When you consider the effects that World War I had on Canadian politics (and even Canadian society in general), you can see that it had a number of profound ramifications, some of which endure to this day. I will briefly discuss three of the largest effects of the war below.
One effect was to deepen the divide between English and French-speaking Canadians. For the most part, French Canadians opposed their country's involvement in the war. This led to a rise in Quebec nationalism, a movement that endured for generations. Shortly after the war's end, the first motion for Quebecois independence was raised in the Quebec national assembly. In a way, support and opposition to this led to the end of the previous two-party system in Parliament. From it was born numerous federal and provincial political parties.
The war also led to an increase in federal authority in Canada. A new income tax was implemented to raise money for the war effort. After the war, this tax provided funds for numerous progressive social welfare programs and institutions.
Canada's involvement in World War I also led to women's suffrage. With thousands of women entering the workforce to fill vacancies left by the men fighting in Europe, women became more empowered and politicians more eager to support their rights. This resulted in more women being granted access to the polls in various parts of the country during the war years.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/how-wwi-upended-canada-s-political-social-and-economic-norms-1.4162799
https://www.macleans.ca/after-fighting-nation-changed/
In Canada, the stance that different politicians and their parties during the Great War affected their post-war influence. The position on conscription (draft) was one such factor. Many Canadians initially argued that the war was a European problem for which British, not Canadian, troops should be deployed. Prime Minister Laurier opposed conscription. With the increasing threat of German victory and the US entry into the war, this became a minority position. Laurier’s party was voted out, and Robert Borden’s Union party became a dominant force.
Divisions between the French and British sectors of Canadian society became more pronounced during the war and continued afterward as a clear separation between their interests.
Canada’s position as a nation was strengthened in relationship to its commonwealth status; for example, Canada, having been a signer to the Treaty of Versailles, became a member of the League of Nations.
https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/after-the-war/legacy/the-wars-impact-on-canada/
The effect of WWI on Canadian politics included:
1) Great autonomy for Canada
Canada, as a self-governing dominion, became less dependent on Britain. Britain greatly depended on Canada’s effort in the war for armaments and soldiers. This gave Canada greater authority, and Canada’s prime minister (Robert Borden) attended the Paris Peace Conference as part of the British Empire delegation. Canada, independently, also became a founding member of the League of Nations. Eventually, Britain’s war-time promise to re-evaluate the constitutional arrangements between it and its dominions led to the statute of Westminster (11 December, 1931), which granted full legal freedom to Canada.
2) Women gained the right to vote and increasingly participated in the workforce
The nature of the workforce changed as men fought in the war. Before the war, women participated in the workforce (e.g., school teaching and secretarial work), but this was further accentuated during the war as women took the place of men due to labour shortages. This participation in the workforce impacted on the organization of women's suffrage groups, and eventually women were given the right to vote in 1918. The right was not universal and exclusions remained for Asian men and women and Indigenous women and men.
3) Labour organized
The war effort burdened Canada, and this led to massive unemployment and inflation, leading to labour unrest and strikes. The government responded to the General Winnipeg Strike—Canada’s best-known strike—with arrests and violence. Post-war strikes and labour organization impacted labour relations in the coming decades.
4) Government intervention during and after the war contributed to the emergence of a social welfare state in Canada.
Further Reading:
The New Penguin History of Canada (Robert Bothwell)
The Canadian Encyclopedia
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/winnipeg-general-strike/
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/statute-of-westminster/
Canadian War Museum
http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/after-the-war/legacy/the-wars-impact-on-canada/
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