From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milita...ng_the_Second_World_War#Industrial_war_effort The military history of Canada during the Second World War began with a declaration of war on Germany on September 10, 1939 and encompassed major campaigns in Italy[1] and Northern Europe.[2] Canada was active in defending the shipping lanes in the North Atlantic and the Canadian Merchant Navy completed over 25,000 voyages across the Atlantic.[3] Canadians were also active in the Pacific throughout the war. At the beginning of the war, Canada was a fully independent country and the oldest Dominion in the British Commonwealth. As a nation, it was, for the most part, reluctant to return to war. Nonetheless, Canadians entered the Second World War united, and from a population of only 11 to 12 million, eventually raised very substantial armed forces. After the long struggle of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the challenges of the Second World War accelerated Canada's ongoing transformation into a modern urban and industrialized nation. Early in the war, Canada's commitment to the British-French forces in Europe was limited to one division. Canada's military deployment reached corps-level strength for the invasions in Italy in 1943, and Normandy in 1944. Over the course of the war, 1.1 million Canadians served in the army, navy, and air force. Of these more than 42,000 gave their lives and another 54,000 were wounded.[4] Countless other Canadians shared in the suffering and the hardships of war at home and abroad. The war's impact on Canadian history was considerable, though it was likely not as significant as World War I. The conscription crisis had a major effect on unity between French and English-speaking Canadians, though was not as politically damaging as that of WWI. The war effort strengthened the Canadian economy, led to diversification in manufacturing and enhanced national pride. Canada's status as an independent nation, was strengthened after 1945.[5]
Canada's Industrial Effort WW2 Canada had become one of the world's leading automobile manufacturers in the 1920s, owing to the presence of branch-plants of American automakers in Ontario. In 1938, Canada's automotive industry ranked fourth in the world in the output of passenger car and trucks, even though a large part of its productive capacity remained idle because of the Depression. During the war, this industry was put to good use, building all manner of war materiel, and most particularly wheeled vehicles, of which Canada became the second largest (next to the United States) producer during the war. Canada's output of nearly 800,000 trucks, for instance, exceeded the combined total truck production of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Rivals Ford and General Motors of Canada pooled their engineering design teams to produce a standardized vehicle amenable to mass production, the Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) truck, which served throughout the Commonwealth. Approximately half of the British Army's transport requirements were supplied from Canadian manufacturers. The British Official History referred to these vehicles as Canada's most important contribution to Allied victory. In addition, Canada produced its own medium tank, the Ram. Though it was unsuitable for combat employment, many were used for training, and the 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment used modified Rams as armoured personnel carriers in North-West Europe.[7] Approximately 16,000 aircraft, including Lancaster and Mosquito bombers, were built in Canada. In addition, by the end of 1944, Canadian shipyards had launched naval ships, such as destroyers, frigates, corvettes, and some 345 merchant vessels. But perhaps no Canadian contribution to the Allied war effort was so vital as that made by the metals industries: half of Allied aluminum and ninety percent of Allied nickel was supplied by Canadian sources during the war.
