The Canadian Expeditionary Force was mostly volunteers; a bill allowing conscription was passed

in August, 1917,[4] but not enforced until call-ups began in January 1918 (see Conscription Crisis
of 1917). In all, 24,132 conscripts had been sent to France to take part in the final Hundred Days
campaign.[5]
As a Dominion in the British Empire, Canada was automatically at war with Germany upon the
British declaration.[6] Popular support for the war was found mainly in English Canada.[7] Of the
first contingent formed at Valcartier, Quebec in 1914, about two-thirds were men who had been
born in the United Kingdom. By the end of the war in 1918, at least half of the soldiers were
British-born. Recruiting was difficult among the French-Canadian population, many of whom did
not agree with supporting Canada's participation in the war;[8][9] one battalion, the 22nd, who
came to be known as the 'Van Doos', was French-speaking. ("Van Doos" is an approximate
pronunciation of the French for "22nd" - vingt-deuxième)

Private Joseph Pappin, 130 Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force.[10]

To a lesser extent, several other cultural groups within the Dominion enlisted and made a significant
contribution to the Force including Indigenous people of the First Nations, Black Canadians as well
as Black Americans.[11] Many British nationals from the United Kingdom or other territories who
were resident in Canada and the United States also joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force. A
sizeable percentage of Bermuda's volunteers who served in the war joined the Canadian
Expeditionary Force, either because they were resident in Canada already, or because Canada was
the easiest other part of the Empire and Commonwealth to reach from Bermuda (1,239 kilometres
(770 miles) from Nova Scotia). As several Canadian Expeditionary Force battalions were posted to
the Bermuda Garrison before proceeding to France, islanders were also able to enlist there.[12]
Although the Bermuda Militia Artillery and Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps both sent contingents to
the Western Front, the first would not arrive there until June 1915. By then, many Bermudians had
already been serving on the Western Front in the Canadian Expeditionary Force for months.
Bermudians in the Canadian Expeditionary Force enlisted under the same terms as Canadians, and
all male British Nationals resident in Canada became liable for conscription under the Military
Service Act, 1917.
The Canadian Expeditionary Force raised 260 numbered infantry battalions, two named infantry
battalions (The Royal Canadian Regiment and Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry), 17
mounted regiments, 13 railway troop battalions, five pioneer battalions, four divisional supply
trains, four divisional signals companies, a dozen engineering companies, over 80 field and heavy
artillery batteries, fifteen field ambulance units, 23 general and stationary hospitals, and many other
medical, dental, forestry, labour, tunnelling, cyclist, and service units. Two tank battalions were
raised in 1918 but did not see service. Most of the infantry battalions were broken up and used as
reinforcements, with a total of fifty being used in the field, including the mounted rifle units, which
were re-organized as infantry. The artillery and engineering units underwent significant re-
organization as the war progressed, in keeping with rapidly changing technological and tactical
requirements.[13]