What Is Propaganda In Canada

Propaganda, the art of persuasion and deception, has long been notorious for its ability to manipulate the opinion of the population - the holocaust was a gory testament to the atrocities that this machination is capable of. As early as in the 1930s, information had become a potent weapon in the context of total war, to which US Senator Hiram Warren Johnson had famously addressed: “In war, truth is the first casualty”. In spite of the smear and disdain that modern society has against propaganda, it is not to be neglected that during the great crucible of World War Two, the Canadian Government’s use of propaganda, backed by the War Measures Act, had made profound contributions to the Allied war effort. Even more so, it benefited the Canadian
The Federal government’s use of propaganda braced Canada in preparation for total war, and contributed to the war effort during World War Two. To illustrate, conscription had always been a dilemma for Mackenzie King, because total war necessitates conscription, which was undoubtedly an undesired outcome. Aside from the indignant French Canadians, skepticism was prevalent throughout Canada. To testify, in 1942, Arthur Meighen, the ninth prime minster of Canada, had advocated for over-sea conscription, and consequently lost his own seat in the English-occupied Toronto. To solve the conundrum, Mackenzie utilized the famous propaganda slogan “Not necessarily conscription but conscription if necessary”. It created “intentional vagueness” which proved to have dampened cynicism in Quebec, and led Canada through its most perilous crisis. In other words, propaganda alleviated much of the anti-war sentiments, and helped to prevent the polarization of political and ethnic entities, as World War I had resulted in. Furthermore, propaganda had played a vital role in mobilizing the country and assisting with the enlistment and fundraising campaigns during World War Two. Notably, the eleven Victory Bond campaigns conducted by the Wartime Information Board were proved to be a
With the depletion of men from home and with industries urging for more work force, in order to attract young women into factories, propaganda embellished women by depicting them as unconcerned of vile working conditions and capable of doing strenuous work. Moreover, the government propaganda stressed that the women would get high pay, which was important to a woman supporting a family. As a result, Women responded vigorously to the propaganda into the Selective Services. They constituted more than 30% of the industrial workforce in Canada, and an unprecedented fifty thousand women served in the armed forces during World War Two. This clearly proves that the use of propaganda was vital in pushing women to work, and consequently gave them the opportunity to testify that women could be just as competent as men. Furthermore, during the war, the government, for propaganda purposes, created individual heroines such as Rosie the Riveter – powerful and determined - who originated from the U.S. and later became a symbolic representation of working women in Canada. It was very important in the sense that it broke the stereotypes held against women, moving them into positions well outside of traditional roles. As a result of their involvement in the war and the need of the government to further attract women into the war industry, the women’s