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Where It All Began
The 'Great War' which we more commonly referred as "World War I" caused mass devastation to Canada. During the period of four years (1914-1918), the country had lost around 60,000 soldiers, as well as much more returned home injured (152). The loss of so many soldiers was a huge blow to the overall Canadian population when the population of Canada was only a mere eight million people (152). -
Women's Enfranchisement
On August 29th, 1918, the Military Voters Act was passed. This act allowed for the first time for women to vote in federal elections, as long as they fell into certain social categories of course (110). The landscape of Canadian life was rapidly changing. Not only were women now allowed to vote, they were given the right to work in usually male-dominated workplaces (111). -
Official End of The Great War
On November 11th, 1918, the war was officially called to end. The Armistice had finally been struck, and Canadian Prime Minister Borden, as well as other leaders from the allied powered, took tremendous pride in achieving their end goal of peace in Europe (139). Borden believed that Canada had a key role to play in negotiations which would decide Germany’s fate as a nation, as well as maintaining a good reputation as a productive member of the allied powers (139). -
Rise of William Lyon McKenzie King
William Lyon MacKenzie King was elected as the leader of the Liberal party a couple of months Laurier’s death. He had a strong backing from the Quebec wing, which was very surprising to many since he barely spoke French and had a long-honed Presbyterian bias against Catholics (171). He appointed Ernest Lapointe as his Quebec lieutenant (171). King had begun his movement to unify Liberals (172). -
Paris Peace Conference
Following the devastation of the Great War, the Allied powers were committed to ensuring peace. The conference mostly consisted of bigger allied powers looking for ways to punish Germany for what they had done, and finding ways for their leadership to admit guilt for everything they have done (143). -
Death of Wilfrid Laurier
The leader of the Liberal Party, Wilfrid Laurier, died while still in office as the leader of the opposition. His death caused a major blow to fragile Liberal party- a replacement had to be renamed immediately (170). Finding a successor proved difficult, but there was one man who had proven to be the best contender in the entire Liberal party. -
Winnipeg General Strike
After months of growing tension, on May 15th, 1919, the Winnipeg Trade & Labour Council called for a general strike (148). More than 30,000 union members across the country responded to the strike (148) The strikes main objective was for the government to treat returning veterans better. The veterans grieved for more than just the 60,000 who died- they were grieving for all of those who suffered from the physical and emotional wounds of war when they returned to Canada (150). -
First Attempt of Resignation for Robert Borden
Sir Robert Borden, Prime Minister of Canada during the Great War had decided to formally resign from office in June 1919. His years of service caused him tremendous stress, and he was becoming exhausted with his role as the months went on. His party begged him to stay on as Prime Minister. He adhered to his party’s wishes and ignored his own mental well-being for months until it became too much for him to handle in late 1919. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the document which formally ended the war with Germany. The Canadian government was adamant about having their independent signature on the treaty (146). Borden's speech to the House of Commons opened the debate and ratification of the treaty. Many Canadians thought that the treaty was very harsh economically against Germany (146). This treaty would go to prove to be the precursor to the rise of Adolf Hitler's popularity in Germany in the following years to come. -
Cabinet Accepts Borden's Resignation
Borden gave his cabinet another resignation letter on December 16th, 1919 (156). Eventually, his cabinet realized that it was time to let Borden retire in peace, so they let him do so after fighting for him to stay on (157) -
Formation of the League of Nations
Nobody wanted to fight in another war, something which Borden was very persistent on (145). Not just Canada, but many other members of the League opposed this article, which basically suggested that they agree to form a unified defense no matter what their own countries military and financial situations were (145). France was not happy about this, seeing as it was ravaged by the war and wanted a guarantee that it would not be ravaged once again (145). -
Borden's Announcement to Canada
On Dominion Day [July 1st] 1920, Borden had officially announced his retirement. His successor had to be found soon, and the party had chosen a successor only ten days afterward (157). -
Arthur Meighen
The National Liberal and Conservative Party announced that they chose Arthur Meighen to take over the role of Prime Minister in 1920, only days following the official announcement of resignation from Borden (157).Canadians had seen Meighen as the architect of conscription, made himself public enemy number one with comments about his disagreement with the Winnipeg General Strike, as well he had made himself disliked by many immigrants by arguing for their disenfranchisement (173). -
Federal Election
After 18 months of being Prime Minister, Meighen called for an election in December 1921 (174). Meighan did not see King and his Liberal government as a threat, but to his surprise, they swept the election and ousted the Tories (174) At age 47, King became the Prime Minister of Canada and the Liberals were once again back in power. -
Chanak Crisis
Turkey had begun re-emerging rapidly in the Great Wars aftermath with a nationalistic agenda to reclaim lost glory and humiliation which they faced in the war against the Allies (176). The Turkish army had defeated the Greek forces in 1922, and went forward with their direct threats towards the UK and France regarding their garrisons which were still in Turkey (176). The UK did not want to back down from their position, so they asked the Dominions to aid them. King refused to help (176). -
Founding of the RCAF
King and other members of government pushed for the creation of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1921 (229). James Ralston, a famous politician at the time, insisted that Canadians served as a part of the RCAF, and even said how there was “a fear amongst [service] men that they would be sent into such places as Passchendaele and in the last war, and their lives sacrificed” (229). -
Federal Election
Meighan defeated King in the 1925 federal election, but King refused to step down, insisting that he was capable of running a successful minority government (181). -
King-Byng Affair
Governer general Byng was a huge critic of King’s actions to remain as Prime Minister, even in 1925 demanding that he step down since Meighan had won the election (181). In 1926, King asked Byng for the dissolution of Parliament and for an election to be called (182). Byng had refused because he had believed that Meighan had won the 1925 election fair and square and that King had stolen it from him, and Meighan became PM one again (182). This would not last, King would be back soon. -
Stock Market Crash
In October 1929, the New York stock market crashed after a period of worldwide economic prosperity (188). People watched in horror as once strong companies were wiped off the map, as well as hundreds of thousands of jobs were gone (188). The stock market crash caused massive worldwide economic impact, and it would take awhile before things stabilized once again. -
Federal Election
On July 28th, King called for an election. This time around, Meighan was no longer on the ballot, instead, R.B Bennett was the Conservative Party’s new leader. King ran a good campaign, but unemployment was biting deep into Canada, and Canadians sense that they were living through something horrible. With that, Bennett was elected into office. -
Statute of Westminster
King sought out to loosen the UK’s control over Canada without throwing the big, scary word of “independence” around. This proved to be a challenge to get all of the details together, but in 1931 the Statute of Westminster was declared. This statute declared that all former colonies and dominions are granted full legislative control over their own foreign policy (188). -
Formation of the CCF
The national political landscape was changing drastically in Canada. During the depression, intellectuals, leftists, farmers, workers, and radicals had come together under a loose ‘political umbrella’ which they called the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation- better known as the CCF (191). -
Hitler's Rise to Power
In Germany, the country had managed to pull itself out of the tremendous financial destruction thanks to the Great War (192). A charming leader was emerging onto the German political scene, and his name was Adolf Hitler. Hitler was an angry and charismatic war veteran who claws his way into power by preying on the fears of the German people, and by fabricating hidden enemies amongst the population of Germany and Europe as a whole (192). -
Federal Election
Once again, Canada was ready to go to the polls to vote on their new Prime minister. The country had once again chosen King to become their prime minister. The slogan “King or Chaos” was picking up as a popular campaign slogan during the election. The idea of there being uncertainty in Canadian government while there was growing tension in Europe was something that Canadians did not want to risk (191). -
Hitler Breaks Treaty of Versailles
Encouraged by Italian dictator Mussolini, Hitler reoccupied the Rhineland in March of 1936 (196). He had now officially broken the Treaty of Versailles, and the rest of the world was preparing for what was going to happen next. -
King Meets Hitler
On June 29th, King met with Adolf Hitler (200). Many news outlets and historians describe that it appeared that King was swooned by the charming German chancellor, and it was clear that he had thought that Hitler was a “sincere and genuine patriot” (200). During their meeting, Hitler promised to King that Germany had “no desire for war”, but unfortunately he went back on his word only a little while later (200). -
Munich Agreement
Hitler went back on his promise to King and the rest of the Western world and further progressed his European invasion. He had now successfully annexed Austria (200). The Prime Minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, felt like it was his obligation to negotiate with Hitler on behalf of the Western world (200-201). Czechoslovakia was put on the bargaining table to make a peaceful resolution happen (201). -
King's Reassurance
King echoed the words of the Laurier generation earlier: “If England is at war we are at war and liable to attack. I do not say that we will always be attacked; neither do I say that we would take part in all wars of England. That is a matter that must be guided by circumstances, upon which the Canadian parliament will have to produce and will have to decide in its own best judgments” (205). -
Hitler enters Czechoslovakia
On March 20th, 1939, Hitler had gone back on his promise of claiming only a small fragment of Czechoslovakia through the Munich agreement. He had gone ahead and swallowed up the rest of the country, and seized key territory, armaments, and heavy industry in the country (205). This had infuriated King. He had spoken to the parliament and exclaimed that Canada would come to Britain's aid if “bombs [were] raining death on London” (206). -
Hitler Invades Poland
On September 1st, 1939 Hitler invaded Poland (207). Britain, being disorganized and shocked declared war on Germany on September 3rd (207). In Canada, King knew that if Britain was at war Canada would have to follow suit. King had called for parliament to come and meet for a special war-session to discuss what their next move was going to be (208). -
Lapointe Saves Parliament's Opinion
Ernest Lapointe, who was the minister of justice at the time basically saved King’s war-session in parliament. King’s speech had proven to be dreadful, and it was not until he had taken over the session with words of passion and force about how important it was for Canada to come to Britain's aid during this act of aggression that the rest of parliament began to listen (211-212). -
American Involvement
To King’s shock, President Roosevelt decided that America was to remain neutral during this ordeal. However, Roosevelt had offered King with the opportunity for Canada to purchase any military materials (aircrafts, etc) from neutral America before the Dominion had officially declared war against Germany (222).
