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Acknowledgment for Timeline Cover Image
Cover Image Background: http://bit.ly/2DIMQmZ
Maple Leaf Foreground: https://istockpho.to/2n5xM9C Edited by author of this timeline, Josh Downey. All internal references to Tim Cook refer to Cook, Tim. Warlords: Borden, Mackenzie King, And Canada's World Wars. Toronto: Penguin Canada Books Inc., 2013. -
Title Page
Assignment #1: Timeline of Canada's Road to WW1 Josh Downey
ID: 174177260 Dr Nash-Chambers
HI328: Canada in the World: From Laurier to the 21st Century
Wilfrid Laurier University January 25, 2018. -
Militia Training for WW1 Prime Minister
Robert Borden, who would later become Prime Minister in October 1911 and lead Canada through the First World War, had trained multiple times a week since 1874. However, he was not a military man. He had joined more for the "camaraderie", the money and because "it was a good way to meet the rich and wealthy men who held higher rank". Nevertheless, Borden was commissioned and attended the School of Military Instruction for a short while. (Tim Cook, p. 9). -
Law Background of WW1 Prime Minister
Robert Borden had joined a prominent Halifax law firm in 1874 for a four year apprenticeship. By 1877 he had excelled in the bar exams, coming first in Nova Scotia. By 1879, he had started his own practice in Kentville and in 1882 he was recruited by "the most prestigious Halifax firm of the day". By the 1890s, Borden was a partner and was earning an impressive $30,000 a year. (Tim Cook, pp. 8-10) -
WW1 Prime Minister Elected as MP
Conservative PM Sir Charles Tupper, who had been Borden's mentor and partner at his law firm, asked Borden to stand for election in 1896. Borden had "no passion for politics", "his skills were not those of a politician", and demonizing the opposing Liberals did not come easy to him. Borden initially intended only to remain an MP for a single term before handing over his seat to another Conservative who he deemed more suited to the position. (Tim Cook, pp. 11-12)
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South African War
President Wilfrid Laurier delayed Canada's involvement in the South African War "until popular opinion obliged him to send an officially sanctioned, voluntary expeditionary force". (Tim Cook, p. 20)
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Future WW1 PM, Robert Borden, Runs for Reelection
Although Borden had only intended to remain as an MP for a single term, the lack of viable Conservative candidates to run against the fiercely successful Liberals led him to run for election in 1900. Borden won his seat, but Conservative leader Sir Charles Tupper lost his. (Tim Cook, p. 13). -
Future WW1 Prime Minister Becomes Conservative Leader
Having lost his seat, and with no obvious successor, Sir Charles Tupper asked Borden to consider becoming leader of the party. After much negotiation, Borden accepted, but declared that "he would act as an interim leader for only a year, until a successor could be found". Although he had few enemies, "he was hardly an inspiring choice" and he did not really want the job. As Tim Cook writes, Borden "generally entered into the agreement as a man marching to his own funeral". (Tim Cook, p. 14) -
Canada's Military Forces After the South African War
After the South African war, Laurier set out to professionalize Canada's small army. The medical and service corps were created as well as a militia council in 1904. This would strengthen civilian control of the military, and reduce the influence of a British general who had traditionally commanded the militia. In 1909, Laurier established the Department of External Affairs, although it was "underfunded, understaffed, and small". (Tim Cook, p. 21) -
1904 Election
At the 1904 election, the Conservatives lost again and Borden himself lost his seat. He offered to resign, but after it again became clear that the Conservatives had no real viable option, they declined to accept it. With the backing of his colleagues, he secured a safe seat in Ontario and he led his party down a new path. (Tim Cook, pp. 15-16)
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International Crisis after the Royal Navy introduced the HMS Dreadnought
The British Royal Navy had always sought to maintain a fleet that was at least twice as big as the next two navy's combined. However, with the introduction of the HMS Dreadnought in 1906, all other ships became "obsolete". The Royal Navy could no longer viably aim to be twice as big as its competitors, and Germany set on a course to build its own battleships. With this, a race for naval supremacy was underway. (Tim Cook, pp. 19-20)
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Future WW1 PM Borden Introduces the "Halifax Platform"
The "Halifax Platform" was Borden's new manifesto for the Conservative party. It promised to introduce exams for civil service jobs, which would essentially bring an end to patronage in politics, as well as "honest elections, senate reform, free mural mail delivery, and public ownership of telephones". Laurier, the Liberal leader, instead adopted many of Borden's ideas and in October 1907, the Liberals again won the election. (Tim Cook, pp. 16-17). -
Naval Debate
After much fear mongering in both the Canadian and British press over the naval arms race, many Canadians began to call for the government to meet the German threat. Prime Minister Laurier proposed to create a Canadian navy. He saw it as the only viable option to appease both Anglo-Canadians (who wanted to remain closely tied to the British) and French-Canadians (who resented imperial links with Britain). (Tim Cook, pp. 20-21). -
Borden's Proposal to Deal with Naval Arms Race
Although Borden was not opposed in principle to the creation of a Canadian navy, he did think that creating one that could deal with the German threat would take too long. He argued that Laurier's "tin-pot navy" would be no match against Germany's warships, and so instead proposed giving the British a cash gift to go towards funding the defence of Canada. (Tim Cook, p. 21). -
1910 Naval Service Act
This act "planned for a surprisingly robust navy of five cruisers and six destroyers". This was a fleet which would be similar to Australia's. The Conservative response was to denounce the Liberals for "betraying the Empire". Quebec nationalists argued that "any navy would inevitably serve with the imperials, and ultimately drag Canada into a global war". Their response was to do nothing, but this would never be accepted by the rest of Canada. (Tim Cook, pp. 21-2)
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Conservatives Win Election; Borden Becomes PM
The 1911 election was fought on the issues of reciprocity, the naval debate and the growing "sense of entitlement" among the Liberals who had been in power since 1896. To the surprise of most, the Conservatives won the election, bringing an end to the 15 years of Liberal rule. On October 15, 1911, Robert Borden became Canada's eighth Prime Minister. (Tim Cook, p. 25).
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Reciprocity with the United States
Wilfrid Laurier proposed a reciprocity trade agreement with the United States in January 1911. This would provide new markets for Canadian exports, as it would reduce the custom taxes on Canadian manufactured products. In response, Borden launched an attack on the Liberals for turning their back on Great Britain, donning a Union Jack as Sir John A. Macdonald has done twenty years earlier. (Tim Cook, p. 22).
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Sam Hughes Chosen as Defence Minister
Sam Hughes, accused of being a "military madman" by the Liberals, represented "vote-rich rural Ontario". He was selected by Borden to be his Defence Minister, and Hughes responded ecstatically. Borden's cabinet overall lacked experience and as Tim Cook points out, they "had little time to learn on-the-job before the country was in crisis" as Canada was hit by an economic recession soon after the Conservatives came into power. (Tim Cook, pp. 27-8).
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1911 Election Campaign
Hoping to catch the Conservatives off guard, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier set the date for Canada's next election as September 21, but Borden and his colleagues were ready. During the election campaign, Champ Clark, US Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives said the US was "preparing to annex Canada". This gave the Conservative campaign a huge boost, as it gave weight to their claim that reciprocity would be the "first step to American annexation". (Tim Cook, pp. 23-4) -
Naval Aid Bill
After Borden axed the naval shipbuilding program in March 1912, he secretly discussed with colleagues a $35 million cash gift to Britain. On December 5, 1912 Borden announced his Naval Aid Bill and made public his plan to donate $35 million to the British to construct three dreadnought ships. This announcement was met with "spectacular bloodletting" in the House of Commons as Conservatives clashed with both Liberals and Quebec nationalists. (Tim Cook, p. 29).
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Borden Announces End to Naval Shipbuilding Program
Wilfrid Laurier's Canadian Navy had been created, but when Borden came to power it had just "two obsolete cruisers donated by the British". A long advocate for a cash gift to Britain instead of building a Canadian Navy, Borden announced in March 1912 his decision to end the naval shipbuilding program. (Tim Cook, p. 29) -
Liberal Controlled Senate Rejects Naval Aid Bill
A month after the Conservatives invoked closure over the Naval Aid Bill to pass it through the House of Commons, the Liberal controlled Senate rejected the bill, daring Borden to call an election over the bill. An election would not be called and "the naval bill sank from sight". (Tim Cook, p. 31). -
Canada Continues to Prepare for War Under Sam Hughes
The Conservative government continued to prepare Canada for a war that both Borden and Hughes thought was fast approaching. Under the direction of Hughes, and with Borden's support, Canada "poured money into building armouries and increased funds for the local militia units". Hughes believed that the militia was "Canda's first line of defence", unsurprising given the fact that he had been a member of the militia for almost fifty years. (Tim Cook, p. 32). -
Conservatives Invoke Closure over Naval Aid Bill
For the first time in Canadian history, closure was invoked by the Conservative government in order to pass their Naval Aid Bill. The Conservatives justified this by arguing that the German threat needed to be met ASAP. (Tim Cook, p. 31). -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
At the end of June 1914, the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated. This would bring tensions between Austria and Serbia to a head, and would ultimately prove to be the catalyst that would start the First World War. Shortly after this, Germany pledged its unconditional support to Austria, Russia allied with Serbia, which sparked a chain reaction of alliances across Europe and a wave of rapid military mobilizations. (Tim Cook, p. 34).
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Borden's Conservatives in Chaos
In 1914, the Conservatives were struggling. The recession was worsening as capital investment slowed, construction declined and prices fell. The government was increasingly blamed as the boom, which Canada had experienced for a decade, disappeared. With little option, Minister of Finance, Thomas White reduced federal expenditure, which only exasperated the already dire situation. As Tim Cook writes, it appeared Borden and his colleagues were "sleepwalking to defeat". (Tim Cook, pp. 32-33) -
Germany Invades Belgium
In an attempt to encircle France's northern defences, the German army crossed the border into Belgium on August 1, 1914, violating its neutrality. Reacting to this, Britain declared war on Germany, honouring "a sixty-year-old treaty with Belgium, as well as other alliance commitments". (Tim Cook, p. 35).
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Canada Prepares for War with Orders-in-Council
A day before war broke out, Borden and his cabinet introduced a number of orders-in-council that "guaranteed Dominion notes to fund the war effort" and gave the government the power to "prevent any avoidable interruption of stable business conditions". They aimed to ensure the security of Canada's financial institutions, which might come under threat during wartime. (Tim Cook, p. 36). -
Britain At War; Canada at War
As Canada was still a colony in 1914, with Britain's declaration of war against Germany, Canada was at war with Germany. As Tim Cook points out, Borden had "no say over the matter. Neither had his cabinet nor Parliament [...] nor had there been any information sent by Whitehall". When Britain declared war, its colonies were also automatically at war. (Tim Cook, p. 35).
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Sir Richard McBridge Purchases 2 Submarines from the US
Premier of British Columbia, Sir Richard McBridge, ordered two submarines from the then neutral United States. This, in effect, "nearly doubled [Canada's] naval strength". The two submarines, named CC-1 and CC-2, cost McBridge $1.1 million, which as Tim Cook points out, was "double the previous year's entire naval budget". Despite this extraordinary expense, they had "no operation value" as Canada's main contribution would be on land, not sea. (Tim Cook, pp. 38-9)
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Initial Reaction to War in Canada
Tim Cook highlights how "few in power questioned Canada's obligation to Empire or the need to defeat Germany". Germany's aggression was seen as a significant threat towards the balance of power in the world, and Canadians would not stand by to witness Germany threaten Britain. Although, naturally, there were some Canadians who had reservations, but these mostly "stayed silent, for fear of being accused of disloyalty". (Tim Cook, p. 35). -
Canada Mobilizes
Under the direction of "hyper-patriotic" minister, Sam Hughes, Canada organized more than 30,000 recruits at Valcartier, Quebec, capturing the urgency and call for action that many Canadians felt. (Tim Cook, p. 37).
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Royal Canadian Warships Put on Active Operation
Immediately after war was declared, Borden's cabinet introduced an order-in-council which made both Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) warships, the HMCS Rainbow and HMCS Niobe, "on active operations and under control of the Royal Navy". Rainbow was sent to engage with a German cruiser that was suspected to be en route to Vancouver, but this later proved to be false. (Tim Cook, p. 38)
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Reaction to War in Quebec
Although many Quebeckers "remained wary of a full wartime commitment to the Empire", surprisingly, there was relatively little opposition to the war in Quebec, at least initially. Prominent Quebec nationalist, Henri Bourassa "believed that France and Britain were engaged in a just war" and so pledged his support. Mayor of Montreal, Mederic Martin, announced that "if you are needed it is your duty to fight". (Tim Cook, p. 38)
Image: Henri Bourassa - http://bit.ly/2DFuXGA -
Britain Calls on Canada for 25k Soldiers
A few days into the war, the British sent a dispatch advising that an "initial contingent of 25,000 soldiers would be welcome". This force would be "organized, equipped and paid for by the Dominion government" but would fight as part of the British armed forces, under the command of a British general. This would later become important as Borden used this contribution to "assert his country's demand for greater equality within the Empire". (Tim Cook, p. 39)
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Emergency Parliamentary Session Called
At this session, leader of the opposition, Wilfrid Laurier, announced that "Canada, a daughter of old England, intends to stand by her in this great conflict...when the call comes our answer goes at once". (Tim Cook, p. 39). -
Emergency War Measures Legislation Introduced
On August 19, 1914, "Minister of Justice, C. J. Doherty, introduced Bill C-2, the emergency war measures legislation". This act allowed for "censorship, trade restrictions, the arbitrary arrest of individuals without trial, and almost any other power that the government felt was necessary for the "security, defence, peace, order and welfare of Canada"". Despite the authoritarian nature of this act, "there was very little debate" about the powers that it would provide. (Tim Cook, pp. 39-40). -
Emergency War Measures Legislation Passed
Bill C-2, the emergency war measures legislation, passed both Canadian houses on August 22, 1914 and became law on September, 3. Tim Cook describes this as "potentially the most repressive law in Canadian history". Despite this, it was met with "unanimous support" as "no MP ventured to challenge" the rhetoric of defence of the Empire against an evil power. Under this Act, the government could "govern by decree" as well as "pass new legislation or create new agencies". (Tim Cook, p. 40) -
Canada's Muniitons Industry is Established
Under the leadership of Sam Hughes, the Canadian munitions industry was founded to supply the "enormous expenditure of small arms and artillery shells" that was required for the war. Although manufacturers were "reluctant to invest the funds to retool their industries", Hughes used his connections to persuade them to take on responsibility for helping with the war effort. Ultimately, Canada supplied "about a quarter of the artillery shells used by the British" by 1917. (Tim Cook, p. 44) -
The Role of Sam Hughes
Sam Hughes, Minister of Militia and Defence from 1911 to 1916, was a civilian in government, but "appeared to be more of a general". He raised his own rank, first to major-general and then to lieutenant-general. His efforts in mobilizing the military left senior officers with an "administrative mess", whilst he "faced down grumblers, punished the most vocal, and browbeat the rest". (Tim Cook, p. 42)
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Canada Switches to a War Time Economy
Determined to ensure that soldiers were provided with Canadian-made equipment, Sam Hughes set out to encourage manufacturers to convert to war time production. They responded well, ramping up production to meet demand, but it was later found that much of it was substandard - "the boots dissolved in the mud and the Ross rifle malfunctioned in battlefield conditions". (Tim Cook, p. 44).
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The Power of Government Under the War Measures Act
With the passage of the War Measures Act, "Parliament surrender it's role" and essentially "Borden's cabinet of fewer than two dozen men was now a law unto itself". Critical decisions during the war could now be made by a very minute coterie, with some decisions being left to just Borden alone. (Tim Cook, p. 41). -
Canada's First Contingent Sails to England
Canada's First Contingent initially comprised of 25,000 men, as the British had requested, but this later "ballooned to over 30,000". They arrived in England in October 1914 to "cheering crowds", and were placed under the command of British Lieutenant-General Alderson. Although he was "impressed by their ardour and desire for battle", he believed that the Canadian officers were "very ignorant" and possessed "no power or habit of command". (Tim Cook, p. 43).
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Borden Promises Not to Introduce Conscription
Borden announced in December 1914 that "our citizens may be called out to defend our own territory, but cannot be required to go beyond the seas [...] there has not been, there will not be, compulsion or conscription". Whilst it was not initially thought this would be necessary, as "thousands of young and middle-aged men", most of whom were British-born and held previous military experience, signed up for Canada's new army, Borden would later have to revise this promise. (Tim Cook, p. 42). -
Experiences of Immigrants During Wartime
In August 1914, Canada had about "400,000 German-born immigrants" and "another 125,000 from the Austro-Hungarian Empire". Although there were reports that German immigrants in the US were "massing for an invasion", these were disregarded by the government who understood that the US would never allow this to happen. Eventually the government succumbed to the fears of the Canadian public though and interned more than "8,000 "enemy aliens"". (Tim Cook, pp. 46-7).
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Here's YOUR Chance - It's Men We Want Recruitment Poster
This WW1 recruitment poster is interesting to examine in a number of ways. Firstly, note how the word "men" is emphasized. This is indicative of the gender norms of the day, and the notions that it was masculine, bold, strong and respected to go to fight for your country, whilst cowardly and weak to stay at home. Also notice the sense of 'we're all in this together' community that is evoked by the poster. To not go to war was to let your fellow citizens down. Source: http://bit.ly/2DNPrfk -
To The Women of Canada Recruitment Poster
This poster is also interesting in terms of the gender norms that it conveys. Whilst most recruitment posters were targeted to men, this poster seeks to appeal solely to women. It acknowledges the role that women had in the decision for a man to go away to fight through an appeal to the traditional 'women's sphere' of the home and children. Again, we also see the notion of invoking shame for a man not going away to fight, a crucial recruitment tool in WW1. Source: http://bit.ly/2rDaVa7 -
Canadian Division Arrives at Western Front
The Canadian First Contingent, a force of about 30,000 who were sent to England to train in October 1914, trained for four months on English soil. In February 1915, the Canadian Division, a "pared-down force of about 18,000 soldiers" was sent to the Western Front. Canada was now truly at war, and the experience would change the nation forever. (Tim Cook, p. 50).
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