Women during World War II
Women were a very big part of the war in Canada, Canadian
women were accepted as citizens to fulfill the void of
"manpower" at home. The largest contribution by the majority of Canadian women was through unpaid voluntary work where women were able to display their domestic abilities and skills for the support of the national war effort. These abilities and contributions were then praised as essential to winning the war at home and overseas In 1942 Ottawa registered all women born between
1918 and 1922, those then ages 20 to 24, into the Selective Service to meet
possible labor shortages. In 1943-1944, some 439,000 women were in the service sectors of the Canadian economy, 373,000 had jobs in manufacturing, and of these about 261,000 worked directly in the munitions industries. Also Women worked at red cross and volunteered at soldiers canteens and knitted socks for soldiers at the front. Canada in 1940 had just started to build patrol
vessels for the protection of its own coasts, but Britain soon placed orders
for 26 ten-thousand-tonne cargo ships. Canadian interwar
shipbuilding industry. Three shipyards employing fewer than 4,000 men and women, expanded to 90 plants on the East and West Coasts, the Great Lakes and even
inland. More than 126,000 men and women were employed. In all, the shipyards
built 4,047 naval vessels, most of them landing craft but including over 300
anti-submarine warships, among them 4 Tribal class destroyers, and 410 cargo
ships. Since Women were working that meant working mothers needed access to childcare. In anticipation of mothers in the workforce, the Federal Minister of Labour was empowered to enter into agreements for the establishment of daycare facilities for the children of mothers working in war industries.
Food Rations in Canada
Particularly after the fall of France in June 1940, Canadian food exports provided an essential lifeline to Britain. In addition to food conservation, nutrition also
emerged as a national priority during the early years of the war. In 1941,
following warnings from the country’s leading nutrition experts that upwards of
60% of Canada was suffering from some form of vitamin and mineral
deficiency. Food rations were introduced to limit the use of imported food and to free up supplies for the military and their allies. The government introduced rationing because certain things were in short supply, and to ensure that everyone got their fair share.Every family member was issued a ration book. Six different series of books were issued, however, only book one had serial numbers printed on them. Each book contained coupons for tea, coffee, and sugar, along with spares in the event that other products would be rationed.
"Canada has determined to change the eating habits of a nation, because she has learned that efficient production of food is only half the victory. It takes efficient consumption, too, to give full meaning to the slogan, ‘Food will win the war.’"1
In 1939, Prime Minister Mackenzie King had a dream which he believed was a sign of "the power of the airplane in determining ultimate victory" for the war effort. That dream became a reality in the form of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP).Canadians mobilized to take part in this huge undertaking, an army of experts had to be assembled, airfields developed and equipment, including airplanes, had to be obtained. Between 1940 and 1945, around 151 schools had been established across Canada with a ground organization of 104,113 men and women. The exhaustive curriculum and intensive schedule of classroom and flight training turned out air crew members at a dizzying pace, ready to serve overseas.