The Wartime Elections Act was a bill passed on September 20, 1917 by the Liberal-Conservative government of Robert Borden, and was instrumental in pushing Liberals to join the Liberal-Conservatives in the formation of the Canadian Unionist government. While the bill was an explicit attempt to get more votes for the government, it was also the first act giving women the vote in federal elections. September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Sir Robert Laird Borden, PC , KC , GCMG , DCL , LL.D (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was the eighth Prime Minister of Canada from October 10, 1911, to July 10, 1920, and the third Nova Scotian to hold this office. ... The Unionist Party was formed in 1917 by Members of Parliament (MPs) in Canada who supported the Union government formed by Sir Robert Borden during World War I. In May 1917, Conservative Prime Minister Borden proposed the formation of a national unity government or coalition government to Liberal leader Sir... Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ...

The act was passed at the height of the World War I. The Unionist Party, a merger of the Conservative Party and some Liberals, had already delayed the election by a year, citing the wartime conditions. The 1917 federal election was certain to be centred on the controversial plan by the government to introduce conscription. Conscription was strongly opposed by a good section of the Canadian population and by the Liberals. Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... The Conservative Party of Canada (French: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a right-of-centre political party in Canada, formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in December 2003. ... The Liberal Party of Canada (French: Parti libéral du Canada), colloquially known as the Grits (originally Clear Grits), is a Canadian federal political party positioned around the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum, combining a generally progressive social policy with moderate economics. ... The Canadian parliament after the 1917 election The 1917 Canadian federal election (sometimes referred to as the khaki election) was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons. ...

The act took the vote away from conscientious objectors, and anyone who had been born in an enemy country and had immigrated to Canada since 1902, even if they were now Canadian citizens. Recent immigrants were generally Liberal voters, as were those opposed to the war. A conscientious objector is a person whose beliefs are incompatible with military service - perhaps with any role in the armed forces (in which case he or she is either pacifist or antimilitarist) - or who objects to a particular war. ...

The act gave the vote to the wives, widows, mothers, and sisters of soldiers serving overseas. They were the first women ever to be able to vote in a Canadian federal elections. They were also a group that was strongly in favour of conscription. At the time, the act was passed it was justified through the patriotic fever surrounding World War I. While it was opposed by those who were disenfranchised and other opponents of the government, it was widely supported by the majority of Canadians.

The act was coupled with the Military Voters Act that further skewed the vote in favour of the Unionists. The two laws were effective, and the government was re-elected in the 1917 election, but the Unionist were elected by a large enough margin that such measures did not make the difference between victory and defeat. In the long run, it so alienated French-Canadians and recent immigrants, that they would vote Liberal for decades, greatly hurting the Conservative Party. After the war, the act was repealed and all women were given the vote.