Artifact 3 : Military Service Act, 1917 : important notice

Citation :

Military Service Act, 1917 : important notice. Ephemera. Canada, Issued by the Department of Justice, Military Service Branch, 1917. Toronto Public Library Digital Archive, Baldwin Collection of Canadiana, Accession Number : 1918ACTVS. https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/objects/351682/military-service-act-1917--important-notice?ctx=443e031b825beffaf651a49edbbe7444906fffa0&idx=0

Label :

While French Canadians were protesting against it, the majority of British Canadians agreed with the implementation of the Conscription. Among them, Robert Borden, the Prime Minister at that time, thought that it was needed to send more troops and was the one who supported the Conscription. Therefore, the Military Act was adopted in 1917, and as a result, all males between the ages of 20 and 45 were forced to serve in the military. This shows the negligence of the Canadian government towards French Canadians who majorly disagreed with this act. It was published in English and uses the term “British subjects”, a label that French Canadians did not identify with. The conscription law only served British interests and did not take into consideration the cultural, social, and political differences of Quebec. French Canadians were forced to go fight overseas to defend a flag that had little interest in them. It deepened the gap between British and French Canada and influenced future policies and political alignments.

Bibliography :

Preston, Richard A et al. “Military Service Act”. The Canadian Encyclopedia. February 7, 2006. Last modified June 30, 2022. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/military-service-act

“Conscription, 1917”. Canadian War Museum. June 20, 2008. Last modified October 16, 2017. https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/recruitment-and-conscription/conscription-1917/