Background
At no point during World War II did continental North America become
an active theatre of war. Canada could not, however, let itself go undefended against potential attack from Axis
powers. The threat of a sustained attack beyond the odd
raid was never high, although anxiety over such an event
spiked in 1939-40, when Britain herself was in danger of
falling to Germany, and in 1941 after the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbour. The largest threat to Canadian interests
that the Axis realistically posed was to its shipping. German
U-boats
terrorized North Atlantic waters, a significant
problem that the Eastern Command had to deal with.
Home defence was the primary objective of the Royal Canadian
Air Force (RCAF) from 1935 until the beginning of World
War II. This was reflected in the original, August 1939
plan in which, of 23 squadrons to be organized, 17 were to
stay in Canada and only six sent abroad. While events in
Europe quickly convinced Canada that more forces were needed
abroad—by 1941, there were 17 RCAF squadrons overseas—home
defence continued to be a high priority for the Canadian
government, if for no one else. Canada’s perceived requirements
for home defence were perpetually at odds with what their
larger allies, Britain and the United States, saw as being
necessary. Canadian plans for expansion of the Home War
Establishment were undermined by the country's dependence
on these allies for scarce aircraft that were more often
dedicated to other efforts.
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