The impact WWI had on Canada
Posted November 11, 2018 10:29 am.
Last Updated November 11, 2018 10:40 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – It was on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month. Today marks 100 years after the end of what was known as the Great War at the time.
“I think it’s very important for Canadians to remember what their great grandfathers did in the first world war,” said historian Jack Granatstein, who adds Canada had an impact in WWI and the war also greatly impacted us.
Granatstein says Canada had humble beginnings at the start of the war, but it would become one of the defining moments in our country’s history.
“The Canadian corp starting from nothing we had basically no military to speak of at the beginning of the war and then developed into one of the best formations among the allies.”
Granatstein says this was an essential part of our nation building. He says Canada became the tip of the spear in waning months of the war, especially in the 100 days before the armistice.
“The victories they won were genuinely decisive,” he said. And while Canada remained a colony of Britain after the war, Granatstein says this was a moment where we proved ourselves to be a separate entity.
“Canada hadn’t become independent, but it had become much more autonomous during the war. It had taken a big step towards independence.”
