Conscription and Socialization: Four Canadian Ministers

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of adult experience in the development of elite attitudes about defense. Specifically, the study traces the effect of differing experiences in World War I on the attitudes toward conscription held by four key Canadian ministers during World War II. W. L. Mackenzie King and C. G. Power opposed compulsory service both in World War I and in November 1944 during a crisis that came within hours of bringing down the administration of Prime Minister Mackenzie King. J. L. Ralston and T. A. Crerar, on the other hand, supported conscription both during World War I and in November 1944. During World War I, personal attachment to the anticonscriptionist head of the federal Liberal party and to parents who opposed compulsory service seemed to influence the two who opposed conscription. Firsthand exposure to opposition and a prior inclination to be sympathetic to Quebec also apparently contributed to negative attitudes.