In 1911 his elder brother, King Edward VII, sent Prince Arthur to Canada as Governor General. The move was popular on both sides of the Atlantic but his military experience led to clashes with Sam Hughes, Canada’s Minister for Militia and Defence, over the latter’s talk of raising a million man Canadian army for World War 1 and insistence that Canadian troops used the inferior, but Canadian-made, Ross rifle. Hughes was also linked to arms profiteers and was sacked soon after Connaught left Canada in 1916.
Connaught presided over many organizations, including the Royal Society of Arts, the Boy Scouts' Association and he was Grand Master of the United Lodge of Freemasons. His personal involvement in military affairs, including as honorary colonel of regiments across the Commonwealth, continued until he died, aged ninety-one in January 1942. The news was kept quiet because of the possible effect on morale.