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The Conscription Election
A skilled politician, Sir Robert Borden knew he had to maximize the support
for conscription and minimize the impact of those who opposed it – the
French, pacifists, farmers and trade union leaders. Before the fall election
he brought forward several measures that would ensure victory. The Military Voters
Act disallowed so-called “enemy aliens” – citizens of enemy
countries who had become citizens since 1902 – from voting. It also extended
the vote to soldiers at home and overseas and, for the first time, extended the
vote to women – the wives, sisters and mothers of soldiers as well as women
active in the armed forces.
Borden’s strategy would prove successful. On October 6, 1917, Parliament
was dissolved and six days later, he announced that he had formed a Union Government,
pulling in nine provincial premiers, one trade unionist and 12 Conservatives
to form the cabinet. The December 17, 1917, election was a tough |
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one, predictably splitting the country
along language lines, but Borden’s Union Government prevailed, taking 153
seats to Laurier's 82. Despite the apparent strong majority, if the soldiers'
votes weren’t counted, only 100,000 votes separated the parties. The Military
Service Act came into effect on August 29, 1917, ending the promise made in 1914
of an all-volunteer army. |
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Second
Canadian Expeditionary Force 23rd Battalion
Despite
the province's ambivalent attitude to war, many young French Canadians signed
up for the fight. |
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