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Embattled Nation: Canada's Wartime Election of 1917
Embattled Nation explores Canada’s tumultuous wartime election of 1917 and the people and issues that made it a pivotal moment in Canadian history.
Embattled Nation explores the drama of Canada’s tumultuous election of 1917. In the context of the bloody battles of Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, Passchendaele, and of the Halifax explosion, Sir Robert Borden’s Conservative government introduced conscription and called for a wartime election. Most Liberals, led by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, opposed compulsory military service, while in Quebec a new movement emerged to contest the Canadian government’s attitude and policy. To survive and win the election, Prime Minister Borden resorted to unprecedented measures that tested the fabric of Canadian democracy.
Embattled Nation explores the drama of Canada’s tumultuous election of 1917. In the context of the bloody battles of Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, Passchendaele, and of the Halifax explosion, Sir Robert Borden’s Conservative government introduced conscription and called for a wartime election. Most Liberals, led by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, opposed compulsory military service, while in Quebec a new movement emerged to contest the Canadian government’s attitude and policy. To survive and win the election, Prime Minister Borden resorted to unprecedented measures that tested the fabric of Canadian democracy.
360 pages, ebook
Published October 7, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 23, 2025
As Canada prepares for some turbulent times south of the border, it would be remiss not to talk about some of the political fallout within our own borders as well. An election has been set for April 2025 and I wanted to do a little Election Prep for Canada, as I have done for US presidential elections in years past. We have a prime minister who has resigned due to some really poor polling numbers and a salivating Leader of the Opposition wanting to topple the tower right away for his own benefit. This entire experience could be extra fun, as there are whispers from high in Washington that the upcoming election could be the last for Canada as a sovereign country before we become the 51st state. Let’s see where this reading journey takes us!
Patrice Dutil and David MacKenzie explore one of the most divisive and controversial elections in Canada, which is saying quite a bit in today’s culture. They seek to explain events that led up to the 1917 Federal Election and put things into perspective, from the various characters who played a role to the sentiments that bound and divided Canada at the time. While this was a wartime election, it was so much more and, as the authors posit, was the closest that Canada came to a political civil war. Stellar in its delivery and educational value, Dutil and MacKenzie had me hooked from the opening pages and throughout this well-paced tome.
Elections are meant to bring a county together, as well as show their fault lines, usually based on political affiliation. As Patrice Dutil and David MacKenzie seek to show in this book, Canada in the early 20th century was one that had a robust nature and was eager to remove its training wheels. The country was still in its adolescence as an independent country from Britain, but was seen as one of the senior members of the next generation. With leadership of the two main political parties—Robert Borden and the governing Conservatives contrasted by Wilfrid Laurier and the Liberals—in good hands, Canada was ready for whatever came its way. The emergence of the Great War in 1914 saw Canada’s Parliament enact legislation to send support to Britain, with few protests from either side of the aisle. However, this would begin a set of events that started to turn Canada and drive a wedge that few saw at the time as being anything but a minor irritation. It is on this matter that the authors base their book and begin educating the reader effectively.
The Borden Government had served Canada well since 1911 and sought to push the country towards added independence, while also recognising its Commonwealth ties. Borden was a man of principle and wanted to push Canada towards added independence, using the country’s various strengths. With the onset of war, Borden sent troops into the European theatre, where they served well and promoted the Canadian strengths that Borden wanted to see. Even Laurier could not criticise how Canadian troops made names for themselves and saved the two military powerhouses, England and France, on countless occasions.
But with the war, Borden did not want to put the Canadian electorate on edge by sending them to the polls, even as the British North America Act, 1867 (the formal name of the Canadian Constitution) demanded it. Borden worked with Laurier and passed an agreement to extend the time between elections for one year, feeling that fighting would be over and Canada would be back on its feet. This did not come to pass, forcing Borden to make a few significant decisions that would create tension. First, extending the vote to soldiers, but only those who had strong Canadian roots. Secondly, extending a partial universal suffrage to women who had men involved or impacted by the war. Third, to conscript Canadian men across the country to join the war effort. Herein began the numerous issues.
Borden could not get Laurier to extend the election a second time, but also sought to push conscription as the central pillar of the election campaign, as Liberals would not pass the bill in Parliament beforehand. The authors explore this reasoning by looking at how conscription would require Quebec to send its boys to Europe to fight, while schools in Ontario sought to scrub French language from its schools. This kick in the teeth was not lost on Laurier, who did not want to force soldier participation, as there was a definitive soreness.
The book's central chapters explore these issues, as well as the 'defection' of some Liberals to a Borden united government party, presented as Union Government. While Laurier fought as best he could, sticking with his Quebec brethren and those who did not see the benefit of a multi-party coalition for wartime. The campaign receives much analysis, as well as reception by both the English and French. The culmination of election results show a clear support for Union candidates and provided Borden with a strong mandate for the rest of the war and into the rebuilding era. Laurier was decimated, as were the Liberals, but the country was also strongly divided and without a means of coming together with ease. Quebec felt its first true snub and would, according to some, remember this for decades to come!
The central events in this book were not known to me more than in passing, making Patrice Dutil and David MacKenzie's storytelling all the more vivid for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the backstory that provided the foundation for the book's core arguments, which the authors present in a clear and concise way. The explanations worked well to provide the reader with the needed context before tossing them into the middle of the election campaign and results. There is no doubt that the country proved more divided than united by the end result, though the ballot box would not tell the true story. Dutil and MacKenzie illustrate this and forebode what is to come for decades thereafter, which lays the groundwork for another set of historical happenings. With chapters divided around central topics, the reader can navigate through the issues with ease, while also getting a taste for election campaigns and the bullying posters that were used to sway opinions. A strong book that provided a wonderful undertone to what happened and the fallout from it, I can only hope to find more by both authors to see how it compares.
Kudos, Messrs. Dutil and MacKenzie, for this stunning depiction of Canadian history!
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Patrice Dutil and David MacKenzie explore one of the most divisive and controversial elections in Canada, which is saying quite a bit in today’s culture. They seek to explain events that led up to the 1917 Federal Election and put things into perspective, from the various characters who played a role to the sentiments that bound and divided Canada at the time. While this was a wartime election, it was so much more and, as the authors posit, was the closest that Canada came to a political civil war. Stellar in its delivery and educational value, Dutil and MacKenzie had me hooked from the opening pages and throughout this well-paced tome.
Elections are meant to bring a county together, as well as show their fault lines, usually based on political affiliation. As Patrice Dutil and David MacKenzie seek to show in this book, Canada in the early 20th century was one that had a robust nature and was eager to remove its training wheels. The country was still in its adolescence as an independent country from Britain, but was seen as one of the senior members of the next generation. With leadership of the two main political parties—Robert Borden and the governing Conservatives contrasted by Wilfrid Laurier and the Liberals—in good hands, Canada was ready for whatever came its way. The emergence of the Great War in 1914 saw Canada’s Parliament enact legislation to send support to Britain, with few protests from either side of the aisle. However, this would begin a set of events that started to turn Canada and drive a wedge that few saw at the time as being anything but a minor irritation. It is on this matter that the authors base their book and begin educating the reader effectively.
The Borden Government had served Canada well since 1911 and sought to push the country towards added independence, while also recognising its Commonwealth ties. Borden was a man of principle and wanted to push Canada towards added independence, using the country’s various strengths. With the onset of war, Borden sent troops into the European theatre, where they served well and promoted the Canadian strengths that Borden wanted to see. Even Laurier could not criticise how Canadian troops made names for themselves and saved the two military powerhouses, England and France, on countless occasions.
But with the war, Borden did not want to put the Canadian electorate on edge by sending them to the polls, even as the British North America Act, 1867 (the formal name of the Canadian Constitution) demanded it. Borden worked with Laurier and passed an agreement to extend the time between elections for one year, feeling that fighting would be over and Canada would be back on its feet. This did not come to pass, forcing Borden to make a few significant decisions that would create tension. First, extending the vote to soldiers, but only those who had strong Canadian roots. Secondly, extending a partial universal suffrage to women who had men involved or impacted by the war. Third, to conscript Canadian men across the country to join the war effort. Herein began the numerous issues.
Borden could not get Laurier to extend the election a second time, but also sought to push conscription as the central pillar of the election campaign, as Liberals would not pass the bill in Parliament beforehand. The authors explore this reasoning by looking at how conscription would require Quebec to send its boys to Europe to fight, while schools in Ontario sought to scrub French language from its schools. This kick in the teeth was not lost on Laurier, who did not want to force soldier participation, as there was a definitive soreness.
The book's central chapters explore these issues, as well as the 'defection' of some Liberals to a Borden united government party, presented as Union Government. While Laurier fought as best he could, sticking with his Quebec brethren and those who did not see the benefit of a multi-party coalition for wartime. The campaign receives much analysis, as well as reception by both the English and French. The culmination of election results show a clear support for Union candidates and provided Borden with a strong mandate for the rest of the war and into the rebuilding era. Laurier was decimated, as were the Liberals, but the country was also strongly divided and without a means of coming together with ease. Quebec felt its first true snub and would, according to some, remember this for decades to come!
The central events in this book were not known to me more than in passing, making Patrice Dutil and David MacKenzie's storytelling all the more vivid for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the backstory that provided the foundation for the book's core arguments, which the authors present in a clear and concise way. The explanations worked well to provide the reader with the needed context before tossing them into the middle of the election campaign and results. There is no doubt that the country proved more divided than united by the end result, though the ballot box would not tell the true story. Dutil and MacKenzie illustrate this and forebode what is to come for decades thereafter, which lays the groundwork for another set of historical happenings. With chapters divided around central topics, the reader can navigate through the issues with ease, while also getting a taste for election campaigns and the bullying posters that were used to sway opinions. A strong book that provided a wonderful undertone to what happened and the fallout from it, I can only hope to find more by both authors to see how it compares.
Kudos, Messrs. Dutil and MacKenzie, for this stunning depiction of Canadian history!
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
September 6, 2020
A very concise yet in-depth digest of Canada's first conscription crisis. It hits a few bum notes on occasion (almost as if it doesn't quite realize just how terrible it really was...or the continuing consequences) but this remains a fantastic history resource, especially for high school history teachers such as myself.
April 30, 2018
Wonderfully written book. I love history when it is written like you are talking with someone, not receiving a lecture. Lots of great information and an insight into the French/English issues.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews