High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers in the event of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended." Enacted in August 1914, the act remained in force until being superseded by the Emergencies Act in 1988.The act was invoked three times in Canadian history: during the First World War, the Second World War, and the 1970 October crisis.The War Measures Act was adopted on 4 August 1914, and remained in effect until 10 January 1920. With the advent of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, additional regulations and orders were added to make the membership in a number of organizations, including socialist and communist organizations forbidden.