Click to see a larger image (86K)
Ceremonies for Avro-Lancaster bomber,
National Steel Car, 1942
Gordon W. Powley fonds
Black and white negative
Reference Code: C 5-1-0-91-7
Archives of Ontario, I0011328

The effects of the Great Depression had left many factories out of date and unsuited to modern technology.

Despite this, as the war progressed, Canada became a major producer of material for the Allied war effort and many industrial centres in Ontario made important contributions.

Industry in Ontario not only met the demands of the Canadian armed forces but also produced items used by Great Britain, other Commonwealth countries and the United States.

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Tanks engaged in military manoeuvres,1942
Gordon W. Powley
Black and white negative
Reference Code: C 5-1-0-52-8
Archives of Ontario, I0011101

As the war progressed, and the technical requirements changed, Canadian industry expanded into areas of production that had barely existed in the country prior to 1939.

At the beginning of 1939 no armoured vehicles were being produced in this country, but by the end of 1944 14,000 tanks and armoured personnel carriers were being produced annually.

Aircraft production jumped from a handful to more than 4,000 per year by 1944.

In the first year of the war 200 artillery pieces were produced. By 1944 that number had risen to 16,000.

With many working age men being drawn into the various branches of the military, labour shortages started to be felt in other sectors. Workers, both skilled and unskilled, were required to equip the war machine. This demand continued to increase throughout the war and many of the positions were filled by women.

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Mary Pickford posing with a group of employees
during her visit to the General Engineering
Company (Canada) munitions factory, June 5, 1943
General Engineering Company (Canada) fonds
Black and white print
Reference Code: F 2082-1-2-10
Archives of Ontario, I0004930

Women became involved in all aspects of war production. One area that saw a tremendous growth in the percentage of female employees was manufacturing, as companies all across Canada encouraged women to join their ranks.

One such factory was the General Engineering Company, a Scarborough (Toronto) munitions plant that manufactured ammunition of all calibres.

Let's Visit (1945) is a radio program that follows a new worker through her orientation to the factory. The program stresses the desirability of industrial work for women, and tries to counter the traditional view of such work as dirty and dangerous.

Clips from the radio program are included here.

Another company that encouraged women to join their workforce was the Canadian Car and Foundry Company in Fort William (now Thunder Bay) and Brantford.

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Women soldering and assembling cables for airplanes,
Canadian Car and Foundry Co., Brantford, 1945
Canadian Car and Foundry fonds
Black and white print
Reference Code: C 190-5-0-0-43
Archives of Ontario, I0002965

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Women working at the General Engineering
Company (Canada) munitions factory, [ca. 1943]
General Engineering Company (Canada) fonds
Black and white print
Reference Code: F 2082-1-2-6
Archives of Ontario, I0004899

At the end of 1939 there were 121,000 individuals involved in war production.

By 1943, when industrial expansion reached its peak, that number had grown to over 1 million.

Even more striking, the number of women amongst this group increased from 6,000 to 261,000 in the same time period.

Even thousands of miles from the front it was impossible to forget a war was going on, and security for war production was always an issue.

In March 1941 Ontario’s Controller of Finances, C. S. Walters, wrote C. D. Howe, National Minister of Munitions, Supply and Transport, of his concerns about security for ships under construction at Toronto’s waterfront.