Mackenzie M.

What was If Day's Impact?

Mackenzie M.
Red River Heritage Fair
Winnipeg, MB

If Day was a staged Nazi invasion in Winnipeg, Manitoba created by the Greater Winnipeg Victory Loan Organization. Essentially, If Day was to raise Victory loans to support the war. The main event lasted one day, February 19,1942. On February 18, there were planes painted to resemble German air forces, and they flew low over Lake Winnipeg. If Day was very successful as well. The goal was to raise 45 million dollars, and nationwide If Day rose 100 million dollars! It made lots of money in Winnipeg, but it was even broadcasted in the United Kingdom! During If Day, many things changed, for example, newspapers were in German and radio stations broadcasted in German. Other things changed too, for example, churches were shut down and streetlamps were burnt out. If Day was planned down to every little detail, like when and where soldiers would get “injured”, (no one actually got injured, it was all fake), and where explosions would happen. The explosions never harmed anyone or anything; they were just to make If day as realistic as possible. If Day had such a big impact that other places tried to do something similar, but no one did it as well as Winnipeg. At the end of If Day, there was a parade with the Winnipeg soldiers and they drove around in tanks.

What sources and evidence did you consult for your project? What different perspectives did they provide on your topic?

I sought information from both written and video sources.  I also got photos that provided examples of what If Day was like.

My sources were: 

  • “If Day”. The Canadian Encyclopedia. September 18, 2023. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/if-day Accessed January 13, 2025, and January 16, 2025 
  • “Rare photos from 'If Day' — the time Winnipeg staged a full-scale Nazi invasion of itself” National post, uploaded by Tristan Hopper, Feb 21, 2019, https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/rare-photos-from-if-day-the-time-winnipeg-staged-a-full-scale-nazi-invasion-of-itself, Accessed, January 16, 2025 
  • Bergeron David, The day Winnipeg was invaded, Bank of Canada museum, November 14, 2022, https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/2022/11/the-day-winnipeg-was-invaded/ accessed, February 5, 2025 
  • Curiouscast Podcasts, When Germans Invaded Winnipeg, YouTube, uploaded by Curiouscast Podcasts, August 2024, https://youtu.be/FlzuPv0gtbY , viewed, February 5, 2025 
  • “The Royal Winnipeg Rifles”, Government of Canada, September 19, 2024, https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/official-military-history-lineages/lineages/infantry-regiments/royal-winnipeg-rifles.html, accessed February 13, 2025
  • “Royal Winnipeg Rifles”, Wikipedia, January 5, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Winnipeg_Rifles, accessed February 13, 2025 
  • “John Draper Perrin”, Wikipedia, November 18th, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Draper_Perrin#:~:text=John%20Draper%20Perrin%20(August%2026,mining%20executive%20and%20civic%20leader, accessed February 18th, 2025 

Photo Sources:

  • “THE DAY WINNIPEG WAS INVADED”, Bank of Canada Museum, November 14, 2022, https://www.bankofcanadamuseum.ca/2022/11/the-day-winnipeg-was-invaded/ accessed March 11, 2025
  • “Victory Loans”, The Canadian Encyclopedia, April 28, 2015, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/victory-loans , accessed March 11, 2025
  • “Rare photos from 'If Day' — the time Winnipeg staged a full-scale Nazi invasion of itself” National post, uploaded by Tristan Hopper, Feb 21, 2019, https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/rare-photos-from-if-day-the-time-winnipeg-staged-a-full-scale-nazi-invasion-of-itself, accessed March 11, 2025
  • “If Day coverage, Winnipeg”, Newspapers.com, January 22, 2018, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-winnipeg-tribune-if-day-coverage-wi/16758515/ , accessed March 11, 2025
  • “Memorable Manitobans: John Drapper Perrin (1890-1967)”, Manitoba Historical Society Archives, June 3, 2024, https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/perrin_jd.shtml , accessed March 11, 2025
  • “Domestic”, VALOUR CANADA, https://valourcanada.ca/military-history-library/if-day/, accessed March 12, 2025
  • “IF DAY: The occupation of Manitoba”, LEGION CANADAS MILITARY HISTOY MAGAINE, February 1, 2017, https://legionmagazine.com/if-day-the-occupation-of-manitoba/  accessed March 12, 2025
  • “What IF the Nazis invaded Canada?”, Elenor Flornce, September 3, 2014, https://www.elinorflorence.com/blog/if-day-ww2-winnipeg/ , accessed March 12, 2025
  • “ROYAL WINNIPEG RIFLES REGIMETAL MUSEUM”, Manitoba, https://www.travelmanitoba.com/directory/royal-winnipeg-rifles-regimental-museum/ , accessed March 12, 2025
  • “Royal Winnipeg Rifles”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Winnipeg_Rifles, accessed March 12, 2025

What is the historical significance of your topic?

If Day is significant to Winnipeg and World War 2 because of how much money it raised. The short term affect was the event itself. But the long term affect was how much money it raised nationwide afterwards. Everyone in Winnipeg and soldiers fighting across the world were affected. There were lots of changes during If Day, for example, newspapers and radio stations were in German.

Why did you choose this topic? 

I chose this topic because I was reading a book called Allies, written by Allen Gratz. There were multiple stories in the book, and one story was about a boy in Winnipeg during World War 2. He was experiencing If Day, and that is what inspired me to do my project about If Day.

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