The British Empire declared war! 30,000 Canadian volunteers congregated at Valcartier to fight for King and country. These men, known as the First Contingent, sailed for England in October. Borden’s government passed the War Measures Act.

On the Western Front, the outnumbered Canadian Division prevented a major German breakthrough during the Second Battle of Ypres, losing a third of its forces in the process. The gravity of the war became jarringly apparent as the long lists of casualties appeared in newspapers across Canada.

The calamitous British Somme offensive decimated the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel. The Canadian Corps is ordered to that front to help salvage the situation and achieved a limited victory at Courcelette. Battle-hardened Canadians steeled themselves for what laid ahead.

War raged on the Western Front and at home. Borden’s government adopted conscription despite the protests of a deeply divided country while the Canadian Corps distinguished itself in a succession of battles at Vimy Ridge, Hill 70 and Passchendaele.

The Canadian Corps spearheaded the final victory campaign. Over 96 days, the Corps took in succession Amiens, Cambrai, Valenciennes and Mons, suffering over 45, 000 casualties! On November 11, the bloodiest war in Canadian history ended.

The Treaty of Versailles is signed in June. Borden travelled to Paris to take part in the peace negotiations, intending that Canada be properly recognized for its sacrifices. He succeeded: Canada became an independent signatory to the Treaty, an unthinkable act at the outbreak of war.

The League of Nations, of which Canada is a founding member, held its first council. Canada’s war leader, Robert Borden, retired from politics and is replaced by Arthur Meighen as Prime Minister. Canadians looked to a new decade with renewed hope.

William Lyon Mackenzie King was first elected as Prime Minister. The Canadian Battlefields Commission held a competition to determine the design of Canada’s Vimy Ridge monument, and Toronto sculptor Walter Seymour Allward’s submission is chosen.

Prime Minister King refused to support the British during the Chanak Affair, the first time that Canada refused a British call for military aid. France granted 250 acres of land on Vimy Ridge to Canada for the construction of a monument.

The Department of National Defence came into being after the merging of the Department of Militia and Defence, the Department of Naval Services and the Air Board. Canada negotiated and signed its first treaty independently of Britain on Prime Minster King’s insistence.

The Royal Canadian Air Force, which existed in some form since the First World War, is officially granted a royal title. King’s Cabinet mandated that the Canadian Red Ensign, the precursor to Canada’s national flag, be officially used on government buildings.

The Beaumont-Hamel Memorial was officially unveiled by British Field Marshal Earl Haig. Arthur Meighen’s Conservatives won the federal election, but King’s Liberals were able to remain in power with the support of the Progressive Party of Canada.

A year of constitutional upheaval in Canada! Prime Minister King won his third election by advocating for the reduced powers of the Governor-General and Canadian war hero Lord Byng of Vimy. The Balfour Report is released, confirming the status of Canada as a fully independent country.

King opened Canada’s first foreign legation in the United States and appointed Vincent Massey as his Minister. Canada obtained a non-permanent seat on the League of Nation’s executive body, the League Council.

Delegates to the national convention of the Royal Canadian Legion passed a resolution calling upon the government to organize a pilgrimage to the Western Front battlefields. The landmark Kellog-Briand Pact is signed by Canada.

Black Tuesday. On October 29, the Stock Market Crash signalled the beginning of the worldwide Great Depression. Eleven days earlier, the Privy Council of England ruled that Canadian women were considered “persons” in response to a petition by the Famous Five.

Richard Bedford Bennett’s Conservatives defeat Mackenzie King, campaigning on a platform that promised a solution to the Great Depression. Once in power, Bennett is confronted with the worst of the economic crisis and is unable to prevent a worsening situation.

British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster, legally granting Canada full freedom in domestic and international affairs. Banks begin to fail in the United States and Europe. Canada abandoned the gold standard along with most Commonwealth nations.

Bennett sanctioned the creation of nationwide camps under the purview of the Department of National Defence to provide housing, food and work to itinerant Canadian males. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, precursor to the New Democratic Party, is formed in Calgary.

Adolf Hitler is elected Chancellor of Germany. In Canada, the Great Depression reached its worst point; 30% of the labour force was unemployed and 20% of the population relied on government relief to survive.

Hitler assumed dictatorial powers after President Hindenburg’s death and a mysterious fire in the Reichstag. Bennett’s government founded the Bank of Canada, as the Prime Minister prepared to offer Canadians his “New Deal” the following year.

Hitler began rearming Germany in blatant contradiction to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Mackenzie King became Prime Minister for a third time after defeating Bennett in the federal election. Discontented workers congregated at Vancouver, beginning the “On-to-Ottawa” Trek.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial was officially unveiled in front of a crowd of Canadian veterans who had made the pilgrimage to France. Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland, once again contradicting the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

King attended an important Imperial Conference on defence and foreign policy in London. Afterward, he travelled to Berlin where he met with Hitler to discuss contemporary events in Europe. Assured of Hitler’s good intentions, King believed another war could be avoided.

In March, Hitler annexed Austria despite the protests of world leaders. The Munich Agreement is signed six months later, allowing Germany to annex a portion of Czechoslovakia in exchange for peace in an attempt to appease Hitler. A massive Jewish pogrom is held throughout Germany.

Hitler invaded Poland on the first day of September, sparking the Second World War. Canada declared war on Germany nine days after the invasion. King invoked the War Measures Act for the second time in Canadian history while Canadian volunteers prepared to head overseas.

The first Canadian soldiers arrived in England. As events on continental Europe worsened, the Royal Canadian Navy helped evacuate fleeing soldiers at Dunkirk while one Royal Canadian Air Force squadron participated in the Battle of Britain. Conscription is passed for homeland defence.

British Hong Kong is attacked by Japanese forces and two Canadian battalions are forced to surrender on Christmas Day. The Atlantic Charter is issued aboard the USS Augusta off the coast of Newfoundland.

The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division participated in a botched raid on the French port of Dieppe, suffering nearly 2,000 casualties. Japanese-Canadians are interned and moved inland by the King government.

The Canadian Army entered sustained combat for the first time in the war. The 1st Canadian Infantry Division invaded Sicily and mainland Italy. Canadians are forced into tough battles while advancing northward, culminating the year by fighting the Battle of Ortona.

D-Day, June 6. A massive Allied armada assembled on the English Channel. Canadian forces invaded Juno Beach and participated in the Normandy campaign. King passed conscription despite the same divisions that materialized during the First World War.

The First Canadian Army liberated the Netherlands while American and Russian forces drove toward Berlin. On May 8, Germany capitulated; Japan followed suit on September 2. Victory came at a cost: over 47,000 Canadians were killed in Europe and Asia.