Keeping More than Home Fires Burning: Prairie Women during the Second World War

Abstract

The Second World War proved to be a pivotal time for women across Canada. With men away defending the nation, it was women who were expected to not only ‘keep the home fires burning’ but also keep the nation stable. In order to do that, women had to move into roles that were traditionally reserved for men. On the prairies, women picked up the slack readily, moving into factory positions in Central Canada, taking over the family farm, and even joining the army in the Women’s Corps. For the women of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, this new role provided them with the chance to earn their own finances for the first time. The war also established a precedent that women could work and be good mothers at the same time. The work that prairie and Canadian women did during the war, helped normalize the idea of women in the workplace that is so prevalent in today’s society.