In World War II, Canada played a role that is no different that the role that many other countries did -- their role was to send soldiers and materiel to be used in the war. Canadians participated in fighting in all theaters of the war. This included the D-Day invasion in which Canada played a major role. So Canada's role was the same as every other country's role.
Canada was not the most populous or the biggest country in WWII and so its involvement was not as significant (in absolute terms) as that of the United States, for example. However, over 1 million Canadians served in uniform and almost 100,000 were either killed or wounded.
What was Canada's role in World War II?
Canada's role during World War II was closely tied to Britain. Canada is part of the British Commonwealth. At the start of the war, Canada had less than 10,000 active military forces, and...
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about 50,000 men who served in the reserves. The British military had over 200,000 soldiers. In 1939, Britain was threatened due to its proximity to Germany. Canada seemed separated because of the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. This eventually changed as German submarines began moving into Canadian waters as the war went on.
By the time the war was over, Canada's military had grown substantially. Canada even served as a training location for Allied pilots. The Nova Scotian city of Halifax was an important location for warships and military bases. Over one million Canadians served in the military during the war, and their efforts helped the Allied powers in their fight against the Axis powers.
On the home front, manufacturing in Canada helped to provide much needed supplies to Europe. Weaponry and war vehicles were produced and shipped overseas.