War Measures Act (1914)

The War Measures Act was adopted on 22 Aug. 1914, granting the governor in council the authority to respond immediately to an emergency and the demands of the First World War. The law gave the government extraordinary powers of coercion over Canadians, some of whom expressed reservations since the resulting suspension of habeas corpus was a threat to certain liberties. The War Measures Act was again invoked during the Second World War, notably for the internment of “enemy aliens,” and in Quebec during the October crisis of 1970.