French-speakers in Canada were especially opposed to the Military Service Act. Quebec's enlistment numbers had always lagged behind the others many English-speakers in Canada pointed towards Quebec for more soldiers.
There are many possible reasons for Quebec’s lack of participation in the war. The province had a huge agricultural industry so farmers were needed to work at home. Couples tended to marry younger on average in Quebec than in other parts of Canada and married men. Married men would have most likely been less inclined to leave home for the war and they would have had a family to take care of. Another reason was that French speaking Canadians did not feel the same sentiments of loyalty to France or Britain that English-speaking Canadians felt for Britain.
It must also be pointed out that Sam Hughes, the minister of militia at the time, did not give Quebec their own fighting unit while most other provinces had their own. French speakers were separated among the different English-speaking units and no consideration was given for their language differences. Instructions and commands were all given in English.
There were clear social and cultural differences in Quebec form the rest of Canada, like marrying younger and stronger feelings of independence from Europe. This would have made Quebec less inclined to fight the war, but it would have also made it more difficult for English-speaking Canadians to see the reasons that French-speaking Canadians had. Because of this unresolved difference in points of view, a rift was formed between Quebec and the rest of Canada.
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