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The Conscription Crisis of 1917 was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I.
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Background
Canada entered World War I at 20:45[clarification needed] on 4 August 1914[1]. This came automatically as a result of Britain declaring war on Germany. Colonel Sam Hughes was the Canadian Minister of Militia and on 10 August he was permitted to create a militia of 25,000 men[1]. Before the end of August 1914 Hughes had already created a training camp at Valcartier, which was capable of housing 32,000 men[1]. The first contingent of 31,200 Canadians, dubbed "Canada's Answer", arrived in Britain on October 14 for continued training[1]. Hughes moved with incredible speed to create Canadian battalions which allowed Canadian troops to be kept together as units for the first time[1].
Relatively few francophones volunteered. The experience of the first contingent suggested that they could expect nothing but ill treatment as French-speaking Catholics in English-speaking battalions filled with what they perceived as mostly Protestant men and officers, unable to communicate with them and imbued with the spirit underlying Regulation 17. Young French Canadians seeking to serve, chose, instead, the few traditional "French" regiments of the Canadian militia, such as Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, where barracks life was in French and only the command language was in English. They had to be turned away, because the minister of militia and his subordinates were obstinate in their refusal to mobilize these traditionally French regiments or to create new ones. However, the government continued to raise its expectations for volunteers, aiming for 150,000 men by 1915. English Canadians did not believe that French Canada was providing a fair share to the war effort. Sam Hughes, in June 1917, informed the Commons that of the 432,000 Canadian volunteers fewer than 5% came from French Canada despite making up 28% of the Canadian population at that time[1]. There have been many reasons proposed for the lack of volunteers from Quebec; however, many prominent Canadian historians suggest that the Ontario government's move to disallow French language instruction in Regulation 17 as the main reason[1].
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 Québécois, despite Regulation 17 in Ontario and the resistance in Quebec of those such as Henri Bourassa. Indeed, Montreal's La Presse editorialized that Quebec should create a contingent to fight as part of the French Army. When the government relented, the first new unit was the 22nd (French Canadian) Battalion, CEF. While a few other French-speaking units were also allowed to be created, mostly by Reserve officers, they were all disbanded to provide replacements for the 22nd, which suffered close to 4,000 wounded and killed in the course of the war.
As the war dragged on, soldiers and politicians soon realized there would be no quick end. Eventually, people learned of the trench conditions and number of casualties in Europe, and men stopped volunteering. There were over 300,000 recruits by 1916, but Prime Minister Robert Laird Borden had promised 500,000 by the end of that year, despite the fact that 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 Canada turned to its only unused option: conscription.
Almost all French Canadians opposed conscription: they felt that they had no particular loyalty to either Britain or France. Led by Henri Bourassa, they felt their only loyalty was to Quebec. English Canadians generally supported the war effort as they felt stronger ties to the British Empire[1]. The Conscription crisis of 1917 caused a considerable rift along ethnic lines between Anglophones and Francophone[1].
After visiting Britain for a meeting of First Ministers in May 1917, Borden announced that he would be introducing The Military Service Act. On August 29, 1917, the Act was passed, allowing Borden to conscript men across the country if he felt that it was necessary.
The election of 1917
To solidify support for conscription in the 1917 election, Borden extended the vote through Military Voters Act to overseas soldiers, who were in favour of conscription to replace their depleted forces (women serving as nurses were also given the right to vote). For Borden, these votes had another advantage, as they could be distributed in any riding, regardless of the soldier's regular place of residence. With Wartime Elections Act, women who had close male relatives serving overseas were also granted the right to vote in this election, as they appeared to be more patriotic and more worthy of a public voice. On the other hand, conscientious objectors and recent immigrants from "enemy countries" were denied the right to vote. The victory was Borden's—Laurier's Liberals secured 82 seats, 62 from Quebec, while Borden's Unionist Party triumphed with 153. In the election, Borden was opposed not only by Bourassa, but also by Wilfrid Laurier, the leader of the Liberals who had been abandoned by much of his party. Laurier had opposed conscription from the beginning of the war, arguing that an intense campaign for volunteers would produce enough troops. He privately felt that if he joined the coalition, Quebec would fall under what he perceived as a dangerous nationalism of Bourassa, that might ultimately have led to Quebec leaving Canadian confederation.
Conscription and the end of the war
On January 1, 1918, the Unionist government began to enforce the Military Service Act. The Act caused 404,385 men to be liable for military service from which 385,510 sought exemption, but it was vague and offered many exemptions, and almost all of these men were able to avoid service, even if they had supported conscription. In Quebec, there were more protests and marches against the Act. On April 1, 1918, four men were killed when the army opened fire on a crowd in Quebec City. The coroner's inquest would later show that these men were pedestrians who had not been involved in the protests.
The government then 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 25,000 of these were sent to the front. Fortunately for Borden, 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 were virtually shut out of Quebec for the next 50 years.
The figure of 25,000 was recently debunked in Appendix 1 of Michel Gravel's Tough as Nails, 3rd Edition, CEF Books, Ottawa, 2006.
References
See also
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