The Department of Munitions and Supply was the

Canadian federal government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

ministry responsible for co-ordinating domestic industry during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was created by the ''Department of Munitions and Supply Act'' with C.D. Howe as its Minister. The Department produced

armaments A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

for the war effort and regulated the use of gasoline, silk and other strategic commodities in Canada order to prioritize their use for the war production. Controllers all of whom were members of the

Wartime Industries Control Board Wartime may refer to: * Wartime, Saskatchewan, a small community in Saskatchewan, Canada * Wartime, a formal state of war, as opposed to peacetime * ''Wartime'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film spin-off of the TV series ''Doctor Who'' * ''Wart ...

were appointed to regulate the war supply of key industrial sectors, including: :*

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

, :*

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, :* other

base metal A base metal is a common and inexpensive metal, as opposed to a precious metal such as gold or silver. In numismatics, coins often derived their value from the precious metal content; however, base metals have also been used in coins in the past ...

s, :*

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All m ...

s, :*

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

, and :*

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

. By the end of the war, Canada's war production ranked fourth among the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. By 1945, 70% of Canada's war production went to supply the Allies and only 30% was needed for Canada's own military. Among the production was 815,729 military vehicles, including 45,710 armoured vehicles, many of which went to the

British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces ...

in North Africa and Italy. The Department established 28

crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

s including

Polymer Corporation Polymer Corporation was a Canadian federal crown corporation established in 1942 to produce artificial rubber to substitute for overseas supply cut off by World War II. After the Japanese captured the Dutch East Indies in 1942, most of the world's ...

that developed and produced synthetic rubber,

Victory Aircraft Victory Aircraft Limited was a Canadian manufacturing company that, during the Second World War, built mainly British-designed aircraft under licence. It acted as a shadow factory, safe from the reach of German bombers. Initially the major wa ...

for the production of bombers and

Research Enterprises Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

. It coordinated all purchases made in Canada by British and other Allied governments for materials including military transport vehicles, tanks, cargo and military ships, aircraft, guns and small arms, ammunition as well as uniforms, minesweeping equipment, parachutes, firefighting equipment, and hospital supplies. The Department was dissolved at the conclusion of World War II and most of its crown corporations sold off. The remaining duties of the department were merged with those of the Department of Reconstruction to create the Department of Reconstruction and Supply. In 1951, a new

Department of Defence Production The Department of Defence Production was an Australian government department that existed between May 1951 and April 1958. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be found in the ...

was created, with Howe as its minister until 1957. The department itself existed until 1969 when it was abolished and replaced by the Department of Supply and Services.S.C. 17-18 Eliz. II, ch. 28, assented to on March 28, 1969 and in force on April 1, 1969

References

External links

* * {{Dead link, date=July 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Military history of Canada during World War II Military logistics of Canada Former Canadian federal departments and agencies

Further reading

See also

References

External links