You
might know people who come from different countries or speak a different
language, but you probably speak English with them most of the time.
Have you ever wondered why most Canadians speak English and not
Russian, or Italian, or Greek?
Even
though Canada is made up of many different immigrant groups, at
the time that Canada became its own country in 1867, most Canadians
were from England. Canada had a close relationship with England.
England was a rich, successful country. Canada profited from this
in many ways. In return, England expected Canada to help in certain
situations. For example, when England went to war in South Africa
in 1899, Canada sent 7,000 soldiers to help fight even though Canada
was not directly involved.
In
1914, a much larger war began. Although the war was fought mainly
in Europe , and Canada was not directly threatened, its ties to
England compelled it to send soldiers. By the end of the war in
1918, over 650,000 Canadians had served in this war, known as the
First World War. Over 60,000 men died and many more were wounded.
Why
did so many Canadians volunteer to fight in the war?
Many
Canadians thought the war would be a grand adventure. Young men
volunteered by the thousands because of old-fashioned, romantic
notions of what war was like. They expected a short war. It soon
became obvious that this war would be long and horrible – nothing
like what people had expected.
Canada
was at war with Germany during the First World War, and German-speakers
in Canada suffered as a result. Mennonites,
even though they were not from Germany, did speak German. They had
problems as well.
Twenty-five
years later, another war began. This one was called the Second
World War.
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