INTRODUCTION
When the Second World War began, Canadian industrywas still
struggling in the midst of a bumpy and uncertainrecovery from the
Great Depression. The mobilizationof our country’s industrial
potential during the war wasnothing less than revolutionary and led
to significantchanges in the conditions experienced by workers
inCanada. With the coming of the war, the governmentwould suddenly
find itself actively involved in buildingproduction plants,
training a work force, controllingwages and prices, managing labour
disputes, andregulating the movement of employees seeking to
changejobs.
■ During the Second World War, Canadian industriesmanufactured
war materials and other supplies forCanada, the United States,
Britain and other Alliedcountries. The total value of Canadian
warproduction was almost $10 billion – approximately$100 billion in
today’s dollars.
■ In 1940, the Honourable C.D. Howe became theMinister of the
newly-created Department ofMunitions and Supply. This government
departmentcontrolled and coordinated all aspects of
warproduction.
■ This department was, in a sense, one of the biggestbusinesses
in the world. It coordinated all purchasesmade in Canada by British
and other Alliedgovernments for things like military
transportvehicles, tanks, cargo and military ships, aircraft,guns
and small arms, ammunition as well asuniforms, minesweeping
equipment, parachutes,firefighting equipment and hospital supplies.
It alsocreated 28 Crown corporations to produceeverything from
rifles to synthetic rubber.
Veterans AffairsCanada
Anciens CombattantsCanada
THE GENIUS OF “BITS AND PIECES”
Though much was invested in new plants, plantexpansions and
technological upgrading, industryshowed a remarkable talent for
adapting existing spaceand technology to fit the needs of wartime
production.Harry J. Carmichael – a Vice President of GeneralMotors
who had been loaned to the Department ofMunitions and Supply for
one dollar a year – broughtwith him a genius for sub-contracting.
Called the “bitsand pieces program” by C.D. Howe, Mr.
Carmichael’sinitiative brought scores of small, unproductive
factoriesinto production even though the British had ratedthem as
little better than garages at the start of the war.
■ For example, the Canadian Cycle and Motor Co.Ltd. of Weston,
Ontario, which had made bicyclesand hockey skates before the war,
took over themanufacture of armaments including gun parts,tripods
for Bren guns, and cradles and pivots foranti-tank guns.
■ There were spin off industries born of wartimeconditions. For
example, Industrial EngineeringLtd. of Vancouver produced a
much-improvedchainsaw. This development increased the efficiencyof
lumberjacks and also allowed some people tocut wood who otherwise
would not be physicallyable to do the job. In these ways, the new
chainsawhelped fill the gap created by the lumber industry’sloss of
personnel to military service.
■ Liquid Carbonic Canadian Corporation, a Quebeccompany, had a
soda fountain division which wasturned over to building tank
parts.
A COUNTRY GETS TO WORK
On the heels of the crippling depression and staggeringlevels of
unemployment of the 1930's, the coming of
Photo: B
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through National Selective Service offices. As well,employees
were prohibited from seeking otheremployment without a permit.
THE AFTERMATH
Perhaps most remarkably, Canadian industry, whichhad “geared up”
for war, did not gear down greatly inits aftermath. Some jobs
disappeared, certainly, butthey were replaced by other employment.
C.D. Howewas again involved, this time in charge of the
newDepartment of Reconstruction, which overcame apotential economic
crisis by orchestrating the transitionfrom a wartime economy to a
peacetime one. In 1948,unemployment was still at a minimum; steel
mills wereexceeding their wartime capacity while the demand
foraluminum held. Canada had become the third largesttrading nation
in the world. Best of all, the war seemedto have taught Canada the
value of our “human capital”and things would never again be the
same for Canadianworkers.
THE LEGACY
The collective experiences and stories of all theCanadians,
including those who worked in industry,who contributed to the
national effort during the SecondWorld War provided our country
with a proud andlasting legacy that will continue into the future.
To learnmore about Canada’s efforts during the Second WorldWar,
please visit the Veterans Affairs Canada Web siteat:
www.vac-acc.gc.ca or call 1-877-604-8469toll-free.
war meant Canada suddenly needed every worker itcould get. To
set up for the new industrial growth andhelp smooth the way for
efficient production, severalrelated issues also had to be
addressed.
■ To meet the needs of workers who had to relocatein order to
work in the new munitions plants andother industries, the
Department of Munitions andSupply established a Crown corporation
calledWartime Housing Ltd. Though the original planwas to build
temporary housing, it soon becameapparent that the housing would
have to be ofadequate quality in order to ensure that the
buildingswould be habitable for decades. This corporationproduced
two basic house models: a two-bedroomresidence that sold for $1,982
and a four-bedroomresidence that went for $2,680.
■ The federal government entered into agreementswith the
provinces to share the cost of day-carefacilities required by many
working mothers engagedin wartime industries (although, most
commonly,the important task of child care fell to other
familymembers or community volunteers).
■ Out of Canada’s population of 11.3 million, thetotal number of
workers engaged in essential warindustries was 1,049,876, with
approximately2,100,000 more engaged full-time in what was
called“essential civilian employment”, which includedagriculture,
communications, and food processing.
■ To ensure that wages remained under control andto curb
inflation, the government established theNational Selective Service
Regulations, prohibitingemployers from advertising for workers
except
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