Canada's Naval History

The Second World War
The Merchant Navy - The Merchant Navy

Between 1939 and 1945, Canadian and Allied merchant ships and their crews transported personnel, munitions, weapons, and food across the world's oceans as part of the Allied war effort. Enemy action sank some 70 Canadian and Newfoundland merchant vessels. Over 1,600 Canadians and Newfoundlanders, including eight women, were killed.

Artifact Record

The Dry Dock at Saint John, N.B.

Tom Wood's painting depicts a merchant ship (right) and a much smaller warship (left) in the large drydock at Saint John, New Brunswick.

The Saint John Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company built a number of merchant ships and warships during the Second World War, and repaired others damaged by storm, collisions, or enemy action. The construction, maintenance, and repair of ships involved shipyards across Canada, employed well over 100,000 Canadians at its 1943 peak, and depended on other parts of Canada's wartime economy, such as the steel industry.

The Dry Dock at Saint John, N.B.
Painted by Tom Wood in 1946
Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19710261-4862