Military Service Act (Canada)

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See also: Conscription Crisis of 1917

For the 1916 British Act of the same name, see Military Service Act (United Kingdom).

In Canadian history, the Military Service Act was a 1917 Act passed by the Canadian government to introduce conscription during World War One.

On May 18, 1917, Prime Minister Robert Borden made an announcement in the Canadian House of Commons that aggravated the already tense relationship between the French-speaking and English-speaking people of Canada and would cost the lives of many Canadians. Borden explained that Canada would begin registering and conscripting men for the Great War. In the House, every French-Canadian Member of Parliament voted against conscription and virtually every English-Canadian voted for it. The majority won and the Military Service Act, which took away the right to vote from all who, because of their religious morals, opposed the war, became law on August 29, 1917.

When it was first passed, The Military Service Act placed some exemptions on who could be conscripted. Farmers and farm labourers, who were needed to continue providing food in a time of shortage, were among those exempted. When news of the high casualties was reported in Canada, it deterred many from volunteering for service. The war effort needed more soldiers, so on April 20, 1918, an order-in-council was passed that removed exemptions from the Military Service Act. This left farming operations across Canada short of much-needed labour.