During World War I, Italian young men who worked in the mines
returned to Italy to fight for their homeland. At that stage,
for some, Canada was still a place for employment but Italy was
home and Italys quarrels were theirs. But for those who married
and began families, Canada was their home and they were proud
citizens.
In the 1930s, while the Fascist party had its
supporters, which included the Italian vice-consular
representative in Calgary (Antonio Rebaudengo), for the majority of
Italians in the mines their allegiance to Canada was not in
question. They had established themselves in their communities
and even held public office. Thus, "enemy alien" designation in
World War II was a profound shock that reverberated throughout
the community and divided it along ethnic lines.
The mines, because they impacted on industrial production and
were therefore "sensitive," were militant about enforcing enemy alien
provisions and neighbours spied on neighbours on the look-out
for "all anti-allied activities." Provisions included:
- No enemy aliens or any naturalized since 1939 be employed for
the duration of the war
- Preference be given to British subjects as foremen
- Positions vacated by men enlisting in the C.A.S.F. be filled by
British subjects.
But even when their allegiance was in question and with worry
about family members at home in Italy, many young men of Italian ancestry fought in the Canadian
Armed Forces and there is an interesting example of one young
man who fought with other Canadians in the Spanish Civil War in
1936 and lost his life. According to J. E. Russell writing
in It's a Miner's Life (Drumheller: Historic Atlas
Coal Mine Research Study, 1995) as a result of the enlistment
mine operators faced a serious shortage of experienced men.
He notes: "The sudden drain in manpower in the mines caused the
federal government to pass legislation decreeing that coal
mining is an essential industry, and recalled many enlisted
miners back to the coal towns."
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