Canadian women in the world wars became indispensable because the world wars were total wars that required the maximum effort of the civilian population. While Canadians were deeply divided on the issue of conscription for men, there was wide agreement that women had important new roles to play in the home, in civic life, in industry, in nursing, and even in military uniforms. Historians debate whether there was much long-term impact on the postwar roles of women.

First World War

Pre-war Canadian nursing

Before World War I, Canadian Nursing Sisters participated in the South African War, Boer War, and the War of 1812. Following the creation of the Canadian Army Medical Department in June 1899, the Canadian Army Nursing Service was created and four Canadian nurses were dispatched South Africa. They were granted the relative rank, pay and allowances of an army lieutenant. Before the war was over on May 31, 1902, eight Canadian Nursing Sisters and more than 7,000 Canadian soldiers had volunteered for service in South Africa.

However, World War I allowed women to emerge into the public sphere in an international conflict like never before. When Britain declared war on the German Empire, Canada was automatically compelled to fight alongside Britain. At the beginning of the war, there were five Permanent Force nurses and 57 listed in reserve. Nursing was viewed as a respectable occupation for women because it embodied feminine characteristics such as nurturing, healing, and selflessness. During wartime, nursing became women's primary way of contributing to the war effort and came to represent a distinct form of nationalism on behalf of the Canadian Nursing Sisters. Members of the Overseas C.A.M.C. Nursing Service erected a memorial plaque at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Ottawa) which is dedicated to Matron Margaret H. Smith, R.R.C. & Bar, a veteran of the South African War and the Great War.

First World War nursing and doctoring On the home front, the Canadian government was actively encouraging young men to enlist in the Royal Forces by enticing them with the promise of adventure in Europe, reminding them of their civil duty. The message propagated by the government to defend and serve resonated with women as well. Essentially, a woman with a nursing certificate held in her hand a ticket to independence and adventure. There was little doubt that the active service posters targeting Canadian men struck nurses more forcibly than messages pleading women to knit furiously and economize the home front. More than any previous opportunity, nursing allowed Canadian women to serve the nation in a way in which they were uniquely qualified. Women joined the war effort with enthusiastic patriotism and a determination to prove their usefulness. By 1917, the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C.A.M.C.) included 2,030 nurses. A total of 3,141 Canadian nurses served in the C.A.M.C. in the First World War. Nurses worked for the notable sum of $4.10 per day while in comparison, their male counterparts fighting on the front lines made about $1.10 a day. With a wage pointedly higher wage than the infantrymen, it was evident that Canadian Nursing Sisters held a very important role on the Western front. To aid in the war effort, Julia Grace Wales published the Canada Plan, a proposal to set up a mediating conference consisting of intellectuals from neutral nations who would work to find a suitable solution for the First World War. The plan was presented to the United States Congress, but despite arousing the interest of President Wilson, failed when the US entered the war.

“In Canada, military nursing was open only to trained nurses, who served at home and overseas as Nursing Sisters with the Canadian Army Medical Corps.”Glassford, Sarah, and Amy J. Shaw. A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service: Women and Girls of Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2014. Page 99 These restrictions affected women who wanted to fulfil their patriotic duty but were not eligible to become a Nursing Sister. There were other ways that women could directly serve in the war through organizations such as the St. John Ambulance Association where they could work as Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses. Over 2,000 women served as VAD's over the course of the great war both at home and in Europe. “3,000 nurses served in the armed forces and 2,504 were sent overseas with the Canadian Army Medical Corps during the First World War.” Nursing Sisters were awarded the rank of an officer which provided them with similar rank and equal pay to men. These nurses were awarded this rank to discourage fraternization with the men and give them authority over their patients. “Voluntary nursing was popularly romanticized due to the legacy of Florence Nightingale.”Glassford, Sarah, and Amy J. Shaw. A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service: Women and Girls of Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2014. Page 116 The view that Canadian society had on war nurses exemplified their beliefs about women's roles. Depicting women in a romanticized way goes to show that working women were not given the same recognition as men due to gender. Despite this inequality in recognition “all uniformed women served as a constant symbol of how reliant wartime society had become on the abilities of women”. Nurses were commonly pictured in propaganda as their uniforms consisting of a white veil with a red cross which symbolizes purity.

During the First World War, there was virtually no female presence in the Canadian armed forces, with the exception of the 3,141 nurses serving overseas and on the home front. Of these women, 328 had been decorated by King George V, and 46 gave their lives in the line of duty. Even though a number of these women received decorations for their efforts, many high-ranking military personnel still felt that they were unfit for the job. Although service in the Great War had not officially been opened to women, they did feel the pressures at home. There had been a gap in employment when the men enlisted; many women strove to fill this void along with keeping up with their responsibilities at home. When war broke out Laura Gamble enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, because she knew that her experience in a Toronto hospital would be an asset to the war efforts. Canadian nurses were the only nurses of the Allied armies who held the rank of officers. Gamble was presented with a Royal Red Cross, 2nd Class medal, for her show of "greatest possible tact and extreme devotion to duty." This was awarded to her at Buckingham Palace during a special ceremony for Canadian nurses. Health care practitioners had to deal with medical anomalies they had never seen during the First World War. The chlorine gas that was used by the Germans caused injuries that treatment protocols had not yet been developed for. The only treatment that soothed the Canadian soldiers affected by the gas was the constant care they received from the nurses. Canadian nurses were especially well known for their kindness.

Canadians had expected that women would feel sympathetic to the war efforts, but the idea that they would contribute in such a physical way was absurd to most. Because of the support that women had shown from the beginning of the war, people began to see their value. In May 1918, a meeting was held to discuss the possible creation of the Canadian Women's Corps. In September, the motion was approved, but the project was pushed aside because the war's end was in sight.

Women in the workforce Women working in munitions factories were necessary during WWI as the able-bodied men went overseas to fight. Women worked as ticket collectors, firefighters, bank tellers and even as engineers working with heavy machinery. Though women were completing the same jobs as men, they were being paid lower wages and this inequality led to the first demands for equal pay. Not only did women take up the jobs men left behind, but they also worked to ensure a thriving domestic economy. “Among their working responsibilities, they produced canned food and raised funds to finance hospitals, ambulances, hostels, and aircraft.” 35,000 women worked in the munitions industry in both Ontario and Quebec during this period which for many women was a completely new experience. “The high demand for weapons resulted in the munitions factories becoming the largest single employer of women during 1918.” “For the majority of Canadian women, active participation in the war was restricted to a supporting role on the home front in either non-traditional waged work or as unpaid volunteers in one of the numerous patriotic war relief organizations.” “While women’s participation in paid work garnered praise in some corners of the country, it brought concern or condemnation in others.”Glassford, Sarah, and Amy J. Shaw. A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service: Women and Girls of Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2014. Page 148

Concerns arose surrounding the issues of motherhood and morality as women entered the workforce, and while women were experiencing new opportunities, this change did not result in society changing its beliefs of gender. “Traditional gender ideology dictated that women required supervision and guidance, and their wartime work did not change that attitude.”Glassford, Sarah, and Amy J. Shaw. A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service: Women and Girls of Canada and Newfoundland during the First World War. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2014. Page 158 Women working was seen as acceptable by society for the time Canada was at war, but once the war was over, working women were expected to give up their jobs and return to the home. Women who were focused on their careers were looked down upon by society whereas girls who were selfless and did not ask for anything more would be rewarded with marriage. Marriage was seen as a goal that all girls should strive for as without a husband, women would not be respected.

Working conditions Canadian military nurses were well known for their kindness, efficiency, and professional appearance. Canadian nurses worked alongside soldiers on the war front and felt the full effect of wartime risks and death, disease, and the pain was encountered daily by the nurses. Most C.A.M.C. Nursing Sisters served in mobile infirmaries, or Casualty Clearing Stations. These Casualty Clearing Stations, or the C.C.S., as they were titled were typically on a railway siding, close to the front lines so they could quickly and efficiently retrieve and treat soldiers who had fallen on the nearby battlefield. The proximity to the fighting exposed the Nursing Sisters to the horrors and dangers particular to the front. The advance areas were often under attack from air raids and shellfire, which frequently placed the lives of the sisters in danger. The Casualty Clearing Stations served as an advanced surgical center that administered emergency surgeries staffed by Canada's most brilliant nurses. One of the most widespread problems the Nursing Sisters had to deal with at the C.C.S. was the vile cases of gangrene. Gangrene, caused by lethal mustard gas getting into an open wound, causing an infection of such toxicity it would literally eat at the skin. Gangrene was such a dreadful problem among Casualty Clearing Stations because the infection spread rapidly making it very hard to contain. This variation of gangrene was certainly not something that the nurses would have been trained on prior to their arrival at a Casualty Clearing Station; however, they were able to treat the infection with much success. The Nursing Sister's role in the efficiency of the Casualty Clearing Stations proved to be a great contribution to the Canadian war effort.

Uniform