A Study Of French Canadians Resistance To Conscription Of The Borden Government From The Perspective Of National Identity(1914-1918)

The Anglo-Canadians and French-Canadians politicians had heated debates on the issue of Canada sending troops abroad during the Boer War.The French-Canadians were opposed sending troops,but with little success.Most of the Anglo-Canadians hoped to close link with the British Empire,especially in the military.They desired to prove the strength of the young nation of Canada.When the World War I begun,the Borden government actively participated and launched recruiting propaganda,promoting people to join the army under the voluntary recruitment system.In Quebec province,propagandists designed and distributed plenty of recruiting posters,using French elements,national heroes and other symbols in the posters for attracting French-Canadians to join the army,but the feedback was not ideal.The French-Canadians elites criticized The Anglo-Canadians Rulers for disputes over schools and overseas troops.At this time,they questioned the necessity of Canada to participate in the war.Henri Bourassa,as the French-Canadians elite head,used the “Devoir” as a position to promote the idea of anti-conscription and criticizing the racial discrimination policy during the war.The resistance was influential in the French-Canadians society.Some French-Canadians are also resented with the conduct that the government uses the rich money and the poor life in recruiting soldiers.Bourassa’s remarks provide guidance for them,and the conscription resistance intensifies.With conscription dilemma and front-line casualties mounting,the Borden government decided to introduce the Military Service Act which sparked a wave of boycotts in Quebec,for the government had repeatedly promised they would not practise mandatory conscription.This disappointment gave rise to La motion Francoeur and the Street riots in Quebec City in 1918,the former threatened Quebec to secede from Canada,and the latter was the mob smashing federal buildings on the streets,which undoubtedly shows the national identity crisis and ethnic relations worsened by conscription.French-Canadians outside Quebec are worried about this,fear that they would become a scapegoat for the Anglo-Canadians hated Quebec.Then,they expressed their support for the war.As the war ended and the conscription resistance came over,it deeply influenced the direction of French nationalism,and the postwar French elite more emphasized Quebec not only geographic but also cultural boundaries.In addition,today,the memory of the riots is very active in Quebec society.