Facts on Canada's Involvement in the First World War

• Canada entered the war in 1914.
• Almost 620,000 Canadian men and women served in the First World War at a time when the population of the country was only a few million.
• Of these, more than 66,000 were killed.
• At the Battle of the Somme, British Forces suffered their heaviest one-day loss ever, more than 57,000 men. More than 700 men from the Newfoundland regiment were killed or injured during this battle.
• Four Canadians were awarded the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth's highest award for bravery, for their part in capturing Vimy Ridge.
• Canadian John McCrae wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields" while on the battlefield.
• During the course of the war, Canada's naval service grew from 350 men and two ships to a force of 9,000 men and 100 ships.