Pro Conscription In Canada

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In 1917, the reality of a Canadian’s life was nothing ordinary compared to today, this was especially true for Canadian men aged twenty to forty-five. Today, middle-aged men have the choice to join the Canadian Military, but at the height of World War I, there was no choice. In 1914, when the British Empire, including Canada, forcibly entered the war, Canadian citizens who felt ultimate pride in their country volunteered to help in the war effort. However, it was never enough to succeed (Morton, 2023). Conscription, which is the compulsory enlistment into expeditionary forces, took effect in Canada in 1917 due to the underwhelming number of men willing to participate in the front lines. Canadian Francophones, who saw mandatory recruitment as …show more content…
This fact is especially evident when looking at conscription in Canada, as the two groups of Canadians could not seem to agree on this issue. To begin with, Franco-Canadian opposition from Anglo-Canada does not stem from nowhere. Since the time French citizens began to colonize Canada, they have always felt as though their language, religion, and political systems were in constant threat of being washed away by British influence in Canada (Smith, 2023). In July 1912, the Conservative government passed Regulation 17 in Ontario, which restricted French as the instructional language in elementary schools. Francophone citizens saw this as a direct attempt to assimilate children into British Canada. Although the legislation was only meant for Ontario, it passed through Quebec, which caused a revolt among Quebec parents. All French Canada felt threatened, and French apathy towards Anglo-Canadians began to arise (Berry, 2019). Naturally, many Franco-Canadians did not agree with Canada entering the war. When the Canadian Expeditionary Forces took their first number of troops overseas, sixty percent had been recent British immigrants. On the other hand, French Canadians accounted for less than three-points-five percent. This was because few French Canadians felt devoted to France and most battalions were led by English generals, making enlistment for French Canadians pointless. To illustrate the opposition French Canada felt towards Anglo-Canada, French politician Henri Bourassa became a spokesperson who advocated against Canada entering the world war and mandatory enlistment. He saw the war as Britain’s attempt to spread their imperialistic views. During one of his campaigns against Regulation 17, he famously stated, “the enemies of the French language, of French civilization in Canada are not the
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