History is often seen as “peeks” through the rear-view mirror. Its points are viewed along a line in a continuum, but in so doing, we often miss the bigger picture. World War II is such an example. It shaped the Canadian experience. But we often tend to concentrate on the “specific” period of the war without looking back upon it. There is a context of what came before and what followed that is often overlooked. The before and after provides some insight on who and what we are today.
World War II changed the way Canada looked at itself and its values. The War shaped Canada’s future. The story of “opening the flood gates” on public spending during World War II is the story of policy and social change within Canada. The Great Depression was but a very recent memory. Canada’s war investments were used not only to pave the road to victory; they also paved the way ahead for its post war future. Fiscal policy would become an instrument of economic and social change.
“The Crucible For Change, Defence Spending in Debert Nova Scotia During World War II”, originally published in the Royal Canadian Air Force Journal, Winter, 2013, Vol. 2 No. 1, is a history of the scope of Canada’s investment and public spending in Debert, Nova Scotia during the Second World War.
“The Crucible for Change, Defence Spending in Debert Nova Scotia During World War II” was recently reprinted in a special edition of the RCAF Journal concerning the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, Royal Canadian Air Force Journal, Spring, 2016 Vol. 5 No. 2.