angiem28 said:
I wonder if any one can answer this for me plz did Canada hae national call up into the army like britain used to? if so when did that end? and also how old would someone be to be called up? ty
The simple answer:
"CONSCRIPTION
1939-1945
In 1944, Ottawa imposed limited conscription for overseas service.
When the war broke out, the main federal political parties agreed there would be no conscription for overseas service. Following the defeat of France in June 1940, Parliament passed the National Resources Mobilization Act, which introduced conscription for service in Canada only. In April 1942, the federal government held a national plebiscite asking Canadians to release it from its “no conscription” pledge if, in the future, Ottawa decided conscripts were needed overseas. While across Canada more than 70% of Canadians voted “yes”, four-fifths of Quebecers voted “no”. As in 1917-1918, the nation divided along linguistic lines.
In November 1944, after heavy losses in front-line infantry units serving in Northwest Europe and Italy, Ottawa authorized the dispatch of 16,000 home defence conscripts overseas. Beginning in January 1945, 13,000 proceeded to Britain, but only a few thousand entered combat in Europe before the war ended. Canada’s war overseas was almost entirely a volunteer effort.
"http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/chrono/1931conscription_e.html
Politics and Government: Conscription
"Conscription, or compulsory military service, divided the nation in the Second World War and threatened the survival of political leaders. In 1939 Prime Minister Mackenzie King, conscious of the opposition of French-speaking Quebec to conscription in the First World War, promised that there would be no conscription for overseas service. By mid-1940, however, there was enormous pressure from English Canada for total mobilization of manpower. King introduced the National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA), which called for a national registration of eligible men and authorized conscription for home defence. From April 1941 the young men called up were required to serve for the rest of the war on home defence duties.
But this was not enough for some in English-Canada, which provided the bulk of the volunteers for the armed forces. They had an uncomplimentary name for the NRMA conscripts, calling them "zombies" - the living dead, only half human, who peopled horror movies. Increasingly, there was pressure on the "zombies" to volunteer for overseas service.
With the entry of Japan into the war in December 1941 came further demands for overseas conscription. In a plebiscite of April 1942, King asked Canadians to release him from his 1939 promise. Overall, the "Yes" side won, with 64%, but Quebeckers voted 73% against and many other non-English-Canadians were also opposed. The NRMA was amended to allow conscription for overseas service, but for now King went no further because there were sufficient volunteers still available.
Fighting in Normandy after D-Day led to high casualty rates among the infantry. J.L. Ralston, Minister of National Defence, was convinced that it was essential to send conscripts overseas as reinforcements. When his Cabinet colleagues could not agree, King forced him to resign and turned to General A.G.L. McNaughton as the new Minister in a last-ditch effort to avoid conscription. But McNaughton too, despite his great prestige, was unable to find enough NRMA men willing to volunteer. On November 22, 1944, King was forced to reverse his position and order conscripts overseas.
Some 13,000 NRMA men eventually left Canada, but only 2,463 reached units in the field before the end of the fighting. 69 died in battle.
Related Newspaper Articles
The Conscription Issue
The Globe and Mail, 19/09/1939
Canada Hesitates Over Wider Draft
The New York Times, 11/01/1942
A Plebiscite!
The Globe and Mail, 23/01/1942
Justifies His Stand
The Hamilton Spectator, 27/01/1942
Canada Holding War Plebiscite
The New York Times, 25/04/1942
Canada Keeps the Faith
The Hamilton Spectator, 28/04/1942
Girls Refuse to Work Under 'Zombie' CSM
The Globe And Mail, 22/08/1944
The Conscription Question Must Be Settled Now
The Toronto Telegram, 02/11/1944
Armed Violence Threat Holds Unit in Camp
The Globe And Mail, 29/11/1944
Reveal 12,000 N.R.M.A. Troops Went Overseas
The Hamilton Spectator, 09/07/1945
"
http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/newspapers/canadawar/conscription_e.html
(((( fancy calling them zombies :-[ 
