Prejudice in the War

A look into the treatment of minority groups during WW1

War Measures Act

At the outset of war in August 1914, the Canadian government quickly

enacted the federal War Measures Act (WMA).

The Acts sweeping powers permitted the government to suspend or

limit civil liberties in the interest of Canadas protection, including
the right to incarcerate enemy aliens.

This led to the creation of internment camps throughout Canada,

even in Kingston at Fort Henry.

http://heritagekingston.com/site/wp-content/uploads/downloads/20
12/11/Fort-Henry-Intenrment-Centre-FHF-112012.pdf

Read the hand-out on WMA

Enemy Aliens and Internment Operations

The term enemy alien referred to the citizens of states legally at war with
Canada who resided in Canada during the war. Under the authority of the
WMA, Canada interned 8,579 enemy aliens in 24 receiving stations and
internment camps from 1914-1920. Otter classified 3,138 as prisoners of war,
while the others were civilians. The majority of those interned were of
Ukrainian descent, targeted because Ukraine was then split between Russia
(an ally) and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, an enemy of the British Empire. In
addition to those placed in camps, another 80,000 enemy aliens, again mostly
Ukrainians, were forced to carry identity papers and to report regularly to
local police offices.

The government frequently employed internees on massive labour projects,

including the development of Banff National Park and numerous mining and
logging operations. Sir William D. Otter, one of Canadas pre-eminent soldiers,
commanded the operation of these often rural and remote internment camps.
Internees had much of their wealth confiscated, although most were paid
$0.25 a day, far less than that offered to labourers of the time period.
Interned Canadians were also disenfranchised during the course of the war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAX5NgEe7ro

Anti-German Sentiment
-riots in cities across Canada against
German shop-owners
-on September 1, 1916 the town of
Berlin changed its name to Kitchener
to show more loyalty to Canada and in
turn Britain. They named it after
Britains minister of war who had
recently been killed by a German mine.
-War propaganda reinforced enemy
stereotypes and intentionally blurred
the line between actual news and
useful innuendo.
-German language was not allowed in
schools and German schools closed,
German newspapers were suppressed
and German clubs/associations were
shut down

Valcartier Internment Camp

A rare panoramic view of the internment camp at Valcartier as it existed in 1915. The Valcartier
camp closed in October 1915. Its 146 internees were transferred to camps at Spirit Lake and
Kingston. Twenty-six receiving stations and internment camps existed across Canada from 19141920, holding 8,579 "enemy aliens."

First Nations People during the war

-Close to 4,000 members of the
Canadian Expeditionary Force were of
Aboriginal descent, an astonishing
number given the limited civil rights
accorded Canadas First Peoples in the
early twentieth century.
-First Peoples troops encountered a
double cultural barrier in the military:
the racial prejudice that marked the
contemporary non-Aboriginal world,
and a military hierarchy that worked
almost exclusively in English, a
language many Aboriginal recruits did
not speak. Records and memoirs
suggest that most units eventually
embraced First Peoples soldiers, even
providing a more welcoming or
progressive environment than other
areas of contemporary society.
https
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGzNwAUdH
M8

Corporal Francis
Pegahmagabow,
an Ojibwa from the Parry
Island Band near
Parry Sound, Ontario,
received the Military
Medal and two bars
for his bravery and
effectiveness as a sniper.

First Nations People during the

war
-were originally not going to be
allowed to enlist and serve in the
war but that changed when the
need for men was great
-About one third of First Nations
people in Canada age 18 to 45
enlisted during the war. Mtis and
Inuit soldiers also enlisted;
however, only status Indians were
officially recorded by the Canadian
Expeditionary Force (CEF).
-some Aboriginal soldiers were
discharged from the army for
refusing to cut their hair.
http://ww1.canada.com/faces-of-war
/first-nations-on-the-front-lines

Read page 92 of textbook

Answer this question:
Why were Aboriginal soldiers so valuable on the
battle field?

War effects the home front

Flu and Harbour

Halifax Harbour
https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5tU1C
rXY-E&list=PL1848FF9428CA9A4A&
index=40
The Halifax Explosion was the
largest man-made explosion to
occur before the dropping of the
atomic bombs during the Second
World War.

Despite the absolute destruction and the magnitude of relief

operations, transatlantic naval convoys had resumed within a week.

On 6 December 1917, theMont

Blanc, a French vessel loaded with
2.9 kilotons of explosives, collided
with the Belgian relief ship,Imo, in
Halifax harbour.

When the flames reached theMont Blancs volatile cargo, the

resulting explosion devastated a large part of the city.

the province of Nova Scotia each year still sends a Christmas tree to
the city of Boston, Massachusetts as a token of friendship for the aid
Bostonians rendered in December 1917.

Read page 98-100 of your textbook

Answer question #2

Spanish Flu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbYwNOcKqqc

killed at least 20 million people worldwide, including an estimated

50,000 Canadians.

The flu was spread through bodily fluids and moved quickly through
the population.

Victims of the flu could be dead within a day of contracting the

illness.

The loss of so many Canadians had a profound social and economic

impact on a country that had already suffered 60,000 war dead

In attempting to halt the spread of the disease, many local

governments shut down non-essential services.

Provinces imposed quarantines and protective masks were required in

public places.

The epidemic led directly to the formation of the federal Department

of Health in 1919.

And to lighten things up a bit

https://

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https://www.youtube
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https://www.youtube
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jxJ3c&list=PL1848FF