The act of enforcing conscription during World War I and World War II nearly tore Canada apart. The 1917 conscription crisis was an insidious event that occurred during World War I. During this period relations between Quebec and the rest of Canada were at an all-time low in our Canadian history. Quebecers thought that conscription was simply unnecessary, whatever the circumstances; while all other Canadians essentially wanted conscription to occur. Conflict was inevitably high on the issue of conscription between the Québécois and the rest of Canada, so creating a solution when conscription was actually necessary was impossible. However, while William Lyon Mackenzie King was Prime Minister during World War II; he reacted differently than Robert Borden. Although King promised not to introduce conscription as Borden did in his election run; approached the issue of conscription in a more controlled manner. Essentially Mackenzie King approached the issue of conscription using knowledge learned from World War I. In 1917 Robert Borden made terrible mistakes that caused the conscription crisis of 1917. When Prime Minister was elected Borden promised that there would be no conscription. applied in any case. At the start of the war more than 400,000 soldiers volunteered for service abroad, one in 20 of them were Quebecers. The lack of interest from the French Canadians clearly demonstrated that they were not interested in the war at all. In 1917 the number of victims was very high; more people died than volunteered. Rob Borden thought the draft was really necessary. As a result, on May 18, 1917 he withdrew his promise to "no obliga...... middle of paper...... J. Young. A Short History of Quebec. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2003. Ferguson , Will. Canadian History for Dummies. Mississauga, Ontario: J. Wiley & Sons Canada, 2005. Goodall, Lian William Lyon Mackenzie King: Dreams and Shadows, Quebec: XYZ Pub., 2003. Granatstein, J.L. Canada War: The Politics of Mackenzie King's government 1939-1945. Toronto: Oxford UP, 1975. Linteau, Paul-Andre and Robert, Jean-Claude A History 1867-1929 Toronto: Lorimer, 1983. Nelson, Sheila Crisis at Home and Abroad: The Great Depression, World War II, and Beyond, 1929-1959. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Mason Crest, 2005. Nolan, Brian King's War: Mackenzie King and the Politics of War, 1939-1945 Toronto: Random House, 1988. Pickersgill, J.W. Donald F. Forster Mackenzie King's record: – University of Toronto, 1970.