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The Canadian Wartime Elections Act (French: Loi des élections en temps de guerre) was a bill passed on September 20, 1917, [1] by the Conservative government of Robert Borden during the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and was instrumental in pushing Liberals to join the Conservatives in the formation of the Canadian Unionist government. While the ...
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 (French: Crise de la conscription de 1917) was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war, but also brought out many issues regarding relations between French Canadians and English Canadians .
The Borden government hoped that the delay would allow the formation of a "grand coalition" government, encompassing all the parties, such as existed in Britain. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, head of the Liberal Party of Canada, refused to join the coalition over the issue of conscription, which was strongly opposed in the Liberal heartland of Quebec ...
Borden's use of conscription in the war remains controversial. While historian J. L. Granatstein wrote, "Canada's military couldn't have carried on without the controversial policy" and that "[The conscripts] played a critical role in winning the war", he also wrote that "To achieve these ends, he almost broke the nation."
The conscription issue dominated election tactics along with the aggressive opposition to conscription from Quebec and the French-speaking Canadians. The result of the 1917 federal election saw the Unionist coalition government led by Borden receiving two-thirds of the constituencies outside Quebec, but only three seats within Quebec. [ 13 ]
The Military Service Act, 1917 (French: Loi concernant le Service militaire) [1] was an Act passed by the Parliament of Canada which introduced conscription in the midst of the First World War. [2] It was passed due to a shortage of volunteers and was an effort to conscript more soldiers .
The 1917 election was Borden's last election. The election was fought entirely on the issue of conscription and Canada's role in World War I. Borden led a coalition of Conservatives and Liberals who supported the Borden government's conscription policy. Laurier was again his opponent, leading those Liberals who opposed the conscription policy.
The conscription issue was largely responsible for the re-election of Borden's government. [10] Call-ups for military service into the Canadian Expeditionary Force began in January 1918. Opposition to conscription in Quebec resulted in a riot breaking out in between 28 March and 1 April 1918. [10]