Abstract
Founded in 1939, the National Film Board sought to sway the Canadian population into supporting the war effort. Its commissioner, John Grierson, was convinced that cinema could play a key role in the instruction and dissemination of democratic culture. These two contradictory aspects would make the film propaganda aimed at Canadians unique. It was within this framework that the first Campaign for Civic Education through film was initiated in 1942, the principle of which was to initiate a public dialogue. Pure propaganda films constituted only a minor proportion of programming, which also dealt with technological modernization, Canadian and international institutions, labour law, and cultural diversity. As a result of the success of this campaign, the distribution system lasted beyond 1945, thus perpetuating a culture where film is in constant interaction with the social context.
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