ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED | NOVEMBER 1940 | CANADIAN COUNTRYMAN
This cartoon appeared in a November, 1940 issue of the Canadian Countryman magazine. The broad context for the cartoon was the Second World War which Canada had entered on the side of Great Britain on September 10, 1939. At first, the Canadian government had planned for a limited and short war, and had in fact promised not to introduce conscription for overseas military service (no doubt anticipating its disastrous consequences during the First World War). However, the fall of France in June 1940 elicited a sense of panic throughout the Empire. The government of Mackenzie King passed the National Resources Mobilization Act which rapidly expanded the armed forces and introduced conscription for home defence. This cartoon satirizes what many saw as the hypocrisy of the Canadian government’s push for increased voluntary enlistment, at the same time as they were drafting young man for military duties on the homefront, which was especially burdensome for small farmers.