On 13 Oct. 1899, without consulting parliament, Sir Wilfrid Laurier agreed to send Canadian volunteers to South Africa to support Great Britain in its war against the Boers. British imperialism, ever present as background, prompted two different visions of the country’s future – imperialism versus nationalism – and divided English and French Canadians. Between 1899 and 1902, Canada dispatched 7,300 men to assist the British in the South African War. The end of the war in May 1902, temporarily eased tensions between English and French Canadians over relations between the mother country and Canada.
Based on DCB biographies and themes