Life on the Home Front: Women and the War on the Home Front

With so many men absent from home in the armed forces and with industries pushing for more production, the Canadian government actively urged women to work in the war effort.

In 1942 Ottawa registered all women born between 1918 and 1922, those then ages 20 to 24, into the Selective Service to meet possible labour shortages. In 1943-1944, some 439,000 women were in the service sectors of the Canadian economy. A further 373,000 had jobs in manufacturing, and of these about 261,000 worked directly in the munitions industries, a large number doing tasks traditionally considered to belong to men. Women, for example, worked in shipyards and in the smelter at Sudbury, and made up 30% of the workforce in Canada's aircraft industry.

Many more women worked in the home or on farms, and often combined this with volunteer work with the Red Cross or in military canteens. They also organized salvage drives or helped to prepare packages for the military overseas or for prisoners of war in the Axis countries. The Department of National War Services coordinated many of these voluntary activities at a national level.

Related Newspaper Articles

English Articles

• Invaluable Help Given by Women of Eastern Star
  The Hamilton Spectator, 13/12/1941
   
• Women in Industry
  The Globe And Mail, 26/12/1941
   
• A Most Important Feature
  The Toronto Daily Star, 26/03/1942
   
• More Day Nurseries
  The Hamilton Spectator, 15/06/1942
   
• Great National Societies Convince in Achievement
  The Globe And Mail, 12/07/1943
   
• Home, Business Women and Nurses Volunteer
  The Globe And Mail, 14/07/1943
   
• C.P.R. Hiring Number of Girls
  The Hamilton Spectator, 12/08/1943
   
• Another Call to Women
  The Globe And Mail, 19/08/1942
   
• Women of Canada: Get Ready to Register
  The Hamilton Spectator, 10/09/1942
   
• I.O.D.E to Supply Wedding Clothes
  The Globe And Mail, 09/09/1944
   
• Chaloult Says Working Women Reduce Families
  The Hamilton Spectator, 15/03/1945
   

French Articles

• Les infirmières aux armées
  Le Devoir, 05/04/1940
   
• Aux infirmières enrôlées pour le service national d'urgence
  Le Devoir, 18/05/1940
   
• Les organisations féminines et la guerre
  Le Devoir, 02/11/1940
   
• La femme et la guerre totale
  Le Devoir, 24/05/1941
   
• Ralliement féminin pour l'emprunt de guerre
  Le Devoir, 27/05/1941
   
• La Croix Rouge. Le travail intense des auxiliaires féminine
  Le Devoir, 26/06/1941
   
• Les femmes dans l'armée
  Le Devoir, 19/08/1941
   
• Les association féminines et l'emprunt de la victoire
  Le Devoir, 17/02/1942
   
• Grande assemblée féminine en faveur de la stabilisation des prix
  Le Devoir, 28/02/1942
   
• La mode et la guerre. Des obligations de la Victoire plutôt que des toilettes neuves
  Le Devoir, 04/03/1942
   
• Ralliment féminin au sujet du plafond des prix
  Le Devoir, 05/03/1942
   
• La subtitution des femmes aux hommes dans l'industrie
  Le Devoir, 02/04/1942
   
• Le travail féminin dans les usines de guerre
  Le Devoir, 05/07/1942
   
• Pouvez-vous tricoter pour les marins alliés
  Le Devoir, 04/06/1942
   
• La conscription du travail féminin paraît en bonne voie
  Le Devoir, 16/07/1942
   
• Le travail féminin. L'organisation des garderies dans la province
  Le Devoir, 11/08/1942
   
• Service nationale sélectif. Toutes les femmes ne sont pas aptes à la vie industrielle
  Le Devoir, 15/09/1942
   
• La conscription des femmes
  Le Devoir, 18/06/1943
   
• Arrivée d'épouse de soldats à Montréal
  Le Devoir, 26/08/1944
   
• Le Service sélectif féminin
  Le Devoir, 17/05/1945
   
• Le Service sélectif féminin
  Le Devoir, 17/05/1945