The world is at war and your government is forcing you to enlist into the military whether you want to or not. Conscription is quite a controversial topic. It is a mandatory enlistment of people into the military and is used most often during times of war. No one really wants to be forced into war nowadays, but some countries still have it, such as the United States with its draft. In Canada, conscription occurred in 1917 during The Great War and in 1944 during World War Two. Our focus will be on the Conscription Crisis of 1917 that saw it do heavy political damage to Canadian Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden and the Conservative Party of Canada.
During the early stages of the First World War from 1914 to 1915, Canada a good number of willing combatants that enlisted to fight against Germany in France and Belgium. However, by 1916, with the war dragging on and the endless droves of men of all ages continuing to die overseas, enlistment began to dwindle. The war itself was seemingly endless as both sides saw soldiers die one after another within the trenches and No Man’s Land. Reinforcements from Canada began to cause problems for British and Canadian commanders leaving Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden to hold talks with the British in May to come up with a solution for the country’s lack of soldiers. In 1917, the federal government would make the decision to conscript young adult men for military service.
However, the official opposition Liberal Party and other forces in government posed a threat to Borden’s conservative government. A concern of his was the potential loss of the general election in 1917 to the Liberals. In Quebec, opposition to the conscription was high as the province did not want to be forced into a war, which they did not particularly support it. Quebec itself saw felt no loyalty to either Britain or France, both of whom were involved in the First World War. The conscription issue brought out numerous issues between the Francophone province and the rest of the Anglophone country, which was already prominent.
Eventually, Borden would meet with British officials in May of 1917 to discuss a possible course of action for Canada and Britain. By May 18 Borden announced to Parliament that his government was going to implement conscription. On May 25, 1917, Borden and his Conservative Party offered Liberal leader sir Wilfrid Laurier to form a coalition government with his government and the Liberal Party. Ultimate, Laurier would come to reject that offer as he feared Quebec’s opposition to conscription was too strong and did not want to risk losing French Canadians to nationalists such as Henri Bourassa. By August 29, 1917, the Military Service Act was enacted and became law sparking political controversy and further dividing the country between French and English Canadians. The outcome resulted in Borden creating the Unionist Party of Canada where it consisted of members of his Conservative Party. The Liberals, Independents and a Labour member representing the working class. The Unionist party was for all members of parliament in support of conscription including Liberal MP who ran as Liberal-Unionists. The Party was used in the December 1917 general election called by Borden to resolve ongoing issues with conscription allowing the Canadian Prime Minister to split up support within Laurier’s Liberal Party.
The War Measures Act, however, was not the only controversial law enacted at this period of time. In September 1917, The Wartime Elections Act extended the right to vote to women serving in the Canadian Army Medical Corps and to women who had relatives in the military. This law allowed women who previously could not vote the right to. The plan was to entice voters that were most likely to support conscription and Borden’s Union Government. Moreover, more controversy with the new law denied the right to voting to thousands of people considered to be immigrants from enemy countries, even after becoming a citizen. Those that had members of their family in the Canadian military and fighting in the war were exempted. Furthermore, conscientious objectors were denied the right to vote, as their religious, moral or ethical beliefs led to them refusing to go to war and were outright against the fighting taking place across the Atlantic.
In the 1917 federal election, the Union Government won by majority with 153 seats. Of those seats, however, the Borden government only won 3 seats from Quebec. Laurier’s Liberals won 62 seats from Quebec with a total of 82 seats won in the election. While Borden’s party won with support from pro-conscription citizens, it would be damaging for the conservatives.
The result of conscription was polarizing. While Borden’s conservatives had major support in various provinces, others felt betrayed. Farmers in the agricultural sector felt especially betrayed due to the promise of exemptions though limited from the conscription as the government went back on their promise. French-Canadians protested immensely during the lead-up to conscription and even after many refused to register in the draft. At various points throughout 1918, attempts at arresting them resulted in countless riots. Anti-conscription rollouts took place through the province of Quebec, forcing the government to use the War Measures act during the Easter Riots in Quebec City. The riots saw rioters use gunfire and other methods of violence with four civilians being killed after soldiers fired upon armed rioters. The riots shocked supporters on both the Conservative and Liberal sides. Thousands of soldiers would eventually be deployed to Europe under martial law.
While conscription was a heavy topic in Canada, it did have a large impact on Canada’s war effort. It provided enough troops to the European theatre to continue crucial battles through the war. The move allowed Canada to contribute to an eventual victory for the Allied Powers.