The economic hardships of the Great Depression had left Canada's military undermanned and unprepared for the onset of war, and its equipment was at risk of being outdated.

Thanks to a national recruitment drive, over 58,000 men and women enlisted by the month's end. Coastal defences were reinforced, militia regiments were mobilized and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) – which would eventually train nearly half of the Commonwealth's air crews on Canadian soil–was implemented. In December, units of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division set sail from Halifax to Britain–the first wave of Canadians who would serve overseas until the war's end in 1945.

Meanwhile, Canada's economy adapted quickly to the war effort and transformed the country into an economic power. New industries were created while existing factories converted to the production of wartime materials. Thousands of airplanes, ships, vehicles, guns and ammunition would be produced by factories in Canada, which became the fourth largest supplier among the Allied countries.

Coin presents a side-profile of a Canadian machine gun regiment during training. At left, a private is seated as he steadies a tripod-mounted Vickers machine gun, while a sergeant stands above him and directs the private's attention to a target in the distance.  The obverse features the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.