The Department of Munitions and Supply was the Canadian federal government ministry responsible for co-ordinating domestic industry during World War II. It was created by the ''Department of Munitions and Supply Act'' with

C.D. Howe Clarence Decatur Howe, (15 January 1886 – 31 December 1960) was an American-born Canadian engineer, businessman and Liberal Party politician. Howe served as a cabinet minister in the governments of prime ministers William Lyon Mackenzie ...

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

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 metals, :* machine tools, :* oil, and :* power. 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 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 that developed and produced synthetic rubber, Victory Aircraft for the production of bombers and Research Enterprises. 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 Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

.S.C. 17-18 Eliz. II, ch. 28, assented to on March 28, 1969 and in force on April 1, 1969

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* * {{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

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