On this day in 1944, Canadian soldiers landed at Juno Beach as part of D-Day, beginning the Allied liberation of France from the German fascist regime.
359 Canadians were killed, and over 584 were wounded, while 131 were taken prisoner.
Alongside our British and American allies, Canadians helped to usher in Germany’s defeat in Europe, destroying a genocidal regime and liberating tens of millions of people from tyranny.
D-Day was in many ways the culmination of years of economic reorganization and military production that turned Canada into a formidable military power.
As I noted in a previous column on the importance of remembering our military history, Canada’s economic and military mobilization in the Second World War was impressive:
“In the Second World War, Canada independently chose to enter the conflict against fascism, years before the United States did. This is important to remember, as the defeat of the Axis powers was by no means a foregone conclusion. Canada entered the war when the Allies were the underdogs.
Over one million Canadians served, out of a population of roughly 11 million. Canada undertook an immense military-industrial mobilization, churning out weapons, ships, aircraft, trucks, ammunition, and more.
As noted by the Canadian War Museum, Canada’s shipbuilding industry grew from three shipyards and fewer than 4,000 workers to 90 shipyards and 126,000 workers. Canada built over 4,000 naval vessels, including 300 anti-submarine ships and 410 cargo ships. This helped Canada play a crucial role in protecting vital shipments of weapons and equipment from North America to Europe.
Canada finished the war with one of the largest naval fleets on Earth.”
We achieved this at a time when our nation was much poorer, much smaller in terms of population, and much less advanced. We had political divisions and cultural differences to contend with, as we do today.
Yet, we recognized that fascism had to be defeated, and we mobilized our people, our technology, and our resources to ensure victory over the Axis.
Turning the tide away from a new dark age
In his Their Finest Hour speech, UK Prime Minister Winston Spencer Churchill (great middle name), spoke of the consequences if fascism was not stopped:
“But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”
Yet again, we face the potential of a new dark age.
China is undertaking the largest military build-up since the end of the Second World War.
Russia is rapidly becoming a total war economy, meaning even an end to the war in Ukraine could see the Russian war machine directed elsewhere in Europe.
The United States is shifting in an authoritarian direction that, at best, will render it an unreliable partner over the next three years, and at worst, will turn it into a quasi-ally of Russia and other authoritarian states.
The trend towards more democracy and freedom has reversed, with human rights eroding across much of the globe.
In this environment, Canada, along with countries like the UK, France, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Poland, and more, find themselves facing the prospect of going up against massive authoritarian states on their own.
If the U.S. were to step back from the world and let Russia run wild in the Baltics and China run wild in Asia, even today’s diminished level of freedom could look like a golden age compared to what comes next.
And so, we once again find ourselves in a moment when rearmament and resilience are essential for the preservation of our way of life and our sovereignty as a nation.
As we do so, we can gain strength from the courage of the brave Canadians who landed on Juno Beach on this day in 1944, risking their lives, and in many cases losing their lives, so we could be here today. We owe it to them to protect the values and ideals they fought for, to ensure Canada remains a free and sovereign nation, and ensure the spread of tyranny is checked and ultimately reversed.
Spencer Fernando
Image – [Library and Archives Canada 3408540]
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