How did French and English Canadians react when war was declared?

Answer 1

At the time Canada was a strong ally of Britain; since the majority of Canadian citizens were ethnically descended from the British Isles; there was strong support for the war from the English Speaking population from the beginning. However the French speaking population was less enthusiastic. Most French Canadians at the time did not have a favourable opinion of Britain at the time, and had a very weak ethnic link to France; so the majority of them did not see the war as their concern.

Answer 2

lie to people that it wouldn't last until Christmas and send them over to die and go deaf and blind.

AKA: Like most nations, Canadians saw WWI as an opportunity to serve their country without actually risking their lives. Up until WWI, wars had been short, so no one expected this war to be any different. Canadians assumed that the war would be over by the time they were done training, it was a chance to travel to Europe, figured they'd be home before Christmas, and everyone was doing it. As a result, volunteers were easy to come by. No one knew that trench war fare would be the result of Germany's first attack, so Canadians (and other nations) were not lied to--at first.