Canada's industrial contribution to the war was highly significant, particularly in the form of raw materials and motorized vehicles (Canada was the second-largest producer of wheeled vehicles after the United States). After the outbreak of war, Britain placed responsibility for the protection of North America in Canadian hands, and the nation placed military expansion and modernization as a top priority.īy the war's end over 15% of all Canadian citizens would serve in uniform (out of a prewar population of 11 million) and Canada would possess the fourth-largest air force and fifth-largest naval surface fleet in the world. Canada followed Britain's declaration of war against Germany on the 10 September 1939, its first independent declaration of war.Ĭanada's military in 1939 was small, poorly-equipped, and technologically outdated, despite measures taken by the government of Mackenzie King in 1936 to gradually increase the gutted defense budget. With the Statute of Westminster in 1931, Canada was transformed into a sovereign nation, though remaining a key member of the British Commonwealth with strong ties to its parent country. Historical background ĭuring the First World War, Canada automatically entered the conflict on the side of the Entente as a semi-independent dominion of the British Empire.
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