World War 1 was a historic event which began in 1914 and ended in 1918. This bloody conflict took the lives of more than 17 million people who were fighting for their countries. Being a British colony at the time, Canada was dragged into the war that did not impact the country in any way, yet thousands of Canadians volunteered to devote their lives for their nation. The first World War had the greatest impact on Canadian history during the 20th century, as this event helped Canada gain more independence from Britain, it helped introduce women in the workforce, and also introduced non-white Canadians in the army. For the longest time, Canada had been under British control, however, this changed a bit after World War 1 took place. Of the 630,000 Canadians that served in the war, more than 10,500 either sacrificed their lives or got injured in a World War 1 battle that changed the way Canadians looked at themselves (Morton, Desmond. "First World War (WWI)." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 …show more content…
Aboriginals such as Francis Pegahmagabow were given the opportunity to fight since they were excellent snipers. More than 4,000 Aboriginal people served in the Canadian forces in World War 1 ("Aboriginal contributions during the First World War." Government of Canada; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. N.p., 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Jan. 2017.). As well, many African-Canadians wanted to contribute to the war but could not, due to the racism present at the time. Therefore, after sending many letters to the Canadian government, they were able to join the war but as the No. 2 Construction Battalion, meaning they were not allowed to fight with any weapons. This battalion was a separate unit and the first and only all-black battalion in Canadian military history (Ruck, Lindsay. "No. 2 Construction Battalion." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan.