War Measures Act

The War Measures Act (5 George V, Chapter 2) was a federal statute enacted by the Parliament of Canada to provide the executive with extraordinary powers during times of war, invasion, or insurrection. First adopted in 1914, the Act authorised the suspension of ordinary legal safeguards and permitted the federal government to rule by decree through Orders in Council. It was invoked on three occasions in Canadian history: during the First World War, the Second World War, and the 1970 October Crisis. While the Act was defended as a necessary response to national emergencies, it became highly controversial for its extensive curtailment of civil liberties. In 1988, it was repealed and replaced by the Emergencies Act, which introduced stronger parliamentary oversight and protections for rights.

Legislative Background and Purpose

The War Measures Act was passed on 22 August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Its primary purpose was to ensure that the federal government could act swiftly and decisively in circumstances deemed to threaten the security, peace, order, and welfare of Canada. The Act empowered the Governor in Council to make regulations covering virtually all aspects of civil life, including transportation, trade, censorship, detention, and property seizure.
The Act was framed in broad and permissive language, allowing the executive to determine both the existence of an emergency and the measures required to address it. Parliament retained formal authority, but in practice delegated sweeping legislative power to the executive for the duration of an emergency.

First World War Implementation

When war broke out in August 1914, Canada was still constitutionally tied to the British Empire. A state of war with Germany was declared by the United Kingdom on behalf of the Empire, effective 4 August 1914, and Canada was notified by telegraphic despatch. The War Measures Act was subsequently enacted to retroactively validate all actions taken by the Canadian government from the declaration of war onwards and to provide continuing authority until the conflict ended, which formally occurred on 10 January 1920.
Sections 2 to 6 of the original Act authorised extensive controls, including the regulation of transportation by land, air, and water, and the movement of persons and goods. Measures taken before the Act’s passage were deemed lawful as if authorised by statute.

Scope of Executive Authority

The Act conferred exceptionally wide authority on the executive branch. In In re Gray, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the Act allowed the government not only to issue regulations but also effectively to amend or override other Acts of Parliament. The Court noted parallels with the British Defence of the Realm Act 1914, which had been upheld by the House of Lords.
Chief Justice Sir Charles Fitzpatrick emphasised that Parliament had deliberately intended to grant the executive the “widest powers” in times of danger. The language of the Act was interpreted as authorising virtually unlimited regulatory authority, provided the measures were deemed necessary or advisable for national security and welfare.

Internment and Civil Liberties in the First World War

One of the most controversial applications of the War Measures Act occurred during Canada’s first national internment operations (1914–1920). Under the Act, thousands of civilians were designated as enemy aliens, including individuals from territories associated with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany. The majority of those interned were Ukrainians originating from regions such as Galicia and Northern Bukovina.
These individuals were stripped of property, compelled to perform forced labour, disenfranchised under the Wartime Elections Act, and subjected to restrictions on movement, speech, and association. Enemy aliens were required to carry identification at all times, prohibited from owning firearms, restricted from travelling without permission, and barred from publishing or reading material in languages other than English or French.
With the Russian Revolution of 1917, additional regulations banned membership in organisations associated with socialism or communism. Immigration from enemy-associated countries was halted, and deportations were carried out. Many internees were only released when labour shortages made their participation in the workforce economically necessary.
Official recognition of these injustices came decades later. A campaign launched in 1985 by the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association resulted in the passage of the Internment of Persons of Ukrainian Origin Recognition Act in 2005 and the creation of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund.

Second World War Measures

By the outbreak of the Second World War, Canada had achieved greater legislative independence through the Statute of Westminster 1931. Consequently, Canada declared a state of apprehended war on 25 August 1939, followed by a formal declaration of war against Germany on 10 September 1939. The Defence of Canada Regulations were enacted under the War Measures Act.
These regulations permitted extreme security measures, including the suspension of habeas corpus, detention without charge, censorship, banning of political and religious groups, confiscation of property, and restrictions on free expression. Section 21 empowered the Minister of Justice to detain anyone suspected of acting in a manner prejudicial to public safety.
The regulations were used to intern fascists, communists, and opponents of conscription, and later to carry out the large-scale internment of Japanese Canadians, as well as smaller numbers of German and Italian Canadians. These measures resulted in widespread loss of property, displacement, and long-term social harm.

Judicial Interpretation and Constitutional Impact

The constitutionality of the War Measures Act was repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada. In the Chemicals Reference (1943), the Court ruled that Orders in Council issued under the Act were equivalent in force to Acts of Parliament. Chief Justice Thibaudeau Rinfret stated that the Governor in Council exercised plenary legislative authority within the scope of the Act, comparable to that of Parliament itself.
This reasoning was later cited in the Reference re Persons of Japanese Race, which upheld wartime actions taken against Japanese Canadians. The Act’s impact on federal–provincial relations was further clarified in the Wartime Leasehold Regulations Reference, which held that federal emergency powers could temporarily override provincial jurisdiction, particularly in areas such as housing and rent control.
Justice Robert Taschereau explained that provincial powers were not permanently extinguished but merely suspended for the duration of the emergency, resuming once the crisis had passed.

Post-war Continuation and Termination

The War Measures Act remained in force until 31 December 1945. It was followed by the National Emergency Transitional Powers Act 1945, which extended certain emergency controls until 31 March 1947 to manage post-war instability. These measures acknowledged that emergencies could persist beyond the cessation of active hostilities due to economic and social disruption.

Repeal and Legacy

The War Measures Act was invoked for the final time during the October Crisis of 1970, when the federal government responded to kidnappings by the Front de libération du Québec. The use of the Act in peacetime against Canadian citizens intensified criticism of its scope and lack of safeguards.
In 1988, the Act was formally repealed and replaced by the Emergencies Act, which retained emergency powers but introduced parliamentary review, time limits, and explicit compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.