Dear Editor,
I wanted to thank Chris Judd who is indeed “Outstanding in his field” as THE EQUITY’s agricultural columnist for his recent article on conscription and the impacts of the World Wars on our Pontiac farming communities.
Indeed, conscription was vigorously debated by rural politicians, including my great-grandfather and namesake, William Andrew Amos, who served as president of both the Canadian Council of Agriculture and the United Farmers of Ontario.

Almost 100 years ago, the UFO unexpectedly received the most votes in the 1919 Ontario provincial election at a time when rural depopulation and the fallout from conscription opposition were top of mind issues. When the Conservative (Borden) federal government, opposed by Laurier’s Liberals, tried to enact conscription in 1917, farmers protested en masse. William A. Amos led demonstrations on Parliament Hill, bringing with him scores of West Quebecers and Eastern Ontarians, so goes my family lore.
From a rural point of view, farmers confronted a unique tension in relation to their war duties: should they stay in Canada and work the land to produce food, or, join the armed forces and fight in Europe?
The impact of recruitment upon the farm labour supply began to be felt in rural areas, with each new recruit lessening by one person the available harvest help. This affected the quantity and quality of the crops produced.
Conscription left farming families with a severe labour disadvantage, so they started agitating for political change. After the war, farmers expected to have an increased voice in politics; however, traditional parties did not rush to incorporate more farmer ideas into their platforms. When farmers felt their voices were inadequately represented, they reacted at the ballot box in response to a sense of under-appreciation for the important roles that farmers played in war effort. A good lesson for me, for sure: I will always listen to my elders.

William Amos
Member of Parliament for Pontiac