Canada's War The Politics of the Mackenzie King Government, 1939-1945

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Canada was still a young nation when the Second World War broke out. The transition from colony to autonomous state had been speeded up somewhat by the First World War; it was during the Second that the process was completed, as Canada developed from semi-autonomy to genuine nationhood. In this study, J.L. Granatstein explores the development of Canadian nationalism during its second stage. The central role was played by Mackenzie King, the political leader who ran the war effort and shaped it. Granatstein examines the way King and his government grappled with the political, financial, economic, and racial issues of the time. King was very much in charge, and if he must assume the blame for his errors, he similarly must receive some of the credit for his and the country's achievements. Not the least of these was that Canada,which had entered the war with some colonial ties to Britain intact, came out of it as a fully independent nation.