.[10] By the following morning, 780 soldiers had been deployed in the city, with an additional 1,000 en route from Ontario and 3,000 from western provinces. Despite their imminent arrival, protracted violence continued into the night of March 30, leading into a precarious Sunday.[10] The final and bloodiest conflict happened Easter Monday when crowds once again organized against the military presence in the city, which by then had grown to 1,200 soldiers – all of whom came from Ontario. Once armed rioters began to fire on troops from concealed positions,[10]: 519 the soldiers were ordered to fire on the crowds, immediately dispersing them. Though the actual number of civilian casualties is debated, official reports from that day name five men killed by gunfire; dozens more were injured. Among the soldiers are 32 recorded injuries that day, but no deaths. Monday, April 1, marked the end of the Easter Riots, which totalled over 150 casualties and $300,000 in damage.[10]
The Easter Riots represent one of the most violent domestic disturbances in Canadian history. This stemmed from a clash between English Canada's linkage to the British Empire and opposing currents in French-Canadian nationalism, which became exacerbated during wartime and ultimately erupted over conscription. The severity and swiftness of Ottawa's response demonstrated their determination to impose conscription and prevent a national crisis. Moreover, the military crackdown which lasted in Quebec until the end of the war resulted in an increase in state power in the wake of growing French-Canadian nationalism.[10]
By the spring of 1918, the government had amended the Act so that there were no exemptions, which left many English Canadians opposed as well. Even without exemptions, only about 125,000 men were ever conscripted, and only 24,132 of these were sent to the front.[2] The war ended within a few months, but the issue left Canadians divided and distrustful of their government. In 1920, Borden retired, and his successor, Arthur Meighen, was defeated in the 1921 election. Conservatives had a difficult time in Quebec subsequently, with the Quebec Liberal Party holding power until August 1936, when Maurice Duplessis and the Union Nationale unseated Louis-Alexandre Taschereau's Quebec Liberals. Duplessis, however, was an ardent Québécois, and his party strongly opposed conscription throughout the Second World War. The Liberal Party in Quebec unseated Duplessis in October 1939 due to the Canadian Liberal Party committing to not impose conscription. But by August 1944, Duplessis had regained power in Quebec as the Liberal Party in Ottawa attempted, counter to their previous assurances, to again impose conscription on Quebec.
See also
- Francœur Motion
- World War I conscription in Australia
- Battle of Verrières Ridge
- Conscription referendums in Australia
- Conscription Crisis of 1918 in Ireland
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The Peoples of Canada, "A Post-Confederation History", J.M. Bumstead
- ^ ISSN 1920-9894.
- ^ a b Worcester, Kimball (18 February 2019). "The Canadian Conscription Crisis of 1917". roadstothegreatwar-ww1.blogspot.com. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ Valiante, Giuseppe (2017-04-19). "Quebec nationalism and anti-militarism legacy of conscription crisis: historians". CTVNews. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
- ^ Bishop, Elaine. "Conscientious Objector".
- ^ "Patriotism and Partizanship". The Toronto Star. September 14, 1917. Archived from the original on November 2, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ "Borden Tells of Need for Reinforcements". The Toronto Star. June 12, 1917. Archived from the original on November 2, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ "Opinions/ Editorials". The Globe and Mail. June 26, 1917.
- ^ Granatstein, J. L. (2005). Canada and the First World War: Essays in Honour of Robert Craig Brown. Toronto: UTP Press.
- ^ .
- ^ ISBN 0195402588.
- ^ A. M. Williams, Conscription 1917 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1969), 1
Further reading
- Shaw, Amy J (2009), Crisis of conscience: conscientious objection in Canada during the First World War, UBC Press, ISBN 978-0-7748-1593-2
- Wade, Mason. French Canadians, 1760-1967 (1968) vol 2 pp 708–780. online
External links
- Sharpe, Christopher: Recruitment and Conscription (Canada), in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
- MacKenzie, David: Governments, Parliaments and Parties (Canada), in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
- Morin-Pelletier, Mélanie: French Canada and the War (Canada), in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.