ESS than eighty yeats
future with great ske

mi the skeptical view, is the
loomy picture painted by 4
sritish periodical, “Tondon
wuth>? just before the con-
woruction of’ the trans-contin-
Atal Ganadian Pacific Rail-
fey.

i! =
-. the Canadian Pacin:

it is ever finished, will xan
@irougch a country about as for-
idding as any on earth.
ritish Columbia is not worth
Meepine. It should never have
heen inhabited at all. It will
) ever pay a cent of interes> on

ny money that may be sunic
ime. it. Im Manitoba, those who
pre not frozen to aeath are of-
2n maimed for life by frost
@ ites. Ontario is poor and
rushed with debt. It is cer-
iin to go over to the States
fod when that day comes the
fominion will disappear.’ (As
muoted by W. H. Chamberlain,
= Canada today and tomorrow.”
ie. 292.) :

@ Fortunately for Canada and
fae world, the words of tliese
false prophets have not come
@cue. im fact the contrary has
ge een the result. By the first
porld war, Canada had come
£ age. She hai matured to
fationhood. and made a major
fontribution to Ailied victory.

But, it is the Second World
Var that has changed the very
face of Canada. The Canada
hat the world Knew in the
fre-war years is no more. Frem

Secondary nation she has
Tisen to the stature of a grea:
ower. Quite clearly, “in thc
course of the present war, we

Sj iave seen Canadas emerge from
iationhood into a position gen-
wally recognized as that of a

@yvorld power.’ (Prime Minister
W. LL. Mackenzie King; Car-

ida, House of Commons, De-

yates p. 4317.)

The military, economic and
dolitical status of Canada nas
memendously grown during the
SwWar years. With tess than one
per cent of the -woild’s popu-
@lation and one fourteenth of
ithe world’s area, Canada today
‘Pranks fourth as a military and
industrial power umong the
United Nations. In fact, “for
la full year from June, 1949.
until June, 1941, Canada next
to Britain was the stronges*
Power actually at war with
Nazi Germany.” (Three Years
lof War”, Ottawa, 1942, p. 6.) -

ELATIVELY speaking, Can-
ada’s contribution to victory
over Fascism has been the
most outstanding of any na-
tion of her size.

“Canada has mobilized nearly
one million men into her arm-
ed forces. Thirty-five per cent
of the men between the ages
of 18 and 45 are under arms:
Unlike the last war, Canada has
maintained independent con-
trol of her troops in the pres-
‘ent war. Canadian troops have

tise 9

Y

ef

By Darshan S. Sangha

Volume 1, No.

7, December 16,

~~ Canada of pré-war years is no more. From a secondary nation she

has attained the status of a major power, making a major contri-

480 many spoke of Canada’s
HRS pticism.
Ine advisability of inhabiting
qeted of Canada’s end as an

Some counseled against

the Dominion. Others pre-

independent nation, Typical

distinguished themselves in the
battles of Hong Kong, Spitz-
bergen, Dieppe and in the glor-
ious liberation of Sicily, Italy,
France, Belgium and Holland.
They fought side by side with
the Americans to dislodge the
Japanese from the Aleutian
Islands, In ‘so doing they were
the first to Sght alongside the
American troops, in defence of
their soil, since Lafayette. This
Canadian Army, which General
McNaughton termed “the dag-
ger pointed at the heart of
Berlin.” will undoubtedly play
a vital role in the now raging
battle for Germany. :

When the present war start-
ed im 1939, Canada had only 15
ships in her small Navy. But,
today she has 700. This is an
Jmerease of 45 times, unequal-
led by any other navy in the
world. Canadian warships in
addition to bearing the brunt
of convoying thousands of ships
across the North Atlantic, have
played a prominent part in the
invasions ~ of North Africa,
Sicily and Normandy. Canada
today is the third strongest
naval power of the United Na-
tions.

In 1939, Canada had hardly
any air force. But today, Can-
adian airmen constitute 25 per
cent of the strength of the
Royal Air Force. And Canada
today is the fourth air power
of the United Nations. Her air-
men have seen action yirtually
on all fronts. They played a
major part in the crucial
“Battle of Britain” and the
“Battle of the Desert.” And
at the present time, together
with the American Air Force
and Royal Air Force, the Royal
Canadian Air Force is daily
pulverizing Nazi Germany
with consistent hammer blows.

In addition, Canada has be-
come the “airdrome of world
democracy.” Nearly 200,000
United Nations airmen have
been trained in Canada. Ottawa
is the centre of the British
Gommonwealth Air Training
Scheme and the meeting place
of the United Nations Air
Training Conference.

Canada to-day is ome of the
arsenals for the democratic
Powers. She is the fourth larg-
est producer of the United Na-
tions supplies. Of her huge war
production, Canadian Forces
utilize only 30 per cent. The
rest is dispatched to Britain,
Russia and other United Na-
tions. Through phenominal
industrial expansion, the value
of industria] production has
reached the $3,425,000,000
mark in 19438. Her factories
are producing carriers at the
rate of enough to equip a bat-
talion every day, and a division
jin 14 days. A new automotive
unit rolls off Canada’s assem-
bly lines every three minutes.

= For the invasion of North
Africa, Canada supplied 40,000

bution to the war effort of United Nations in men and material.

Canada is one of the arsenals of the United Nations. Supplies, and munitions of
war produced here are used on every. battle front.

mechanized vehicles. She claims
the second largest tank arsenal
on the North American con-
tinent.

B efore the war, Canada
manufactured 40 planes per
month. Today her factories

produce fighters, long range
and dive bombers of the latest
type, at the rate of 440 per
month. Apart from the sm-
mense quantities of small arms
and munitions produced, Ca-
nadian factories are producing
the latest in field, naval and
anti-aircraft guns.

In addition to the warships
built in the Canadian ship-
yards, she launches ten thous-
and ton freighters at the rate
of one every four days. And
today she has built up a great
merchant marine. f

In the production of vitally
needed raw materials for the
United Nations, Canada does
not lag behind. Today she
yanks first in the world pro-
duction of nickel, newsprint,
asbestos, platinum and radium;

~second in wood pulp and gold;

third in aluminum, copper, co-
balt, zine and silver; and fourth
in wheat and lead.

In the construction of the
industrial giants like the Ship-
shaw, Steep Rock and Polymer,
for the development of hydro
electric power, aluminum, iron
and steel, Canada has perform-
ed the greatest engineering
feats known to the modern
world. This demonstrates the
ingenuity and resourcefulness
of her great people.

e
“pO THE war torn, hungry

world, the name of Canada
has become synonymous with

food. Canada is becoming known

as the land of plenty.

a}

\

Agricultural production dur-
ing the war years has increased
by at least 50 percent. Food
supplies from Canada have
helped to feed the embattled
people of Britain, Russia, Italy
and Greece. Food is a weapon
of war. Food will also greatly
determine the coming peace.
Starving people jail an easy
prey to dictators and gang-
sters. In this respect Canada
is bound to play a decisive role
in feeding the millions staryv-
ing in Hurope and Asia.

It is significant indeed, that
the United Nations Relief and
Rehabilitation Conference was
recently held in Montreal.

Commenting upon Canada’s
war effort, Madame Chiang
Kai-shek remarked: “We should
constantly bear in mind the
fact that contributions to
ultimate victory must not be
evaluted by the ephermeral
criterion of the spectacular.
The accumulated heroism of
your commandos, the large
amount of food stuff and muni-
tions which your country has
sent to England, the manner
in which you have utilized your
air bases for training of allied
effort, and the fact that per
capita Canada has produced
more for the war effort than
any other member of the Unit-
ed Nations, are indicative of
Canada’s will to fight to vic-
tory.” (Mme. Chiang Kai-shek,
to the Joint Houses of Parlia-
ment, June 16, 1943.)

ANADA has doubled her na-
tional income, since 1939. to

$9 billion in 1943. Out of which
more than half went to finance
the war. The export trade of
thecountry has increased «to
nearly $3 billion in 1942, which

is an increase of 221 per cent
over that for 1939. Canada at
present, is the third trading na-
tion of the world. Through
supplying immense quantities
of war goods to the United Na-
tions, Canada has become a
creditor nation. She is now in
a position, where she is able
to extend a gift of one billion
dollars to Britain and our other
Allies through the Canadian
Mutual Aid Plans.

This growing strength of
Canada is very sharply re-
flected in the political field. In
1931, the Statute of New West-
minister, granted Canada com-
plete equality with other na-
tions of the Commonwealth,
including the United Kingdom.
Hence, unlike 1914, when Can-
ada was automatically at war,
following the British declara-
tion of war on Germany, in
1989, the “Canadian people
entered this war of their own
free will. As one people we
made ‘the momentous decision
by the free vote of a free par-
liament.... We in Canada
were as free to make war or to
abstain from making war as
the people of the United States
are free to make war or ab-
stain from making war.” (Prime
Minister W. lL. Mackenzie King,
“Canada’s Contribution to
Freedom, Ottawa, 1941, p. 4.)

The political maturity of
Canada as a world power is
well attested by her expanding
diplomatic relations. Before
the present war Canada main-
tained no embassies- in foreign
lands. There were only five
legations in the United States,
France, Belgium, Netherlands
and Japan, and only one High
Commissioner’s Office in the
United Kingdom. To-day Can-

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