How Did Ww1 Affect The Economy In 1914

In the short years leading to World War one, the country was deeply in debt which in turn was devastating to the Canadian economy. There was a wide spread drought causing great hardship onto Canadian wheat production and farmers, with such low production the expanding railway system of the time could no longer find it feasible to run much of Canada’s large railway network, causing the job loss of 50,000 workers in 1914 alone. When Canada was forced to contribute to the war in the coming months of 1914 the Canadian government had crushing public debt, resulting not only in mass munitions and equipment shortages for the soldiers being sent overseas but, contract cancellations, severe cutbacks, and mass layoffs. The

Washington suggested that Ottawa must follow suit and raise customs duties, postal rates, and tariffs on imported goods. Policies that the government did not want to do. The pre war budget was one hundred and eighty million dollars, with these new efforts and policies the national budget quadrupled to seven hundred and forty million. However, this still was not enough as due to the war the national debt sky rocketed to one billion and two hundred million dollars. Of course Ottawa knew that these new policies were not enough. So, the government started asking Canadians to invest in the war through “victory bonds”, framing this new program as every Canadians “patriotic duty” to help with this new debt. The outcome of the new program exceeded Ottawa's expectations in Canadian willingness to contribute during the first victory bond drive raising one hundred million dollars, twice the amount they thought they would raise. Future drives proved just as successful. Alongside this a new effort was created, the Imperial Munitions Board. With these new efforts in 1915 the Board became the largest employer in Canada, employing over one hundred and