Canadian Women and War: Thriving in a Man's World

If women on the home front were not a part of the workforce, they were likely volunteers who could support the war through their domestic skills. All across Canada, women knit scarves, socks, and mittens, prepared parcels for soldiers overseas, ran collection drives, and established refugee centres. With their roles as workers and volunteers, women were completely preoccupied throughout the war. That being said, how did married women juggle their family lives with their working lives? This posed a dilemma for both the women and the governments who relied on them. From 1942 to 1946, the federal Minister of Labour introduced the Dominion-Provincial Wartime Day Nurseries Agreement in Ontario and Quebec. This program provided daycare facilities for mothers and although it was short-lived, its creation still impacts women who depend on modern social insurance programs. The agreement paved the way for the establishment of family allowance in 1944, which was later developed into the present-day Child Tax Benefit.