Collection 02 / 07
Canada at War
From Vimy Ridge to the home front — the mornings the war reached Canada’s doorstep.
4 front pages in this collection
No front page does harder work than a war page. It has to announce and it has to mourn, often in the same column — a victory in the banner headline, the casualty lists a few lines below. For the better part of a century, the mornings that reached Canadian doorsteps in wartime were the most consequential a newspaper ever printed, and readers learned to read them differently: quickly, and then again slowly.
This collection follows the war from the trenches of the First World War to the celebrations of the Second, and to the stranger mornings in between — including the day a Canadian city let itself be “occupied” to sell war bonds. The pages are set the way they first appeared: large type for the news that could not wait, and the plainer columns beneath where the cost was counted.
Each entry is a typographic reconstruction with a short account of the morning behind it. Browse from the earliest reporting to the most recent, or explore the other collections in the archive.
The front pages
02 / 07- November 11, 1918 The Guns Fall Silent On November 11, 1918, the Armistice ended the First World War — and Canadian front pages carried the two words the country had waited four years to read. The Globe · Toronto
- February 19, 1942 “If Day” — the Nazis Take Winnipeg For one staged morning in 1942, Winnipeg woke up 'occupied' by mock Nazi troops — an If Day stunt the front page played along with to sell war bonds. Winnipeg Free Press · Winnipeg
- May 8, 1945 Victory in Europe On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender ended the war in Europe — a victory Canadian front pages had waited nearly six years to announce. Toronto Daily Star · Toronto
Canada at War — questions
Good to knowWhat events does the Canada at War collection include?
This collection covers front pages linked to major wartime moments, from the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917 to the Armistice of 1918. It also includes the 1942 If Day mock invasion staged in Winnipeg and VE Day in 1945. Together they trace how the wars were reported to Canadians at home.
Why is Vimy Ridge such a prominent page?
The Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge in April 1917 in an assault often remembered as a defining national moment. The battle came to hold a large place in how Canadians understood the First World War. Its front page anchors this collection for that reason.
What was If Day in Winnipeg?
If Day was a staged mock Nazi invasion of Winnipeg in February 1942, organized to promote the sale of war bonds. Volunteers acted out an occupation to bring the war vividly home to residents. The event produced striking newspaper coverage, which the archive reconstructs here.
Which pages mark the end of the wars?
The collection includes the Armistice of November 1918, which ended the fighting of the First World War, and VE Day in May 1945, marking victory in Europe in the Second World War. Both were greeted with widespread public celebration. The front pages capture how that news reached readers.
Are the wartime front pages scans of the originals?
No. Each is a typographic reconstruction, rebuilt from the public record rather than reproduced from an original printed page. Newspaper titles are named for identification and historical accuracy. A short account explains the day behind each page.