repeating the positions advanced by the opposition in the House of Commons, and emphasising that both parties agreed on the need to support imperial defence. Ross argued that the Naval Service Act passed by the Laurier government was sufficient to do so. Ross then moved an amendment to the motion for second reading: "That this House is not justified in giving its assent to this Bill until it is submitted to the judgment of the country." The Senate voted on the amendment, which passed by a vote of 51 to 27. A second vote, on the motion for second reading, was then held, and the bill was defeated on the same numbers. Aftermath Had the bill passed the Senate and received royal assent, it is likely the funds would have been used to construct three s, potentially named as Acadia, Quebec and Ontario. The bill's failure ultimately made little impact on the naval arms race. The First World War commenced about fourteen months after the bill's defeat. At the time, none of the five Queen Elizabeth class battleships that were ultimately built for the Royal Navy had yet been commissioned. At the start of the war, Britain had 22 dreadnoughts in service compared to Germany's 15, but Britain also had 13 dreadnoughts under construction even without a Canadian contribution, and by then, the Germans were building only five additional dreadnoughts. With the additional naval strength of France in the Atlantic and Japan in the Pacific, later bolstered by the entry of Italy and eventually the United States, Allied control of the high seas was never seriously threatened and Germany was compelled to seek less costly alternatives (submarines in particular) to project a measure of power in the Atlantic sea lanes. Notes References 1913 in Canadian law Canada–United Kingdom relations Proposed laws of Canada History of the Royal Navy Naval history of Canada Abandoned military projects of Canada Aid