French Canadians

French Canadians, concentrated in the province of Quebec, constituted some 3 million of Canada's population of just under 11.5 million people in 1939. French-speaking Canadians resolutely opposed a major Canadian contribution to the Second World War. Their attitude was grounded in history and bolstered by memories of racial injustice and political slights. British imperial sentiment had no appeal in francophone Quebec, and nationaliste leaders, who had opposed participation in the Boer War and any contribution to imperial defence, insisted that the Dominion's duty was limited to defending Canadian territory. The burning resentment engendered by events of the First World War, when Quebec's opposition to conscription had been overridden and a coalition government formed without French-speaking representation, inevitably coloured attitudes to the new war.

The Liberal government of Mackenzie King, strong in Quebec, had shaped its pre-war foreign and defence policy with a constant eye on French Canadian sensitivities, and the prime minister managed to bring a united Canada into the hostilities by promising a war of ‘limited liability’ and pledging that his government would not impose conscription for overseas service. That satisfied the Quebeckers, who had few objections to voluntary enlistment. But after the fall of France, the government, through the National Resources Mobilization Act 1940, put conscription for home defence in place; ‘the first bite at the cherry’, some said. By early 1942, pressures for ‘total war’ in English Canada led the government to seek release from its no-conscription pledge of 1939 in a plebiscite. English Canada voted overwhelmingly to free the government (e.g. 82% in Ontario); responding to a skilful campaign by La ligue pour la défense du Canada, however, Quebec said ‘no’ by 73% to 27%, with most of the ‘yes’ vote coming from English-speaking Canadians. Stunned by the result, King limited himself to putting enabling legislation through parliament. Not until the autumn of 1944, with the whole Canadian Army in action and infantry reinforcement scarce, did the government send conscripts, of whom under 40% were French-speaking, overseas. The popular reaction in Quebec was fierce but brief, and the King government's narrow re-election in June 1945 was largely achieved thanks to Quebec's support.

Domestic politics aside, French Canada's military effort in the war was substantial. In contrast to the First World War, when perhaps no more than 15–20,000 enlisted, from its 1941 population of 699,000 men between the ages of 18 and 45, Quebec sent 12,404 into the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), 24,768 into the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and 138,269 volunteers and conscripts into the army. Part of this enlistment was English-speaking, of course, but francophones in other provinces also volunteered. As recruits were not categorized by language, no firm statistics exist, but estimates are that upwards of 150,000 francophones served, and served well. No French-speaking army officer in field command rose as high as major-general, but there were many brigade and battalion commanders of distinction, and several francophone infantry units such as Le Royal 22e Régiment, Le Régiment de la Chaudiére, and Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal created fine fighting records. One RCAF squadron, the Alouette, was also largely French-speaking, but in the RCN and RCAF most of the French speakers were scattered.

J. L. Granatstein

Bibliography

Granatstein J. L., and and Hitsman, J. M. , Broken Promises: A History Of Conscription In Canada (Toronto, 1976).
Stacey, C. P. , Arms, Men And Governments: The War Policies Of Canada 1939–1945 (Ottawa, 1970).