Jump to content

Declaration of war by Canada: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Shubael (talk | contribs)
36 edits
m Undid changes.
Soperd (talk | contribs)
165 edits
Line 6: Line 6:
After [[Nazi Germany]] invaded [[Poland]] on September 1, 1939, the [[United Kingdom]] and [[France]] declared war on September 3.<ref name=PWGSC /><ref name=CBCGermany>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/version_print.asp?page=1&IDLan=1&IDClip=12259&IDDossier=3644&IDCat=328&IDCatPa=260|title=1939: King prepares Canada for war with Germany|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC Digital Archives]]|accessdate=May 23, 2011}}</ref> To assert Canada's independence from the UK, as already established by the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]], Canada's political leaders unnecessarily decided to seek the approval of the [[Parliament of Canada|federal parliament]] to declare war.<ref name=MapleLeaf /><ref name=PWGSC /><ref name=GlobeMail>{{cite news|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/going-to-war-parliament-will-decide/article1281065/|title=Going to war? 'Parliament will decide'|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=September 9, 2009|last=Granatstein|first=J. L.|authorlink=Jack Granatstein}}</ref><ref name=ForeignMinistry>{{cite web|url=http://www.international.gc.ca/history-histoire/world-monde/1939-1945.aspx?lang=eng#united|title=Canada and the World: A History&nbsp;— 1939 - 1945: The World at War|publisher=[[Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade|Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada]]|accessdate=May 23, 2011}}{{Dead link|date=May 2014}}</ref> Parliament was not scheduled to return until October 2, but returned to session early on September 7 to consider the declaration of war.<ref name=PWGSC /><ref name=CBCGermany /><ref name=GlobeMail /><ref name=ForeignMinistry /><ref name=HighCommission>{{cite book|url=http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/assets/pdfs/canukww2web.pdf|title=Partners for Victory: Canada and the United Kingdom in World War II|publisher=[[High Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom]]|page=2|accessdate=May 23, 2011}}</ref>
After [[Nazi Germany]] invaded [[Poland]] on September 1, 1939, the [[United Kingdom]] and [[France]] declared war on September 3.<ref name=PWGSC /><ref name=CBCGermany>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/version_print.asp?page=1&IDLan=1&IDClip=12259&IDDossier=3644&IDCat=328&IDCatPa=260|title=1939: King prepares Canada for war with Germany|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC Digital Archives]]|accessdate=May 23, 2011}}</ref> To assert Canada's independence from the UK, as already established by the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]], Canada's political leaders unnecessarily decided to seek the approval of the [[Parliament of Canada|federal parliament]] to declare war.<ref name=MapleLeaf /><ref name=PWGSC /><ref name=GlobeMail>{{cite news|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/going-to-war-parliament-will-decide/article1281065/|title=Going to war? 'Parliament will decide'|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=September 9, 2009|last=Granatstein|first=J. L.|authorlink=Jack Granatstein}}</ref><ref name=ForeignMinistry>{{cite web|url=http://www.international.gc.ca/history-histoire/world-monde/1939-1945.aspx?lang=eng#united|title=Canada and the World: A History&nbsp;— 1939 - 1945: The World at War|publisher=[[Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade|Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada]]|accessdate=May 23, 2011}}{{Dead link|date=May 2014}}</ref> Parliament was not scheduled to return until October 2, but returned to session early on September 7 to consider the declaration of war.<ref name=PWGSC /><ref name=CBCGermany /><ref name=GlobeMail /><ref name=ForeignMinistry /><ref name=HighCommission>{{cite book|url=http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/assets/pdfs/canukww2web.pdf|title=Partners for Victory: Canada and the United Kingdom in World War II|publisher=[[High Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom]]|page=2|accessdate=May 23, 2011}}</ref>


The [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] approved a declaration of war on September 8 and the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] approved it on September 9. The following day, [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Mackenzie King]] and the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]] drafted an [[Order in Council]] to that effect. Canadian diplomats brought the document to King [[George VI]], at the [[Royal Lodge]], [[Windsor Great Park]], for his signature,<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.lawtimesnews.com/20060501549/Headline-News/War-power-and-the-Royal-Prerogative| last=Brode| first=Patrick| title=War power and the Royal Prerogative| journal=Law Times| date=1 May 2006| publisher=Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd.| accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref> whereupon Canada had officially declared war on Nazi Germany.<ref name=PWGSC /><ref name=CBCGermany /><ref name=GlobeMail /><ref name=ForeignMinistry /><ref name=HighCommission /><ref name=CBCItaly>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/version_print.asp?page=1&IDLan=1&IDClip=9834&IDDossier=0&IDCat=394&IDCatPa=264|title=Allies take Sicily|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC Digital Archives]]|accessdate=May 23, 2011}}</ref> In his capacity as the government's official recorder for the war effort, [[Leonard Brockington]] noted: "King George VI of England did not ask us to declare war for him—we asked King George VI of Canada to declare war for us."<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Canada at War|publisher=Office of Director of Public Information of Canada|year=1941|issue=9-20|page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Railway carmen's journal|publisher=Brotherhood Railway Carmen of the United States and Canada, Brotherhood Railway Carmen of America|year=1942|volume=47-48}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Debates|publisher=House of Commons of Canada|year=1942|volume=3|page=2537}}</ref>
The [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] approved a declaration of war on September 9. Then the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]] drafted an [[Order in Council]] to that effect. On Sept. 10, Vincent Massey, Canada's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, brought the document to King [[George VI]], at the [[Royal Lodge]], [[Windsor Great Park]], for his signature,<ref>Donald Creighton, ''The Forked Road: Canada 1939-1957'', McClelland and Stewart, 1976, p.2.</ref><ref>{{citation| url=http://www.lawtimesnews.com/20060501549/Headline-News/War-power-and-the-Royal-Prerogative| last=Brode| first=Patrick| title=War power and the Royal Prerogative| journal=Law Times| date=1 May 2006| publisher=Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd.| accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref> whereupon Canada had officially declared war on Nazi Germany.<ref name=PWGSC /><ref name=CBCGermany /><ref name=GlobeMail /><ref name=ForeignMinistry /><ref name=HighCommission /><ref name=CBCItaly>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/version_print.asp?page=1&IDLan=1&IDClip=9834&IDDossier=0&IDCat=394&IDCatPa=264|title=Allies take Sicily|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC Digital Archives]]|accessdate=May 23, 2011}}</ref> In his capacity as the government's official recorder for the war effort, [[Leonard Brockington]] noted: "King George VI of England did not ask us to declare war for him—we asked King George VI of Canada to declare war for us."<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Canada at War|publisher=Office of Director of Public Information of Canada|year=1941|issue=9-20|page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Railway carmen's journal|publisher=Brotherhood Railway Carmen of the United States and Canada, Brotherhood Railway Carmen of America|year=1942|volume=47-48}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Debates|publisher=House of Commons of Canada|year=1942|volume=3|page=2537}}</ref>


===Fascist Italy===
===Fascist Italy===

Revision as of 03:48, 27 August 2014

A declaration of war by Canada is a formal declaration issued by the Government of Canada (the federal Crown-in-Council) indicating that a state of war exists between Canada and another nation. It is an exercise of the Royal Prerogative on the constitutional advice of the ministers of the Crown in Cabinet and does not require the direct approval of the Parliament of Canada, though such can be sought by the government. Since gaining the authority to declare war under the Statute of Westminster 1931, Canada has declared war only during the Second World War.[1][2]

World War II

Nazi Germany

After Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, the United Kingdom and France declared war on September 3.[2][3] To assert Canada's independence from the UK, as already established by the Statute of Westminster 1931, Canada's political leaders unnecessarily decided to seek the approval of the federal parliament to declare war.[1][2][4][5] Parliament was not scheduled to return until October 2, but returned to session early on September 7 to consider the declaration of war.[2][3][4][5][6]

The House of Commons approved a declaration of war on September 9. Then the Cabinet drafted an Order in Council to that effect. On Sept. 10, Vincent Massey, Canada's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, brought the document to King George VI, at the Royal Lodge, Windsor Great Park, for his signature,[7][8] whereupon Canada had officially declared war on Nazi Germany.[2][3][4][5][6][9] In his capacity as the government's official recorder for the war effort, Leonard Brockington noted: "King George VI of England did not ask us to declare war for him—we asked King George VI of Canada to declare war for us."[10][11][12]

Fascist Italy

On June 10, 1940, Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom.[2][3][9] National Defence Minister Norman Rogers had been killed in a plane crash that day.[9] Both houses of Parliament approved a declaration of war, and the Cabinet issued the Order in Council the same day.[2][3][9]

Finland, Hungary, Romania, and Imperial Japan

Parliament adjourned on November 14, 1941, and was not scheduled to return until January 21, 1942.[2]

At the urging of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom declared war on Finland on December 6, 1941.[13] At the U.K.'s urging, the Canadian Cabinet issued a proclamation declaring war on Finland,[13] Hungary, and Romania the next day.[2]

On December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan),[14] the Empire of Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor and declared war upon the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.[3] Prime Minister King and the Cabinet decided to go to war with Imperial Japan that evening and issued a proclamation the following day declaring that as of December 7 a state of war existed between Japan and Canada.[2][3][15] That same day, the U.S. and U.K. also declared war on the Japanese Empire.[3]

When Parliament returned on January 21, 1942, King presented the Cabinet's proclamations of December 7, 1941, declaring war on Finland, Hungary, and Romania, and the Cabinet's December 8 proclamation declaring a state of war between Canada and Imperial Japan as of the 7th of December.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Fortin, Steve (6 February 2008). "Is "declaration of war" an antiquated expression?". The Maple Leaf. 11 (5). Department of National Defence of Canada/Canadian Forces: 6.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rossignol, Michel (August 1992). "Parliament, the National Defence Act, and the Decision to Participate". Public Works and Government Services Canada. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "1939: King prepares Canada for war with Germany". CBC Digital Archives. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Granatstein, J. L. (September 9, 2009). "Going to war? 'Parliament will decide'". The Globe and Mail.
  5. ^ a b c "Canada and the World: A History — 1939 - 1945: The World at War". Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada. Retrieved May 23, 2011.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ a b Partners for Victory: Canada and the United Kingdom in World War II (PDF). High Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom. p. 2. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  7. ^ Donald Creighton, The Forked Road: Canada 1939-1957, McClelland and Stewart, 1976, p.2.
  8. ^ Brode, Patrick (1 May 2006), "War power and the Royal Prerogative", Law Times, Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., retrieved 2 August 2012
  9. ^ a b c d "Allies take Sicily". CBC Digital Archives. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  10. ^ Canada at War (9–20). Office of Director of Public Information of Canada: 7. 1941. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ Railway carmen's journal. 47–48. Brotherhood Railway Carmen of the United States and Canada, Brotherhood Railway Carmen of America. 1942. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ Debates. 3. House of Commons of Canada: 2537. 1942. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ a b Lindström, Varpu. "History of Finland-Canada Relations". Embassy of Finland, Ottawa. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  14. ^ Attack on Pearl Harbor
  15. ^ "Canada Declares War on Japan". Inter-Allied Review via ibiblio. December 15, 1941. Retrieved May 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)

[dead link‍]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Declaration_of_war_by_Canada&oldid=622974260"