HIS263Y1 Lecture : lecture
Document Summary
Robert borden took canada into the first world war. I t begins with the assassination of the archduke ferdinand. Germany invaded belgium and britain declared war to protect belgium. Canada was automatically at war, once britain declared war, but it still held the power to arm troops or not. There is no question that canada will send troops. The initial reaction to the war is extremely enthusiastic. Canada stood shoulder to shoulder" with britain according to borden. Henri bourassa also gave support to the idea. Enthusiasm for the war is not just occurring at the level of the elites but is in the population as well. At the beginning of wwi (1914), canada was not very well prepared. The permanent army consisted of about 3000 troops and a militia of 60000. The training consisted of a few nights at the armoury and a type of training camp.
