The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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Canada was a self-ruling dominion within the British Empire
in 1941. Because Canadian troops were posted to Hong
Kong just before war broke out in the Pacific, Canada followed
Britain
into war with Japan, but its
contribution to the
Pacific War was modest. Canadian troops were part of the Special Service Force
and participated in
the Kiska invasion, and Royal
Canadian Air Force planes
operated off Alaska; but most other
Canadian forces
were committed to the European theater, where they made a contribution to defeating Germany wholly out of proportion to the modest Canadian population of just 11 million persons.
Canadian troops in Alaska fell under the Pacific
Command (Major General George
Randolph Pearkes).
Canada was more important to the Pacific War for its economic contributions: The United States got practically all its nickel from the Sudbury Mine in Ontario, Canada, which produced nearly 100,000 tons a year.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007-2008, 2011 by Kent G. Budge. Index
