Commentary While Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier’s support for conscription during World War II angered English Canadians, it ultimately strengthened the federation since it reassured French Canadians that the federal government took their concerns seriously. Now, use your critical thinking skills to analyze this statement. Hopefully, you didn’t spend more than two seconds on this one. That’s because the statement is completely and utterly false. First, Wilfrid Laurier died in 1919, so he clearly wasn’t prime minister during World War II, which took place from 1939–1945. Not only that, but Laurier was actually a strong opponent of conscription during World War I. In addition, English Canadians supported conscription during both wars while French Canadians overwhelmingly opposed it. Far from strengthening the federation, conscription deeply divided Canadians and fuelled significant resentment in Quebec, where the great majority of French Canadians live. Notice that we did not use any generic critical thinking strategies …