Unit 3: How Did WWII Affect Canada? Pt. 2

  As Europe was becoming a battleground for World War II, the Canadian government was transforming majorly.  Because Canada had not previously produced the machinery that they needed for the war, minister of munitions C.D. Howe lead massive government intervention in Canadian industry during the war. Railway shops began manufacturing tanks, automobile companies began creating army vehicles, and Canada started producing war machines that it never had before. New Crown corporations were also created to contribute to the war effort in Europe. By the end of the war, there were twenty-eight Crown Corporations that produced everything from wood, to synthetic plastic, to uranium for the atomic bomb. To prevent a trade deficit, Prime Minister Mackenzie King and President Teddy Roosevelt signed the Hyde Park Declaration, which guaranteed that the U.S. would purchase products from Canadian industries worth around the same as the products that Canada purchased from the U.S. This marked a major milestone in close economic ties between Canada and the U.S. Large tax increases, forced savings and the sale of victory bonds were all tools that the Canadian government used to control a potentially crippling inflation. By restricting the money that Canadians had in their wallets, the government left them with less money to spend on consumer items (which were limited because production was being mainly used for war machines). These government involvements with Canadian life changed the nature of governments in Canada, and lead to the creation of newer Crown corporations such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).