Editing Robert Borden (section)

====Major reforms====

On August 22, 1914, Parliament passed the controversial ''[[War Measures Act]]'' (with support from both Conservatives and Liberals), which gave the government extraordinary and emergency powers, including the right to censor and suppress communications, the right to arrest, detain, and deport people without charges or trials, the right to control transportation, trade and manufacturing, and the right to seize private property during times of "war, invasion or insurrection". The act also allowed Borden to govern by [[order in council]], meaning that Cabinet was allowed to implement pieces of legislation without the need for a vote in the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] and [[Senate of Canada|Senate]].<ref name="Bordenbio" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Denis |title=War Measures Act |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-measures-act |website=Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=9 February 2022 |date=25 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title  =War Measures Act, 1914|abbr =SC|year =1914|chapter =2.|link =https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_08039/2}}</ref>

Borden's government created the [[Canadian Patriotic Fund]] to give financial and social assistance to the families of soldiers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=267&rec_nbr_list=267|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013234723/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=267&rec_nbr_list=267|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 13, 2012|title=Department of Veterans Affairs fonds [multiple media (some microform)].|publisher=[[Library and Archives Canada]]|quote=In addition, a {{Sic|hide=y|publicly|-}}subscribed Canadian Patriotic Fund was organized in August 1914, with responsibilities towards soldiers' families.|access-date=February 11, 2022}}</ref> The government also raised tariffs on some high-demand consumer items to boost the economy.<ref name="Bordenbio" />

In 1916, Borden's government established the [[National Research Council Canada]] for scientific and industrial research.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brett |first1=Alexandra |last2=Phillipson |first2=Donald |title=National Research Council of Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/national-research-council-of-canada |website=Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=21 February 2022 |date=7 February 2006}}</ref> In 1918, to gain information on Canada's population, social structure, and economy, the government established the [[Dominion Bureau of Statistics]] through the ''[[Statistics Act]]''. It was renamed [[Statistics Canada]] in 1971.<ref name="Bordenbio" />

Borden's government set up the [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]] (CEF). The force posted several combat formations of the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] during the war.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-the-front/military-structure/the-canadian-expeditionary-force/|title=Military Structure - the Canadian Expeditionary Force}}</ref> In December 1914, Borden stated, "there has not been, there will not be, compulsion or [[conscription]]." As the war dragged on, more troops for the CEF were deployed through the [[volunteer military|voluntary force]]. In July 1915, the number of CEF soldiers increased to 150,000 before being increased to 250,000 in October 1915 before doubling to 500,000 in January 1916. By mid-1916, the rate of volunteers enlisting started to slow down.<ref name="Bordenbio" />