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Canada at war

Canada's military experience and the sacrifices we made in wartime have helped to shape modern Canadian society. Since Confederation, Canadians have fought in three major wars.

The Boer War, fought in South Africa from 1899 to 1902, marked the first occasion where Canada sent large numbers of soldiers overseas. Economically, Canadian banks and insurance and transport companies saw increased demand for their services during the war, and manufacturers and farmers profited from their products.

When the First World War broke out in Europe in 1914, Ottawa deployed a Canadian Expeditionary Force. However, as casualties mounted, volunteerism waned, and the government eventually introduced conscription, a highly unpopular measure. One of the lasting social impacts of the First World War was that it allowed women to pursue careers previously closed to them in factories, on farms and in offices. To pay for the war, the Canadian government raised money in creative ways, including the introduction of a 'temporary' federal income tax in 1917.

In 1939, Canada responded to the Second World War's call to arms with huge numbers of troops. Many who had been unemployed during the Great Depression in the 1930s seized the opportunity to receive pay, food, lodging and warm clothing in the military. Once again, the role of women in Canadian society was strengthened by a war: women could finally enlist, and those that remained back home worked in the service sector and in manufacturing. Military production and massive government expenditures transformed Canada from a resource-based economy to an industrial nation where unemployment was practically erased.

1917 Canada Year Book - Related tables

1. Aggregate external trade of Canada, by fiscal year, 1868 to 1917
2. Canadian contributions for patriotic purposes, by fund, to March 31, 1917
3. Duties collected, by year and type, on exports, 1868 to 1892, and on imports for home consumption, 1868 to 1917
4. Expenditure and revenue of militia, by category, for the fiscal years 1912 to 1916
5. Expenditure on account of war appropriation, for the year ended March 31, 1916
6. Exports to the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries, by fiscal year, 1868 to 1917
7. Imports for home consumption from the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries, by fiscal year, 1868 to 1917
8. Movement of coin and bullion, by year, 1868 to 1917
9. Ratio of exports to imports and value per capita of exports, imports and total trade, by year, 1868 to 1917
10. Value of exports of Canadian merchandise, to the United Kingdom, the United States and all countries, with percentage ratios of totals, by class, 1913 to 1916
11. Value of imports from the United Kingdom, the United States and all countries, of merchandise entered for home consumption, by class, 1913 to 1916
12. Values of exports from Canada to the United Kingdom, the United States, other countries and all countries, by class of merchandise, in five-year averages from 1868 to 1910 and for the years 1911 to 1917

1947 Canada Year Book - Related tables

1. Analysis of "other charges", years ended March 31, 1930 to 1946
2. Annual index numbers of living costs, 1935 to 1946, and monthly index numbers, 1946 and 1947
3. Applications for employment, positions offered and placements effected bv employment offices, 1933 to 1945, and by province, 1944 and 1945
4. Applications for gratuities and amounts paid under the War Service Grants Act, years ended March 31, 1945 to 1947
5. Balance sheets of the Dominion of Canada, as at March 31, 1942 to 1946
6. Canadian assets abroad, 1930, 1939 and 1945
7. Combined expenditures of all governments in Canada, 1944
8. Consumption of manufactured products, 1928 to 1945
9. Details of expenditures, years ended March 31, 1942 to 1946
10. Details of revenues, years ended March 31, 1942 to 1946
11. Dominion allotments for vocational training for the year ended March 31, 1946 and claims paid to April 30, 1946, by province
12. Employees in manufacturing industries, with volume of manufacturing production and comparative efficiency of production, 1931 to 1944
13. Estimated British and foreign capital invested in Canada, by type of investment, as at December 31, 1926, 1930, 1933, 1939 and 1945
14. Estimated British and foreign capital invested in Canada, by type of investment, classified by estimated distribution of ownership, as at December 31, 1945
15. Estimated Canadian investments abroad, as at December 31, 1945
16. Financial statistics showing source and use of funds for 709 industrial companies, 1936 to 1945
17. Gross national expenditure at market prices, 1938 to 1946
18. Hours worked per week by wage-earners working specified weekly hours in month of highest employment, by province and industrial group, 1944
19. Index numbers of living costs in eight cities of Canada, alternate months, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946 and 1947
20. Indexes for the volume or manufacturing production, according to component material and purpose classifications, 1923 to 1944
21. Indexes for the volume or manufacturing production, according to purpose classification groups, 1923 to 1944
22. Indexes of the volume of manufacturing production for the groups of the purpose classiflcation, significant years, 1933 to 1944
23. Male wage-earners in the 40 leading industries working specified weekly hours in month of highest employment, 1914
24. Net income of 709 industrial companies, by industries, 1936 to 1945
25. Net income of unincorporated business, by province, 1939 to 1944
26. Net national income at factor cost and gross national product at market prices, 1939 to 1946
27. Number of casualties in the First World War, 1914 to 1918, and the Second World War, 1939 to 1945
28. Per capita revenues and expenditures, by principal items, years ended March 31, 1942 to 1946
29. Per capita revenues and expenditures, years ended March 31, 1930 to 1946
30. Percentage variation in employment, salaries and wages, and gross value of products in the main industrial groups compared for significant years, 1929 to 1944
31. Personal income payments, 1939 to 1946
32. Principal items of expenditures, years ended March 31, 1930 to 1946
33. Principal items of revenue, years ended March 31, 1930 to 1946
34. Principal statistics of the 40 leading industries of Canada, ranked according to gross value of products, 1945
35. Principal statistics of the forty leading industries of Canada, ranked according to gross value of products, 1944
36. Principal statistics of the manufacturing industries of Canada, classified by main groups, by significant years 1922 to 1944 and classified in detail, 1944
37. Profits of 709 industrial companies before deduction of income and excess profits taxes, by industries, 1936 to 1945
38. Quantities and values of the principal commodities produced by the manufacturing industries of Canada, grouped by purpose, 1941
39. Re-establishment credits paid, by purpose for which required, years ended March 31, 1945 to 1947
40. Salaries and wages paid in manufacturing industries, by province and industrial group, 1941, with total for significant years, 1917 to 1943
41. Salaries, wages and supplementary labour income, by provinces, 1939 to 1944
42. Sales of Canadian bonds, by class of bond and by country of sale, 1937 to 1946
43. Summary of profit statistics for 709 industrial companies, 1936 to 1945
44. Summary statistics of manufactures, by industrial groups, significant years, 1917 to 1945
45. Summary statistics of manufactures, significant years, 1917 to 1945
46. The ten leading industries, 1944, compared by rank, significant years, 1922 to 1944
47. Total expenditures and the percentages thereof raised by taxation and all revenue, years ended March 31, 1936 to 1946
48. Wage to earners in manufacturing, working specified numbers of hours per week in the month of highest employment, 1938 to 1944
49. Wage-earners employed in the manufacturing industries of Canada, by months and sex, significant years, 1922 to 1944