The untold history of northern Ontario's soldiers

Up North12:21The untold history of northern Ontario's soldiers

Northern Ontario's contributions to Canada's war efforts have been great for the last one hundred years, but there is little known about the heroes and their accomplishments. Laurentian University Professor Dieter Buse is looking to document them.

Despite northerners contributions and sacrifices during both World Wars, two Laurentian University professors have found that very little has been recorded about the men and women from northeastern Ontario who served.

Dieter Buse and Graham Mount hope to fill in some of these gaps with a new book about the region's military history,

The tentatively titled War and Northeastern Ontariowas compiled after Buse and Mount combed through historical records, mainly the trove of digital service files made available through Archives Canada.

They found little, if any, reference to northern Ontario.

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"But [we found that] on a per capita basis, towns like Chapleau sent 14 per cent of eligible men," Buse said.

Even with the high numbers of northerners contributing before conscription, the major studies of Canada's military dramatically have so far under-represented the region.

"Canadians from northeastern Ontario were involved in all major conflicts," Buse said.

"We find records of deceased from Vimy, Mons, Ypres, but aren't acknowledged."

Buse said the reason likely has to do with northern battalions like the 97th Algonquin and the Sault Rifles being absorbed into larger battalions like the 2nd Battalion and Princess Patricia Infantry, both which are identified more closely with other parts of the province.

The book also looks at the history of internment camps in Northeastern Ontario, and the "Indian Draft," a little-known conscription of First Nations men during the First World War.

Buse said he hopes the manuscripts are ready by April, 2017, and the book published later that year.