Vimy Pilgrimage Award

The Battle of Somme had a significant impact on Canadian nationalism by uniting people under a shared identity. This battle brought Canadians together against a common cause despite the intensity of the war and the heavy death toll. The majority of the deaths were young men from Newfoundland. The Battle of the Somme was a significant event in the First World War. The bravery and accomplishments of Canadian soldiers there helped establish their growing reputation as skilled defensemen who could face opposition in the face of heavy fire. Before WW1, Canada was merely a Federation that did not have the soul and unity of a nation. Residents did not identify themselves as “Canadians” until this momentous occasion in the war that helped cement the

Pascal Jean Daigle was one of countless soldiers that fought and died for Canada in the First World War, which spanned from July 28th, 1914 until November 11th, 1918. The First World War acted as a breaking point for the tremendous amount of tension building up in the European Union and was the first time that our global community came together and converged against one common enemy. This time of war brought many deaths and affected millions of people. While this war hurt so many, it showed the enemies of the Allied Forces that the Allies were not a force to be thought of lightly and that together countries are much stronger than when separated. World War one is commonly known for its bloody battlefields, the closest thing humans have seen to hell on earth. The fields were scattered with dead bodies, and behind every single body was a family praying that their father, husband, or brother would come home. In the year of 1915, when Pascal enlisted, conscription was not formally introduced by the government. But by the work of propaganda and pressure from society it was very common for a young man like Pascal to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Contrary to Pascal’s life at war and in training, his life previous to the World War was quite slow paced.

These men, who had fought so valiantly, were among the brightest and the toughest are land had to offer. No one soldier was spot lighted as an overall hero in the Canadian Corps, they instead worked as a strong unit; this was orchestrated by the Officer Corps to make sure that the fighting force was strong from the bottom up and not from the top down. This was a new concept and made the bonding between Officers and Men stronger than any other Army. Yes, we were a country, but what is a country? This was the first opportunity to rally together from all provinces in such great numbers since 1867, yes there was the Boer War but the numbers were small in comparison to WWI and Vimy and for the first time we were under command of a Canadian Brigadier General and not a British Field Marshall. For once united, from one end of the land to the other, brothers in arms we could nail down our Nationalism. Vimy was fought with Canadians, plans were devised by Canadians, and for once we took center stage in the world. To quote from Brigadier General A.E. Ross, “In those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a

World War I, also known as The Great War and The War to End All Wars, was caused by a build-up of offenses and the multitude of complex treaties made between the many countries of Europe and the need for those treaties to be enforced. As a member of Great Britain’s imperial kingdom, Canada was expected to help on the war front, and the Canadians didn’t disappoint. Although an aspect that may be surprising about the Canadian effort is the amount of indigenous Canadians that participated. These indigenous Canadians made accomplishments for their people that included war notability, honor, and a need to promote their civil rights.

When it comes to Canadian History, perhaps the most controversial and widely disputable topic of debate would have to be one of Canada’s greatest wars: The War of 1812. A wide array of views are held on many aspects of the war ranging from who won to what ramifications the war would ultimately sire. In yet another discussion on the ever so controversial War of 1812, a new question was posed and deliberated by five historians: whose war, was it? Like any other question posed about this war a multitude of ideas would ultimately arise in each of their differing viewpoints. In their roundhouse discussion, the historians would ultimately serve to paint the War of 1812 as a war that transcends much further than the nationalistic view. A view that, though an important part of Canadian history, has been exaggerated to the point of choking out the many voices who fought and continue to fight for inclusion in the narrative. In their remembrance of the War of 1812, society unwittingly failed history in their lackluster commemorations which exclude important narratives and voices and stand tainted by the misuse of history to serve the nationalistic agenda.

The first major event that impacted Canada’s legacy, as a whole, was the sacrificial battle of Vimy Ridge. Vimy Ridge was proven to be essential to the foundation of Canada as it signified the birth of a new nation and it was considered to be the greatest battle fought, in World War One. Firstly, the Battle of Vimy Ridge established Canada’s emergence as a newly born nation from under the shadow of Britain and gave a verification of Canada’s prominence on the international level. For instance, after successfully regaining the ridge, it displayed to the British superpower, that Canada are worthy of independence, that must be granted upon as a reward for a significant victory (Fonseca). As a result, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, marked the end of British soldiers commanding Canadian troops, as Canada showed tremendous resilience internationally, and also proved that we are independently, capable of leading a well-organized attack against other countries (Fonseca). This milestone was a huge accomplishment for Canadians, as eventually this was the catalyst for total autonomy of Britain (“History Now”). Secondly, the Battle of Vimy Ridge gave Canada justified independence on the international stage. As a result of winning the complicated battle, Canada was deservedly permitted to their own independent seat and signature at the peace talks after the war. This then allowed Canada, to participate in voicing their thoughts, and plans as a newly independent country. This was seen to be,

When people look back and remember the First World War, they often remember the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand, the sinking of the Lusitania, or the Zimmerman telegram. Not often do they recall the role that Canada played in the war. However, Canadians were a significant factor of the Allies’ success. Although Canada only possessed two Navy warships at the time and was known for being a peaceful country, she supplied over 60,000,000 shells to the Allies’ troops and endured over 67,000 casualties and 173,000 men wounded across multiple battles. With that said, it could also be argued that internal political conflicts in Canada afflicted their overall contribution to the war. In fact,

In spite of the numerous lives taken and wrecked in the war, World War I ended up considerably changing the lives of Canadian women, markedly, for the better.

Soon after the outbreak of World War II, Trudeau began to study law at the Université de Montréal. Pierre was strongly against signing up to fight. Like most French Canadians at that time, he didn`t believe that it was just a war. Rumours about the Holocaust swirled around campus. Nothing could distract Pierre from his studies. A few months later, he heard a speech by Ernest Lapointe, who was Prime Minister Mackenzie King`s right-hand man and Quebec lieutenant. He promised the crowd that there would be no absolutely no conscription, or so Pierre thought.

To say Canada played an important role in World War Two would be an understatement. Canada’s significance in the war will forever be remembered as one of the greatest, and the Battle of Hong Kong is a prime example of just that. The fact that Canada provided troops even with the optional not to, and the struggles the troops endured not only on the battlefield, but as prisoners of war, and the amount of physical and moral support the Canadian soldiers gave to the British soldiers in Hong Kong is proof that Canada was a major contributor in World War Two.

When Britain called on Canada to help in World War One, Canadians dutifully volunteered. Many Canadians thought that this would be a glamorous adventure that they could not miss. However, Canadians were in for a rude awakening as this glamorous adventure turned out to be more than they bargained for. This was a new kind of war, one that cost Canadians dearly.

Canada’s contribution in the Allied war effort did not only come from Canadian soldiers, but also from regular, everyday citizens who never saw battle, such as those involved in the Canadian war industry, BCATP, and the Corps of Canadian Firefighters. The Canadian industry supplied a great deal of war materials for the Allies, producing “more than 800,000 military transport vehicles, 50,000 tanks, 40,000 field, naval, and anti-aircraft guns, and 1,700,000 small arms.”6 Canada’s strong war industry was required to produce as much ammunition, weapons, and vehicles as they could in order to defeat Germany, who had great industrial power at the time. In 1939, Canada became the home for major recruiting and training for pilots during the Second World War in an organization called the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Throughout the war, Canada had graduated 131,533 airmen, including pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators, air gunners and flight engineers.7 These men would later become involved in the war in the air, and their numbers would greatly contribute to the Allied air superiority.  During the Battle of Britain, German air forces relentlessly bombarded London and

With the death of the last veteran of World War One, the importance of conserving the history of the war is as important as ever (“Canada’s last WWI veteran dies” 28 Nov. 2017). The importance of Billy Bishop Goes to War honours the great Billy Bishop and comrades such as Albert Ball for their contribution to the war effort. Notably, he was the figurehead for the Allied forces and boosted the morale of soldiers. Now that more than a century has past, nobody is interested in war heros anymore (Charlebois and Nothoff 28 Nov. 2017). With World War 2 and world conflict, the younger Canadian generation has disconnected from caring about the sacrifice and compromises that soldiers in the

The life on the home front became a critical part of Canada’s effort on the war. The Homefront refers to the women, men, children and teenagers who worked in various ways to support the country as tens of thousands of soldiers had fought overseas. Within the home front there were many war factories that developed weapons, ammo and many other supplies needed for the war effort. Another critical part of Canada’s effort in the home front was the usage of many propaganda posters encouraging Canadians to join the war if they are fit and healthy men. These posters are fundamental in discussing the war since the men were ultimately conscripted into the war effort. Being of age had automatically enabled the men to fight patriotically for their nation.

In this November 23. 1944 issue of The Canadian Statesman we get a glimpse of this newspapers vast history. Starting on its front page of the paper one article would stand out to the readers would be “Legion Announces Their Stand on the Reinforcement Issue” (The Canadian Statesman, Pg.1) in this brief article it informs the reader that “We the Members of Branch No. 178, Canadian Legion, Bowmanville, regret your stand regarding draftees. We believe conscription for overseas service is the only fair and honorable method and that equality of sacrifice should be the basis of our war effort.” (The Canadian Statesman, Pg.1)