Canada at War: THE DOMINION: Home for Christmas

In the House of Commons, members fidgeted. They sat late, for they were going home for Christmas and they wanted to be off. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King wound up his speech: “No succor could come to the enemy equal to that he will receive from anything that goes to show that a Parliament in … the British Commonwealth … is not united in support of its fighting men. . . .” Then (1:20 a.m.) the black-robed clerk finally rose, polled the members, bowed to the Speaker’s chair and announced: “Ayes 143, Nays 70.”

Prime Minister King had received his vote of confidence on the question of reinforcing the Canadian Army overseas with 16,000 home-defense conscripts. The 70 who voted against him: 35 Quebeckers (including 27 members of Mr. King’s own Liberal Party) who wanted no compulsion, 32 Tories, who wanted conscription with no strings attached, three others.