How World War 1 Changed Canada Essay

How World War One Changed Canada for the Good

Nineteen fourteen was the dawn of one of the most significant and grueling moments in our world's history; World War One. Sixty-thousand brave Canadians respectfully lost their lives for the safety of millions, and many questioned if these loses had any beneficial effects on Canada. At the time, Canadians were more worried about the nation being divided by unemployment, conscription, and this horrible massacre. However, in the present time there is a much different perspective on World War One. Women's rights, technology, and Canada’s independence were all significantly affected. World War One, aside from the catastrophic battles and millions of casualties, had major positive effects on Canada’s

However, throughout World War One, lots of new technology was made and lots of old ones were improved to make fighting more efficient for countries. The biggest war technology was, and still is today, the airplane. At first, they were used for spying and gathering information about what your enemy’s next move was. Soon after, they started being used for bombing, then became fully equipped with machine guns. Fighting in the air was one of the most dangerous jobs of the war. Machine guns were also first used, and Artillery, Ross Rifles, and tanks were greatly improved. Two very dangerous war weapons that go down in history were chlorine gas and shrapnel. Chlorine gas was deadly, and was first used by the Germans at Ypres, Belgium. It was unbearable, but, while some troops fled in panic, the Canadians held their ground by holding cloths with urine on them to their faces, despite the high casualties, and the independent reputation was never tarnished (Bercuson, David J, and J. L. Granatstein). One Canadian man by the name of Norman Ross fought at Ypres. In his diary, he wrote “Well, here I am in England, slightly wounded in my right hip and side from shrapnel, a shell bursting almost on top of me, and it is miraculous how I got off so lucky. Am also suffering a little from the effects of the gas which was thrown at us, and my condition would have been much worse had I not had my nose and mouth covered with my

Canada got its independence in 1867, however still had a strong connection to the British empire. Canada was forced into the war because of its ties to their mother country, Britain. However, as the war progressed, Canadians began fighting out of pride for their country. Canada didn’t want to be seen as only part of the British Empire, therefore they fought hard so they could be viewed as independent. Ypres was the first battle where Canada entered the front line, on April twenty-second, nineteen fifteen. When the Germans released one hundred sixty tons of chlorine gas, Canada stayed strong and closed the gaps until British reinforcements arrived-proving their strength and abilities (Was The Great