Canada in WWI: Recruitment, Readiness, and Wartime Roles

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Canadian recruitment, economic and military readiness, discriminatory policies, and the roles of marginalized groups and women in World War I.

Wilfrid Laurier

Liberal leader and Prime Minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911 who declared that all Canadians stood united behind the 'Mother Country' (Great Britain) to save civilization from conquest.

Economic Depression in Canada (1914)

The severe economic downturn facing Canada prior to WWI, marked by a high unemployment rate, factory closures, an absence of railway jobs, and a 2-year drought that ruined the Prairie wheat crop.

Canadian Military Readiness (1914)

The state of Canada's military at the start of WWI, consisting of a small and unprepared force where $25\%$ of soldiers were born in Britain, were paid $\$1.10\text{/day}$, and came from all walks of life such as factory workers, doctors, lawyers, and miners.

Reasons for Enlisting in WWI

Motivations for Canadian recruits to join the war effort, which included seeking a great adventure, believing the war would end quickly, securing a guaranteed income and food, and obtaining family security or a pension plan.

Indigenous Soldiers in WWI

A group of $4000$ men (representing $35\%$ of Indigenous men) who fought out of loyalty to the British king as descendants of Queen Victoria's treaty partners, though they were not encouraged to enlist until high casualty rates occurred at the front.

Aboriginal Status Relinquishment

The discriminatory legal requirement forcing Indigenous men to surrender their Aboriginal status in order to enlist in the military during WWI.

No. 2 Construction Battalion

A segregated, non-combat battalion created in 1916 for Black Canadian men after they faced rejection from white recruiting officers, tasked with digging trenches, loading ammunition, and laying railway tracks.

Enemy Aliens

The label applied to German and Ukrainian immigrants in Canada due to suspicions that they might be spies, leading to the confinement of $8000$ individuals in internment camps.

Asian Canadian Enlistment Policy

The discriminatory policy that barred Asian Canadians from officially enlisting in the army, although a few individual battalions accepted a limited number.

Canadian Nurses in WWI

A group of $3000$ women who served near the front lines facing risks of death, wounding, infection, and disease, while women were prohibited from enlisting as soldiers, pilots, or sailors.

Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD)

An organization that urgently recruited women for support roles such as nursing members, cooks, kitchen-maids, clerks, house-maids, ward-maids, laundresses, and motor-drivers.

Women's Non-Combat Support Roles

Wartime positions held by Canadian women, which included serving as $1000$ drivers in the air force, operating as ambulance drivers, and working support roles with the Red Cross.