The Canadian Patriotic Fund (1914–1919) was a private fund-raising organization incorporated in 1914 by federal statute and headed by

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

businessman and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament Sir Herbert Brown Ames. The fund was established to give financial and social assistance to soldiers' families. By March 31, 1917, the Canadian Patriotic Fund had collected $22,981,616. The Irish poet Michael A. Hargadon, who was a reporter with the Montreal Star, wrote a poem entitled ''To Those They Left Behind'' which was widely published in newspapers and magazines across Canada, and helped raise several million dollars in contributions towards the Canadian Patriotic Fund. An earlier version of the Fund had operated during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

for the same purpose, after being announced by

Lord Minto Earl of Minto, in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1813 for Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto. The current earl is Gilbert Timothy George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynm ...

, the

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, on January 12, 1900, as a way of coordinating the efforts of numerous smaller organizations that had been competing against each other.Gordon L. Heath, ''War with a Silver Lining: Canadian Protestant Churches and the South African War, 1899-1902'' (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009) p80 The earlier Fund was incorporated by Parliament on May 23, 1901 and raised $339,975.63 during its existence, with charitable disbursements to 1,066 recipients. The CPF was a centralized fund administered in communities by local volunteer groups. Abuse of the system has been reported, including recipients being cut off arbitrarily based on the moral judgements of volunteers, who were often middle- and upper-class citizens. Some women were denied benefits for being seen to spend their money frivolously, or for being suspected of extramarital affairs while their soldier husbands were away. Examples of "extravagance" in spending: having a telephone at home, going out dancing, taking a taxi, shopping "in broad daylight." There was no appeal system.

References

Charities based in Canada Canadian home front during World War I Robert Borden Organizations established in 1914 1914 establishments in Canada Funds {{Canada-org-stub