Second Conscription Crisis

The Conscription Crisis of 1944 was a political and military crisis following the introduction of forced military service in Canada during World War II. It was similar to the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but was not as politically damaging.

Canada declared war against Germany on September 10, 1939, and sent one division to Europe, which did not have an opportunity to engage in combat before France was defeated by Germany. Fearing the civil and political unrest that had occurred during World War I, as well as hoping to defeat the nationalist Premier Maurice Duplessis in Quebec who called a snap election in September 1939 to seek a mandate to oppose the war, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King pledged in September 1939 to not introduce overseas conscription for the duration of the war. Duplessis's decision to dissolve the assembly on 25 September 1939 to seek a mandate to oppose the war created panic in Ottawa with King calling Duplessis in his diary "diabolic" and a "little Hitler", believing Duplessis's aim was to provoke such a crisis between French-Canada and English-Canada that Quebec would leave the Confederation. During the 1939 Quebec election campaign, the Dominion government made an unprecedented intervention in a provincial election in order the defeat the Union Nationale government and ensure the victory of the pro-war Quebec Liberals under Adélard Godbout with all the resources of the Dominion government being thrown behind the provincial Liberals. All of the Dominion cabinet ministers representing ridings in Quebec threatened to resign if Duplessis was reelected, with the threat that they would be nobody to stand up for Quebec in the cabinet if conscription become an issue again. Duplessis was a charismatic, colorful demagogue who preached a mixture of Catholic conservatism and French-Canadian nationalism who was one of Quebec's ablest politicians, a man King feared so much that in 1939 election the Prime Minister used the powers of censorship under the War Measures Act to keep from speaking on the radio. This was not necessary as soon become evident that Duplessis's alcoholism was out of control, and he ran an inept campaign, being clearly drunk at numerous campaign rallies as he delivered rambling speeches denouncing the war, which were most notable for his slurred words and lack of lucidity. By electing Godbout as Premier on 25 October 1939, there was an understanding in Quebec that the reward for voting out Duplessis would be no overseas conscription. Many Canadians supported Mackenzie King's pledge, even as it became obvious the war would not end quickly.

...
Wikipedia