Negative Effects Of Conscription In Canada

Toronto — On June 28th 1919 WW1 officially concluded after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, however as a result of the war, Canada has suffered great losses, many that will change the fate of the nation.

World War 1, a war that started in 1914 after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, ended on November 11, 1918, and all the nations involved had agreed to terms of peace and formally stopped fighting.

On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Forces (Britain, France, Italy, and Russia) came together to sign the Treaty of Versailles and formally concluded the Great War.

Although many soldiers held their head high in victory and praise just a year later, in present day Canada, our nation has started to feel the grief and dark path

It is the worst man-made explosion ever, claiming 2000 lives and injuring another 9000.

Last thing I ever saw was Harbour going up in one grand smudge, and gas fuming [through] the air," stated John, a survivor.

Another major negative impact of the war was the integration of Conscription.

In 1917, Prime minister Sir Robert Borden introduced the Military Service Act, which made enlistment for citizens mandatory.

Conscription is a very controversial issue that has since divided English and French Canadians. French Canadians see the Military Service Act as a way of forcing them to fight in distant wars that they have no connect with.

Voluntary enlistment had been uneven in World War 1 and the military believer they could not maintain the Canadian Corps at full power without the implementation of conscription.

Encouraged only by English Canadians, riots broke out across Quebec. The act was unevenly administered and there were many who opposed it. It helped drive Borden’s Union government but drove most of his French Canadian supporters into opposition, as they felt alienated by this attempt to force their participation into imperial

This left many industries across Canada to be short of much-needed labour.

The biggest negative impact of the War on Canada was the debt that Canada accumulated.

Canada’s debt in 1914 before the war, was $544 000 000 which suddenly rose to almost $2.5 billion after the war in 1919.

A massive and unusual effort had support the war overseas and had loaned the Canadian government all of the money it needed to fight the war. The resulting debt of more than $2 billion would fundamentally change the nature of our post-war economy.

To pay off our debt, the Canadian government must now may over $164 million per year. This debt that was collected due to this excessive war is the cause for our current establishment of income tax and other extra fees.

Although World War 1 did bring some positive change to Canada, it also had much negative impact on our nation, our people, and our future. It caused massive human casualties, damaged our soldiers, destroyed the Halifax harbour, established conscription, and has caused Canada to accumulate huge amounts of debt.

World War 1 may have been a victory in our past but ultimately, it will be the reason for the downfall of our