March 9th, 1942 Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King calls for a national plebiscite on conscription. King wants the Canadian public to release the government from any promise or commitment it made to not implement conscription.

On April 7th by a 3 to 1 margin Canadians give the government a mandate to begin conscription whenever the government feels it is necessary. The voters of Quebec, however, are solidly opposed to conscription and King wants to avoid a repetition of the bitter 1917 Conscription Crisis and riots.

Mackenzie King, however, does not call for the immediate introduction of conscription. "Conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription" is King's mantra.