Canada and the First World War

I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier
I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier
Oone of the few anti-war songs of the First World War, this American song was also sold in Canada. The chorus is:

I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier,
I brought him up to be my pride and joy,
Who dares to put a musket on his shoulder,
To shoot some other mother's darling boy?
Let nations arbitrate their future troubles,
It's time to lay the sword and gun away,
There'd be no war today,
If mothers all would say,
I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier.

Despite wide public pressure to support the war, a small segment of the Canadian population remained committed to pacifism.

Library and Archives Canada
MUSCAN-A-230-8

Voices for Peace

Not all Canadians supported the war. Some objected to participating on grounds of religious faith, while others simply opposed the particular nature of the First World War. Many sought peace through negotiation, or believed that Canadian should not have fought so strenuously for Britain.


Conscientious Objectors
Peace Activists