Keywords Armed Forces

In 1669 Louis XIV advised that the militia system should be adopted throughout New France. Governor FRONTENAC later appointed a captain of militia in each parish, and required all males aged 16-60 to train for 1 or 2 months annually. The honorary capitaines de milice were highly respected by the habitants, and were leaders in both military and civil spheres. New France's militia was more effective than those in the English colonies, since it was skilled in the petite guerre: swift movement through the forest and surprise attack - tactics borrowed from the Indians. It made some notorious raids on New England settlements.

Along with the TROUPES DE LA MARINE, or colonial regular troops, the militia protected the colony until the SEVEN YEARS' WAR brought regular regiments from both England and France. The militia also provided CORVÉE labour to build roads, bridges and FORTIFICATIONS. When General James WOLFE threatened Québec in 1759 the militia was called out in a levée en masse, and several thousand militiamen were incorporated into the regular army that Montcalm had brought from France. After the capitulation of Montréal in 1760, the British used the militia captains in the administration of the country. They called up Canadian militia for service during PONTIAC's rebellion of 1763 and when the Americans invaded in 1775.

In Nova Scotia captains of militia were appointed as early as 1710, and there was a militia in Halifax in 1749. But the chief sources of support for the British garrisons in the Maritimes during the AMERICAN REVOLUTION were regiments raised for local defence, or fencibles.

In 1793 provincial regiments were raised in Montréal and Québec. Disbanded in 1802, these Lower Canadian units were replaced in 1803 by 1200 militiamen in service battalions. In 1791 Upper Canadian Lieutenant-Governor John Graves SIMCOE raised a permanent corps of veterans, the Queen's Rangers, for defence and public works. It was disbanded in 1802 and replaced in 1811 by a fencible regiment. Simcoe had also attempted to establish a compulsory militia based on counties, but there was no provision for training it until 1808.

During the WAR OF 1812 Canadian militia were assigned transport and labour duties. Volunteers fought alongside British regulars and provincial regiments. Canada was saved by British regulars, but the militia played an important role and Canadian legend later gave it credit for the victory (see VOLTIGEURS). Militia volunteers aided in suppressing the 1837 REBELLIONS, and some companies were kept together for several years. With the unification of the Canadas in 1841 the British government raised the Royal Canadian Rifles, a regiment of veterans, for garrison duties.

In 1855 the MILITIA ACTS retained the principle of compulsory enrolment in the Sedentary Militia, but also authorized paid volunteer units. Thus the voluntary principle was accepted as the basis of Canadian defence. It proved so popular that it led to the formation of many historic units, but compulsory enrolment remained the theory, though not the practice, for 2 more decades.

When the AMERICAN CIVIL WAR raised fears of an American attack on Canada, an attempt to introduce compulsory training failed. In 1863 the volunteer militia that could be paid was increased to 10 000 and the number that could be trained but not paid was to be 35 000. None were trained in the Canadas before the war ended. In 1866, 20 000 volunteers faced FENIAN raiders and some fought them at RIDGEWAY.

After Confederation the militia system continued. Forty thousand volunteers in cavalry, infantry, rifle and artillery units were to train annually for 8 to 17 days. In 1870, 2 militia battalions accompanied British regulars sent to suppress the RED RIVER REBELLION. In 1871 artillery schools opened at Kingston and Québec. A British General Officer Commanding (GOC) was appointed to the militia in 1874, and the Military College was opened in 1876 at Kingston. From 1883 the staffs of 3 artillery schools (another was in Victoria, BC), a cavalry school at Québec, infantry schools at Fredericton, St-Jean, Toronto, and later at London, and a mounted-infantry school at Winnipeg were the beginnings of the Permanent Force (PF).

Under a British GOC, Frederick MIDDLETON, almost 8000 Canadian troops helped to suppress the NORTH-WEST REBELLION in 1885. Shortcomings revealed in training, equipment and organization had been caused by the government's failure to make adequate provision for defence except in times of crisis, such as the Russian scare of 1878, when the threat of war between Britain and Russia suggested the possibility of Russian attacks on Canadian ports.

Major-General Ivor Herbert, GOC 1890-95, secured approval of much-needed reform. Headquarters staff was expanded, officers were sent to England for training and, at the time of the 1895 Venezuela crisis (when the US threatened war with Britain over the determination of Venezuela's boundary with British Guiana), the PF infantry received a new rifle, the long Lee-Enfield.

In 1898, 200 PF volunteers went to the Yukon to help police and customs officers maintain order during the KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH. Before the YUKON FIELD FORCE returned in 1900, English Canadians induced Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier to send 1000 men to the SOUTH AFRICAN WAR. Militia volunteers, supplemented by regulars, formed a special service battalion of Royal Canadians under PF officer Lieutenant-Colonel W.D. OTTER. A second contingent drew heavily on the permanent staff of the cavalry school and on the NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE. Canada also raised an infantry battalion to relieve the British garrison in Halifax for war service.

The Canadian Militia was riddled with political patronage. Three reforming GOCs - Ivor Herbert, E.T.H. HUTTON and the earl of Dundonald - fought against it and ended their Canadian tours of duty abruptly. Nevertheless, Sir Frederick BORDEN, minister of militia and defence 1896-1911, was anxious for reform. In 1904 the British GOC was replaced by a Militia Council and the way was cleared for a Canadian chief of the general staff. The first was Otter in 1908. Ancillary corps were added: Medical, Army Service Corps, Ordnance, the Canadian Corps of Guides (for intelligence), Engineers and Signals. The infantry was re-equipped with the Canadian-made Ross rifle.

In 1909 Canada agreed at an imperial (defence) conference to standardize organization and equipment on British models and to accept imperial general staff officers. By 1914 Canada's PF numbered 3000 and there were almost 60 000 partially trained militia. A mobilization plan had already been prepared. But instead of using this during WORLD WAR I, Minister of Militia Sir Samuel HUGHES created the CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (CEF) by appealing for volunteers.

By the end of the war Canada had organized 5 divisions for overseas service. The Canadian Corps was commanded by a Canadian, Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur CURRIE, and it was staffed by Canadians in all but a few key positions. After the war the number of PF infantry regiments was raised from 1 to 3, and the total PF establishment was 10 000. Actual strength remained around 4000 and Canada had no tanks or modern guns. Militia units were largely self-financed and self-equipped. At the height of the Depression only a few more than 2000 men went to camp, and then for only 4 days.

The deteriorating international situation brought reorganization in 1936. Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) establishment was reduced from a paper figure of 134 000 in 15 divisions to 86 557 in 7. Some cavalry units were mechanized, and by 1939 the number of artillery units had been increased from 97 to 155. The militia began to get new uniforms and equipment to replace WWI issue, and for the first time received service boots.

In WORLD WAR II Canada fielded an army of 3 infantry and 2 armoured divisions, and raised 3 divisions for home defence. Nearly 750 000 men and women served. In June 1940 the NATIONAL RESOURCES MOBILIZATION ACT authorized the government to requisition Canadians' services for home defence. After the NRMA was amended in November 1944 to permit CONSCRIPTION for overseas service, some 2500 conscripts went into operational units during the last months of the war.

The Canadian Army establishment was fixed in 1946 at 25 000. In 1951 Canada sent troops to support the UNITED NATIONS forces in the KOREAN WAR, where almost 22 000 eventually served. In 1952 the Canadian Army establishment was raised to 52 000 to meet Canada's obligations to NATO. In the 1950s the militia of 6 divisions was renamed the Reserve Force, but its assignment to security duties and civil defence, along with the disbandment of some ancient units, weakened morale.

See also REGIMENT.

RICHARD A. PRESTON

Jet Ranger Helicopter
A CH-139 Jet Ranger helicopter from Canadian Forces Flying Training School, CFB Portage (courtesy National Defence Headquarters).

Navy
Indigenous naval forces in North America can be traced to the colonial period. Until the late 19th century, armed flotillas met specific colonial, provincial or national needs, both on the coasts and on the Great Lakes. Anglo-German naval rivalry nourished the idea that the fisheries-protection vessels of the Department of Marine and Fisheries should become a separate organization, and on 29 March 1909 Parliament approved expenditure on a Canadian naval service to co-operate with Britain's Royal Navy. On 4 May 1910 the NAVAL SERVICE ACT brought the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) into being. The navy was a major political issue, and it suffered severe setbacks under Conservative rule between 1911 and 1914. Divided between Halifax, NS, and Esquimalt, BC, it was directed from a distant headquarters in Ottawa. L.P. Brodeur, the first minister, George J. Desbarats, deputy minister, and Rear-Admiral Charles E. KINGSMILL, RN (retired), director, were transferred from the Department of Marine and Fisheries; they understood the navy's problems, but the naval staff sometimes failed to appreciate the fleet's needs, and often it could not explain them to government.

After WWI, Conservative and Liberal administrations alike starved the navy. Commodore Walter HOSE, director of the naval service 1921-28 and chief of the naval staff (CNS) 1928-34, had to resist efforts by the militia to subordinate and even disband it. Forced to close the Royal Naval College of Canada in 1922, Hose established the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1923. Rear-Admiral Percy NELLES, CNS 1934-44, built on this foundation when international tension in the late 1930s at last, and almost too late, aroused Ottawa to the need for an effective navy.

In both world wars, U-Boat threats in the western Atlantic led to the unexpected growth of the RCN. In 1917-18 this simply meant diverting to Canada's East Coast resources previously allocated to the Royal Navy. In 1941 it meant creating a major oceanic fleet through a massive program of shipbuilding and recruiting. Anticipated commitments in the Pacific compounded the problem in 1943. The RCN grew from 13 warships and about 3000 men in 1939 to 365 warships and 100 000 personnel in 1945. At first expansion diluted efficiency, especially in the navy's main function, convoy escort.

Partly because Naval Service Headquarters mounted skilful shore-based control of shipping, radio-intercept and intelligence operations, and partly because Canada provided half the escorts on the North Atlantic routes (see ATLANTIC, BATTLE OF THE), Britain and the US agreed to establish a new theatre of operations, the Canadian Northwest Atlantic. On 1 May 1943 Rear-Admiral L.W. MURRAY became the theatre's commander in chief, an appointment unique in Canadian history. From 1943 to 1945 the RCN became the third-largest navy among the Allies, and satisfactorily carried out a wide variety of operations in many theatres.

Canadians often saw the RCN as a pale imitation of the RN; Prime Minister Mackenzie KING suspected that the Canadian service was a mere instrument of the British ADMIRALTY. Nevertheless, to preserve a continuing oceanic fleet, in 1945 his government approved a small permanent navy of 2 aircraft carriers, 2 cruisers and 12 destroyers. However, there was no rush to join the regular navy and it was necessary to extend the service of some reserve personnel who had joined during the war. Relations between officers and men soured under the pressures of adjustment to peacetime. After 3 mutinies in 1949, Rear-Admiral E. Rollo MAINGUY presided over a commission that eloquently urged casting off certain inappropriate British customs. Its report, which was received with mixed feelings by the naval profession, became the RCN's Magna Carta.

In the Korean War, 1950-53, the RCN kept a force of 3 destroyers in Korean waters. By 1964, fed by COLD WAR tensions, the navy comprised 1 aircraft carrier (the BONAVENTURE), 22 Canadian-designed and Canadian-built destroyers, 17 ocean escorts of WWII vintage, 10 coastal mine sweepers and 21 500 personnel, committed for the most part to antisubmarine operations in NATO. Unification followed in 1968. Bitter opposition came from naval officers, many of whom resigned; Rear-Admiral W.M. LANDYMORE was so vocal and indiscreet that he was dismissed.

W.A.B. DOUGLAS

Canadian Destroyers
HMCS "St. Laurent" at Halifax, by Edwin Holgate, 1941, oil painting on canvas. On 2 July 1940 the "St. Laurent" rescued more than 850 persons after the liner "Arandora Star" had been sunk by a German submarine. In December 1941, it sank a U-356 during a convoy action (courtesy Canadian War Museum/11489).

Restigouche-Class Destroyers
Two Restigouche-Class destroyers take on fuel from HMCS "Provider," an operational support ship (courtesy National Defence Headquarters).

Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force was formed on 1 April 1924, and lost its distinct identity with the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968. Before 1914 military aviation in Canada did not exist. J.A.D. MCCURDY and F.W. "Casey" BALDWIN, members of Alexander Graham BELL's Aerial Experiment Association, carried out flight trials of the SILVER DART and Baddeck I in August 1909 at Petawawa, Ontario, but aroused little interest in the Department of Militia and Defence. Military and naval aviation underwent extraordinary development after WWI began, but the reluctance of the Canadian government to develop a distinct air force persisted until late in the war. Over 20 000 Canadians served as pilots, observers and ground support staff in the British ROYAL FLYING CORPS, the ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE and, after 1 April 1918, the Royal Air Force.

Helicopter in Rescue Exercises
Rescue specialists from 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron practise rescue techniques using a CH-113 Labrador helicopter (courtesy National Defence Headquarters).

Before the fledgling CAF was dissolved, steps had already been taken to formulate a national aviation policy. An air board, chaired by Minister of Customs A.L. SIFTON, was appointed in June 1919 and given the task of advising government on future aviation policy. This board laid the foundation for the development and regulation of civil aviation and, on the assumption that military aviation strength really depended upon a strong commercial sector, envisaged the formation of only a small, temporary military air force. The Canadian Air Force was thus established in April 1920, but it was soon clear that something more permanent was required.

Under the National Defence Act of 1922 the Air Board was absorbed by the new Department of NATIONAL DEFENCE, and its civil and military air arms were united under the director of the CAF, who reported to the army chief of staff (later chief of the general staff). The CAF was now a permanent force. Not until November 1938 did the air force's senior officer become chief of the air staff, directly responsible to the Minister of National Defence. In 1923 the CAF was designated "Royal," and on 1 April 1924, when the King's Regulations and Orders for the Royal Canadian Air Force came into effect, it adopted the RAF ensign, motto, UNIFORMS and rank structure, and even the same official birthdate.

Despite these colonial trappings, the RCAF was a Canadian service. Until the early 1930s about half the RCAF's manpower performed civil air operations. The bulk of the RCAF's duties included forest spraying and fire patrol, fisheries and customs surveillance on both coasts, mercy flights and aerial photography (which contributed greatly to the mapping and GEOLOGICAL SURVEY of remote areas). Aircraft, such as the Canadian Vickers Vedette flying boat, were designed for such missions.

In 1928 the force purchased a few Siskin fighters and Atlas army co-operation aircraft from Britain to replace its long-retired military aircraft. No further important purchases were made during the Great Depression. For the first half of the interwar period, therefore, Canada had a military flying service in name only, although connections with the RAF, through exchanges, a liaison staff and the posting of Canadian officers to British staff schools, ensured a degree of professionalism and some acquaintance with air doctrine.

When WWII began in 1939, the RCAF had no first-class aircraft or other equipment, with the exception of some Hawker Hurricanes. Nevertheless, a framework for future expansion had been established. Western and Eastern Air Commands were responsible for coastal air defence, and Training Command was centred at Trenton, Ontario. Eight Permanent Active Air Force squadrons and 12 Auxiliary Active Air Force squadrons had been organized.

The key to wartime expansion was the BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AIR TRAINING PLAN. This vast program graduated 131 553 aircrew by its close, of whom 72 835 were Canadian. Despite the Canadian government's commitment to training Commonwealth aircrew, it did not accord the RCAF an independent status commensurate with that of the Canadian Army during the war. Although the BCATP Agreement contained a British undertaking that Commonwealth aircrew "shall ... be identified with their respective Dominions," the Canadian government failed to provide financially for the ground crew needed to support Canadian aircrew overseas, or for full financing of Canadian aircrew serving abroad, or even for the support of Canadian air units overseas. As a result, Canadian pilots, navigators, air gunners and other aircrew found themselves dispersed throughout the RAF, rather than being concentrated in RCAF groupings. Minister for National Defence for Air C.G. POWER, with the assistance of the RCAF senior officers, prevailed upon the RAF to permit the formation of more RCAF squadrons as the war progressed.

Of 250 000 men and women in the wartime RCAF, 94 000 served overseas. Most airmen flew with the RAF, but 48 separate Canadian squadrons took part in operations around the globe, from No. 1 (later 401) Squadron's participation in the Battle of BRITAIN to 435 and 436 (Transport) Squadrons' missions in India and Burma during the final days of the conflict with Japan. 417 Squadron and 331 Wing fought in North Africa, and the former went on into Italy.

Canadian squadrons played a part in all RAF operational home commands. They formed a group of their own, 6 Group (RCAF) in Bomber Command, and contributed half the strength of the RAF's 83 Composite Group in the Second Tactical Air Force. Airmen such as C.M. "Black Mike" MCEWEN, G.E. Brookes, and George "Buzz" BEURLING carried on the tradition of Bishop, Barker, Collishaw and MacLaren.

From the beginning, the RCAF was deeply involved in the Battle of the Atlantic. Squadrons from East Coast bases carried out convoy duties and antisubmarine patrols, flying Lockheed Hudsons and Venturas, Catalinas, Cansos and Liberators. RCAF squadrons participated with American forces in the defence of Alaska against Japanese incursions. In addition, the RCAF flew on antisubmarine duties in the Far East.

Bomber Command was the largest RAF operational command. Into it were poured thousands of Canadian BCATP graduates to take part in the massive area-bombing campaign. Canadians were involved from the start, but the first Canadian unit was 405 Squadron, which was operational in mid-1941 and was part of the elite Pathfinder group. In January 1943, 6 Group became operational, commanded first by Brookes and then by McEwen. Wing Commander J.E. FAUQUIER was the leading Canadian bomber pilot. Casualties were heavy; of the more than 17 000 fatalities suffered by the RCAF during WWII, nearly 10 000 were sustained in Bomber Command.

By late 1946 RCAF numbers had dwindled to 13 000. The permanent force resumed such duties as transport, search and rescue, and survey patrols. Jet flight did not enter the service until 1948, when some British Vampires were purchased. In the Korean War, Canada's official air contribution was limited to the transport duties of 426 Squadron, although some RCAF pilots flew with the US Air Force. The Cold War threat reversed the trend towards reducing the RCAF's size. In February 1951 the Canadian government committed an air division of 12 fighter squadrons to Europe as part of its NATO involvement. In 1958 Canada and the US joined in the formation of the North American Air Defence Command (NORAD); in addition to substantial home defence commitments, this new orientation in Canadian defence policy meant that a Canadian became deputy commander. The first to serve was Air Marshal C.R. SLEMON.

Canadian air defence in the post-1945 period relied heavily upon foreign-produced aircraft, a policy underlined by the cancellation of the AVRO ARROW in 1959. The tendency to respond to outside initiatives, a long-term characteristic of the RCAF, did not end with the disappearance of the force when the armed services were unified in 1968. In today's Canadian Forces, signs of the RCAF remain, as in its numbered squadrons and in the less tangible, but no less real, air force spirit.

See also SNOWBIRDS.

S.F. WISE

Unification and After
The Canadian Forces Reorganization Bill, proclaimed 1 February 1968, abolished the RCN, the Canadian Army and the RCAF, and created a single service, the Canadian Armed Forces, with regular and reserve components and the potential for a special force to meet NATO, United Nations or other external commitments. The experiment of unification was unique to Canada and was not imitated by other countries. Within a decade the 3 service identities had re-emerged to some degree.

Integration had been a recurrent policy since the establishment of a single National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) in 1922. Under Brooke CLAXTON, Minister of National Defence 1946-54, Canada's MILITARY COLLEGES and systems of military law had been unified, as had other aspects of military administration. During the years of John Diefenbaker's Conservative government (1957-63), medical, legal and chaplains' services were integrated.

The armed forces expected major changes when the Liberals returned to power in 1963. Military leaders could not escape some responsibility for the indecision and confusion in defence policies which had helped bring down the Diefenbaker government. The Glassco Royal Commission (1963) was highly critical of inefficiency and triplication of administration. It seemed reasonable to blame administrative waste for part of the rapid decline of capital spending in the defence budget, from 42.4% in 1954 to 18.9% in 1962. In Opposition, the Liberals had dropped their earlier arguments against nuclear warheads, but promised a searching review of defence policy and an easing out of alliance roles involving nuclear arms.

Toronto businessman Paul HELLYER had been defence critic in Opposition, and as minister of defence he first undertook the promised policy review. When his report appeared in March 1964, adjectives such as "mobile,""flexible" and "imaginative" and an emphasis on Prime Minister Lester Pearson's favourite accomplishment, PEACEKEEPING, did not conceal a continuing commitment to NATO, to continental air defence and to domestic security. Almost overlooked was the one-line promise of "a single unified defence force."

Unification had not been Hellyer's policy initially. The idea grew on him as he tried to deal with 3 service chiefs, each struggling for his own service. The Glassco Commission had found over 200 interservice committees, few of them collaborating. In future, Hellyer believed, the services would have to work closely together. His first step, approved by Parliament on 7 July 1964, was full integration of National Defence Headquarters under a single Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS). Staff functions were divided among 4 branches: operations, personnel, logistics and finance. There was little criticism. Even the services welcomed a streamlined headquarters if it would fulfil the promise of badly needed new equipment.

On 7 June 1965, navy, army and air force commands were replaced by 6 functional commands, most of them with regional responsibilities. Maritime Command took over the RCN's ships and the RCAF's antisubmarine squadrons on both coasts. Mobile Command at St-Hubert, Québec, was to control the army's brigade groups and militia and the RCAF's ground-support squadrons. Training Command and Material Command integrated tri-service functions, while Air Defence and Air Transport commands passed unaltered from the RCAF. Communications Command was added later; Canada's ground and air forces in Europe reported directly to Ottawa. On 1 May 1966 camps, stations and the navy's land-based "ships" became 39 CANADIAN FORCES BASES. Unified training schools and a single pay system took shape.

Many senior officers now expected a breathing space, but Hellyer's commitment to unification was undiluted. Institutional changes had gone far to make unification natural. When senior officers protested, Hellyer regarded their opposition as verging on a challenge to civil supremacy over the military. Politicians, editors and cartoonists often ridiculed the officers' objections. The public was reminded that several who resigned in protest enjoyed generous pensions. By appointing General Jean-Victor ALLARD as CDS, Hellyer secured an enthusiast for unification and for eliminating many British features of the forces.

Although debate over the Reorganization Bill was prolonged and sometimes rancorous, the legislation passed the Commons with NDP and Social Credit support. Within a year, members of the Canadian Forces began to appear in new green uniforms modelled on those of the US Air Force, with rank badges recognizable to American as well as Canadian personnel.

The public spectacle of integration and unification overshadowed government efforts to find new roles and equipment for its revamped military organization. Instead of reducing international roles to fit reduced strength, the government committed major forces to peacekeeping in Cyprus in 1964 - a "brief" task that lasted 30 years. The search for a non-nuclear role in NATO led to a promise to send forces to Norway if NATO's northern (and non-nuclear) flank was threatened.

The ill-equipped Canadian brigade group in Germany did not receive armoured personnel carriers until 1967 or modern tanks until 1977. When air force advisers asked for American-built F-4 Phantoms, the government chose the CF-5, a cheaper, less sophisticated aircraft. A navy program of 8 general-purpose frigates was cancelled and replaced by construction of 4 helicopter-equipped destroyers for antisubmarine work and a costly refit of the single aircraft carrier, the Bonaventure.

Well aware that public opinion and most colleagues favoured defence cuts, Hellyer negotiated a fixed budget of $1.5 billion a year for his department. His drastic reorganization, with the accompanying drop in personnel, was a trade-off for modernization. Inflation ate up most of the savings. A destroyer worth $20 million in 1960 cost $50 million by 1967. Canadian apathy regarding defence spending grew with the decade and with criticism of American involvement in Vietnam. Domestic concerns, inflation, unemployment and Québec SEPARATISM preoccupied Canadians.

On 26 June 1968, Canadian voters gave their confidence to a new Liberal leader, P.E. TRUDEAU, who promised systematic policymaking and a cure for the "strategist's cramp" that had bound Canadian defence since WWII. On 3 April 1969 the new prime minister proclaimed new defence priorities: surveillance of Canadian territory and coastlines (protection of sovereignty); defence of North America in co-operation with the US; fulfilment of NATO commitments; and performance of any international peacekeeping roles Canada might assume.

The list turned Hellyer's 1964 priorities upside down. Peacekeeping, the justification for Hellyer's unification, was lowest; "surveillance" was now on top. Hellyer's successor as Minister of National Defence, Léo Cadieux, went to Brussels to warn of drastic cuts in Canada's NATO force. In August 1969 Canada's NATO contingent of 10 000 was halved and the remaining ground forces were transferred from British to American command. In Parliament, Cadieux announced that Armed Forces strength would fall from 110 000 to 80-85 000. Bonaventure, newly refitted, was scrapped. Five regular regiments vanished from the active list. Most CF-5 fighters went into storage.

The new policies were costly and military leaders took the blame. Disposal of the costly aircraft carrier, the mothballing of an experimental hydrofoil and delivery of the now-inappropriate new destroyers made Maritime Command look foolish. One consequence of criticism was a 1972 policy of "civilianization" in NDHQ.

The government's policies, summarized in Defence in the Seventies (1970), elaborated the military role in ensuring Canadian sovereignty, not merely in the Arctic and on the oceans but in AID TO THE CIVIL POWER. This last was a historic but half-forgotten role for Canadian forces, but urban violence in the US and potential peacekeeping roles had justified planning and training. In October 1969 troops were rushed to Montréal when rioting accompanied a police strike.

A much more massive intervention occurred during the OCTOBER CRISIS: on 14 October 1970 troops were ordered to Ottawa to protect public buildings and prominent figures. On October 16 Prime Minister Trudeau proclaimed the WAR MEASURES ACT, and more than 10 000 troops in battle order were soon deployed in Montréal, Québec and Ottawa. It was a dramatic and dangerous exercise of power. Some officers recognized that such activity posed great danger for the Armed Forces as an institution. The troops were fortunate that they could withdraw as early as November 12 without suffering or inflicting casualties.

The October Crisis heightened awareness of the importance of making the Canadian forces more representative of an essentially bicultural nation. The Royal Commission on BILINGUALISM AND BICULTURALISM had demonstrated that the Armed Forces remained typical of federal institutions which frustrated French-speaking Canadians. Outside of a few army units, the forces operated almost entirely in English. Few French Canadians had ever reached the highest ranks. In 2 world wars, unilingualism of the forces had contributed to bitterly divisive conscription crises. The Trudeau government was determined to make federal agencies effectively bilingual, and the Armed Forces were an obvious place to start.

New policies included expansion of language training, recruiting and promotion policy to achieve proportional representation through the rank structure, separate training for French-speaking personnel covering most of the 300 specialist trades, and French-language ships, flying squadrons and ground-force units. The program, coinciding with sharp reductions in overall strength, a weak budget and allegations of political interference, was acutely unpopular with the English-speaking majority. The French-language units often made the Armed Forces look as divided as the country they served. Time, patience and new generations of personnel were expected to gradually make bilingualism, like unification, seem more natural.

Both experiments had been easier because it was unclear how Canadian forces could be used in a world that seemed to be moving towards détente. But in the 1970s the world began to appear more dangerous. The creation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its power to raise oil prices revealed unexpected vulnerability among Western industrialized countries. The growth of a powerful Soviet fleet with a potential global reach added to a threat hitherto limited to massive armoured forces and powerful missile batteries.

The Canadian government, seeking to improve commercial relations with Europe, discovered the cost of the 1969 decision to halve the NATO contingent: not only could the remnant not be removed, but its obsolete tanks and aircraft had to be replaced to assuage the anger of NATO partners. Despite painful and costly delays, Canada began re-equipping (see ARMAMENTS). During the 7-year process of choosing a maritime patrol plane, the price rose from $300 million to more than $1 billion. The search for a new fighter airplane led to the McDonnell Douglas F-18D, essentially an unproven aircraft. The decisive consideration was the amount of business the deal would distribute to Québec and Ontario industries. While the aging ships and aircraft of Maritime Command spent long periods in harbour awaiting repairs, delivery dates for 6 patrol frigates receded into the late 1980s and the 1990s.

The reluctant commitment to re-equip reflected a belated realization that Canada's influence in the world was not improved by the debilitated state of its Armed Forces. Purchases of German Leopard tanks and American aircraft served as much a diplomatic as a military purpose. Even domestic opinion appeared to support a modest strengthening of the forces. Before the 1979 election, the Trudeau government promised to add 4700 men and women to a uniformed strength that had fallen to 78 000 and to add a capital-spending program equal to at least 20% of the defence budget. The commitment was endorsed by Joe Clark's Conservative government, which won the election. Clark's government also established a task force to report on the possible unscrambling of unification.

The task force reported to a renewed Liberal government. Unification was not to be undone. Its original rigour had already begun to fade. The functional commands had been modified by 1975 to restore a shadow of the original 3 services: Maritime Command, Mobile Command and Air Command. Officers in charge, isolated in Halifax, St-Hubert and Winnipeg, were granted improved access to NDHQ. Distinctions developed in the training and career planning of members of each command, but it took the 1984 victory of the Conservatives and a new minister, Robert Coates, to revive 3 separate service uniforms though with common badges and rank insignia.

When Coates resigned in 1985, his interim successor, Erik Nielsen, was preoccupied by government cost-cutting. Only in the summer of 1986 did National Defence receive an effective full-time minister, Perrin BEATTY. In June 1987, he delivered the Conservatives' long-promised white paper on defence.

For the most part, the paper reflected trends in DEFENCE POLICY developed through the 1980s. Like many of their European allies, many Canadian leaders regarded the aggressive, confrontational style of Ronald Reagan's White House with some alarm. Yet it had been apparent to Liberals and Conservatives alike that Canada had to renovate its conventional military strength in order to influence Washington and show solidarity with the Europeans. Reagan's first visit to Ottawa in March 1981 was the occasion for the third renewal of the NORAD agreement; his first lengthy meeting with Brian MULRONEY, at Québec in March 1985, occasioned announcement of a substantially improved and modernized North Warning System which would be capable of tracking the new threat of Cruise missiles.

The Beatty white paper of 1987 reiterated Canada's commitment to both its military alliances and its traditional search for peace. After a 1986 exercise confirmed that it was impractical, Canada abandoned its commitment to share in the defence of Norway but promised the same forces.

The main thrust of the new policy, however, was a renewed emphasis on the defence of Canada and particularly northern air space and sea lanes. Beatty's proposal to modernize the Canadian navy with a dozen nuclear-powered submarines, capable of operating under arctic ice, was a bold bid to move Canada's fleet from the 1950s to the 1990s. The audacity of the proposal and its projected cost provoked opposition.

By 1989 Perrin Beatty's nuclear submarine program had been sunk by public outcry, masking more discreet opposition from Washington. And by 1990 the Cold War foundations of postwar Canadian defence policy had collapsed as completely as the Berlin Wall. The priorities of a new defence policy were home defence - largely interpreted as aid or assistance to the civil power; continental defence in co-operation with the United States; and upholding international peace and security.

Most countries reduced defences after 1990, but Canada's commitment to international peace and security, shared with other liberal democracies, added to its defence burden. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 led to the first UN peacemaking operation since the Korean War, with the United States and its NATO allies providing most of the force. Canada's contribution to the 1990-91 Gulf War included 2 destroyers and a supply ship in the Persian Gulf and a squadron of 24 CF-18 fighters based at Qatar. Canadian soldiers guarded the camp, and a Canadian field hospital arrived as fighting ceased. All 2400 Canadians who served in the Gulf returned alive after 12 days of fighting. The cost of the deployment was taken from a shrinking defence budget.

In the autumn of 1991, Beatty's successor, William McKnight, announced that armed forces strength would be significantly reduced, from 83 000 to 75 000 regulars and 30 000 reserves at a cost of $12 billion. Modernization of the North Warning System would continue, and the Canadian forces would officially integrate regulars and 30 000 reservists as a "Total Force." After 1991 warnings and after toying with leaving behind a symbolic contingent, the Mulroney government closed Canada's 2 military bases in Germany in 1993. Units in Europe came home to be disbanded as a deficit-cutting measure.

Grizzly Personnel Carrier
Soldiers of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry attack from a "Grizzly" wheeled armoured personnel carrier during a training exercise in BC (courtesy National Defence Headquarters).

Armoured Carrier
Canadian soldiers man an armoured personnel carrier in a West German village during NATO exercises (courtesy National Defence Headquarters).

CF-18 Fighter over Germany
A CF-18 fighter from 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron, CFB Baden-Soellingen, FRG, flies over clouds in southern Germany (courtesy National Defence Headquarters).

Peacekeeping
Though ships and aircraft provided Canada's front line in the Gulf War, the chaotic post-1990 world placed most of its stress on Canada's shrinking army. During August and September 1990, most of the 5th Mechanized Brigade from Valcartier was deployed to support Québec police at Oka against the defiant Mohawks of Kanesatake and Kahnewake.

After weeks of brutal civil war between Serbs and Croats, Ottawa agreed on 24 February 1992 to send 2 battalions, 1200 troops, from its brigade in Germany as part of a UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to intervene between the warring sides in the former Yugoslavia. After the UN insisted on placing UNPROFOR headquarters in Sarajevo, the city exploded as the heart of a murderous struggle between Bosnian Serbs and Moslems. Major-General Lewis Mackenzie, the Canadian deputy commander, found himself trying to limit the slaughter in the newest Yugoslav civil war, while both sides used him and his men as targets to win media attention.

With Canada's forces over-stretched, Prime Minister Mulroney announced at the end of 1992 that, after 30 years and 24 dead, Canada's commitment to a UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus would end. Another commitment promptly took its place. In Somalia, in the strategic Horn of Africa, clan warfare and mass starvation followed the collapse of the Siad Barre regime. When Washington decided to intervene, Ottawa sent Canada's airborne battalion as part of another US-led peacemaking operation. Garrisoned at Belet Huen, Canadian troops experienced heat, boredom and nightly thefts. The torture and murder of a young intruder on 16 March 1993, videotaped by one of those involved, grew into a national scandal, exposing serious problems with leadership, discipline and morale. Junior ranks, directly involved, were punished while senior officers seemed to be immune. Eventually the Somalia affair, with its cruelty, cover-ups and lack of accountability, besmirched the benign peacekeeping image of the Canadian Forces and cost 2 Chiefs of Defence Staff their jobs. Meanwhile, when their humanitarian intervention turned the warlords into patriots fighting an imperial invasion, the Americans counted their losses and withdrew.

In Rwanda, in central Africa, rival Hutu and Tutsi factions had ended their cruel civil war with a UN-brokered peace. When the Hutu president was killed, Major-General Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian commander of the UN's tiny supervisory force, warned that trouble was imminent. After the Somalia mess, UN members in New York were indifferent. On 7 April 1993, Hutu militias set out to slaughter half a million people, including 10 Belgian paratroopers. Other contingents fled, leaving Dallaire with a small battalion of Ghanaians to do what he could for terrified survivors.

Liberals in Power
Elected on 25 October 1993, a new Liberal government promptly cancelled a multi-billion dollar order for 50 EH-101 helicopters, launched a judicial inquiry into the Somalia Affair and announced $1.6 billion in defence cuts. The National Defence College and 2 of 3 cadet colleges were closed, including the main source of francophone officers at St-Jean, Qué. A score of bases, from the Annapolis Valley to the BC interior, but chiefly in cities, were shut down and, where possible, sold. Most of the air force's CF-18s were mothballed. A commission under retired Chief Brian Dickson set out to shrink the 201 historic but under-strength Militia units. Gender equity policy-makers ordered the forces to ensure that 25% of the members of combat units be women. In September 1994 a government defence policy paper promised a balanced force, able to "fight alongside the best against the best," but anti-deficit policies cut the forces to 60 000 regulars, 23 000 reservists, 20 000 civilian employees and the defence budget, by the end of the century, to under $10 billion.

First Female Pilots
From left to right are Captains Leah Mosher, Dee Brasseur, and Nora Bottomley. They made Canadian military history on February 1981 when they graduated as the first women to get their "wings".

The Somalia commissioners were indignant and their report denounced just about everyone associated with National Defence. Its 160 recommendations would have civilianized most of the procedures of military law and forced service commanders to act under continuous civilian oversight. Action was accelerated when the first woman infantry captain and the first woman fighter pilot revealed their experiences of sexual harassment. Other women felt emboldened to tell their stories of sexual assault, abuse and failure to find redress. New procedures for grievances were devised to bypass the rank structure, and special indoctrination in ethics became policy. By the end of 1997 most of the Commission's recommendations had been accepted. The Canadian Forces acquired an ombudsman, a "snitch line" for anonymous complaints but not an inspector-general, authorized to report problems directly to Parliament. Commanders emphasized ethics and accountability and ordered their staff to recruit the required quota of women.

Canadian Forces' operational effectiveness diminished through the decade. Once their initial defects were corrected the navy's new Halifax-class frigates were close to "state of the art," but cancellation of new helicopter purchases left the frigates without their best weapon and forced air force pilots to fly 1960s-vintage Labrador and Sea King helicopters. Fighter pilots flew 1970s-era fighters. The army's 1970s Leopard tanks were obsolete, and its Cougars, a wheeled tank-trainer, provided little protection when used in Bosnia. In 1997 the government finally authorized new search-and-rescue helicopters very much like those they had cancelled in 1993, and agreed to buy 4 second-hand British submarines. Army equipment, even for peacekeeping, remained a low priority, though a "clothe the soldier" project promised new helmets and all-weather combat clothing.

Time, and assistance during natural disasters, partially improved the Canadian Forces' image. In March 1995 a Canadian warship seized a Spanish trawler for over-fishing in international waters. The "Turbot War" reminded Canadians of the benefit of a modern navy. In June 1996 sudden floods hit Québec's Saguenay valley. The air base at nearby Bagotville offered immediate help. In the spring of 1997, 8600 men and women were deployed in Manitoba, protecting homes, farms and businesses from the rampaging Red River. Almost 20 000 regulars and reserves mobilized in January 1998 after a 5-day ice storm toppled Hydro lines and left millions of people in eastern Ontario, southern Québec and the Maritimes without heat or light. Afterwards, almost 96% of those affected reported undiluted admiration for the Canadian Forces. Their reward was a modest increase in the Defence share of the 1999 budget, to cover about a quarter of the funds needed for an $800 million pay raise for lower-rank members. The rest would be found somewhere in a $9938 million defence budget, by deferring equipment replacement and reducing full-time strength below the 60 000 ceiling.

Despite warnings of over-strain caused by that ceiling, Ottawa continued to accept almost every international security commitment it could not hope to meet adequately, from Haiti, where a battalion-sized force from Valcartier inherited an American operation in 1995, to Cambodia, where 200 Canadians had shared an Australian-led operation to create conditions for free elections. Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy's crusade against personnel mines gave Canadian combat engineers a special role in dangerous de-mining operations around the world, and his determination to defend human rights, even in the face of national sovereignty, made Canada's last war of the century, against Serbia, almost inevitable.

Canadian CF-18s were mustered at the Italian base of Aviano. Costly technical upgrades to make them interoperable with the US Air Force allowed the Canadian fighter-bombers to fly 10% of NATO missions in the Kosovo War without losses. Pressed for ground troops, Canada supplied almost the only elements that could still measure up "alongside the best," as it had promised in 1994: Coyote reconnaissance vehicles, Bell helicopters and engineers for de-mining. In the fall, more troops and transport aircraft left to help restore security in East Timor after pro-Indonesian militia wreaked havoc. Both commitments had to be satisfied with tiny sub-units, integrated in other countries' units and formations. A token presence appeared sufficient to Canada and perhaps its allies. More could not have been found.

As Canadians welcomed the new millenium, all that remained of the Canadian Forces, regulars and reservists, went on stand-by alert for possible Y2K emergencies. Overtime pay was not provided.

Canada's "Modern" Forces
Canada's land defences depend on a small mechanized brigade in 3 of its 4 major regions, each capable, with substantial militia reinforcements, of expanding to a division. Atlantic Canada depends on troops at the main land forces base at Gagetown, New Brunswick, to provide a core for its militia. Most of the equipment required for modern war would have to be acquired.

The navy's strength depends on 5 destroyers, 12 large and relatively new patrol frigates plus 12 new coastal patrol and minesweeping vessels, to be crewed by reservists. Four conventional submarines, acquired second-hand from the Royal Navy, will retain a capability that would otherwise disappear.

The air force depends on its CF-18 fighters for combat capacity. Based at Bagotville, Québec, and Cold Lake, Alberta, the aircraft are aging and require increasing maintenance and modernization. The aging but efficient Lockheed Aurora patrol aircraft conduct Arctic and coastal patrols. Cancellation of the EH-101 helicopter contract in 1993, at a cost of $500 million, deferred a decision since the navy's frigates are only effective with a seaborne anti-submarine aircraft. Face-saving required that the EH-101s acquired as search and rescue helicopters carry a different name, the Cormorant. Similar compromises may be necessary since the frigates were designed for the EH-101.

In the absence of a visible security threat in the beginning of the millennium, Canadian politics and American defence and external policy priorities will continue to be the chief determinants of Canadian defence policy into the 21st century.

Authors contributing to this article:

Author DESMOND MORTON, RICHARD A. PRESTON, W.A.B. DOUGLAS, S.F. WISE

Suggested Reading
Desmond Morton, From Champlain to Kosovo: A Military History of Canada (1995), When Your Number's Up: The Canadian Soldier in the First World War (1993) and Ministers and Generals, Politics and the Canadian Militia, 1868-1904 (1970); Desmond Morton and J.L. Granatstein, Marching to Armageddon: Canadians and the Great War, 1914-1919 (1989), Forged in Fire: Canadians and the Second World War (1990); R.A. Preston, Canada and "Imperial Defense": A Study of the Origins of the British Commonwealth's Defense Organization, 1867-1919 (1963); Jonathan Vance, Death So Noble: Memory, Meaning and the First World War (1997); W.A.B. Douglas and Brereton Greenhous, Out of the Shadows: Canada in the Second World War (1995); Brereton Greenhous, The Crucible of War, 1939-1945: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force (1994); Tony German, The Sea Is at Our Gates: The History of the Canadian Navy (1990); Paul Hellyer, Damn the Torpedoes: My Fight to Unify Canada's Armed Forces (1990); David Bercuson, Blood on the Hills, The Canadian Army in the Korean War (1999), True Patriot: The Life of Brooke Claxton, 1898-1960 (1993).

Links to Other Sites
Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa is dedicated to the men and women who served with valour and distinction in Canada’s armed services. Their website features a virtual tour of the museum and multimedia online exhibits that depict how Canada met and overcame wartime challenges throughout its history.

Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces
The official website of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces.

Wings Over Alberta
About Alberta's privitol role in supporting the Royal Canadian Air Force and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during World War II. Features an extensive collection of vintage photograhs and a glossary of terms related to military aviation and training. From the Alberta Online Encyclopedia.

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum features aircraft used by Canadians or Canada's military from the beginning of World War II up to the present. Offers illustrations and specs for various aircraft in their collection.

Canada At War
This timeline depicts Canadian involvement in military conflicts from the first world war to present day operations. From Veterans Affairs Canada.

Glossary: Military Terms
A glossary of military terminology commonly used in the Canadian Army. From the website for the Department of National Defence.

The War Amps
The War Amps website commemorates Canada's proud military heritage and the sacrifices of Canadian war veterans. Check out the "Canada's Military Heritage" section for extensive documentation, photographs and veterans’ accounts of their wartime experiences. Features a special section devoted to the 60th Anniversary of D-Day.

3D Corvette: H.M.C.S. Sackville
Take an interactive multimedia tour through a corvette, the fabled Canadian World War II naval vessel. A Virtual Museum website.

Glossary: World War II
A glossary of World War II military terms. From the Virtual Museum website.

Communications and Electronics Branch of the Canadian Forces
This site offers a detailed history of Canadian military communications from the pre-confederation era to modern times. Includes fascinating details about the Red River Rebellion of 1870, the early use of telephone technology, and much more. From the Department of National Defence.

Mark Our Place
This virtual exhibit includes photographs and archival documents from the collections of the Archives and Research Library of the New Brunswick Museum. The images portray the theme of the many faces of war, from the South African War to the end of the Second World War.

The Canadian Letters and Images Project
This extensive collection of letters and photographs brings to light personal stories about wartime life at home and on the battlefield. Produced by Malaspina University College in British Columbia.

Canadian Navy: Image Gallery
The "Canadian Navy: Image Gallery" website features scenes of naval operations involving the Canadian fleet.

Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame
Brief biographies of distinguished men and women inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame.

Shearwater Aviation Museum
The Shearwater Aviation Museum website features an illustrated database of Canadian military aircraft and naval vessels.

Naval Museum of Quebec
The multimedia website for the Naval Museum of Quebec. Features a virtual exhibit of naval artifacts, timeline of the "Battle of the St. Lawrence," and an illustrated glossary of navy terminology.

Legion Magazine
Search Legion Magazine website for online feature articles about Canadian military history.

War and How We Told It
This article describes how Canadian perceptions of war changed during World War I. Includes references to various Canadian war novels. From the website thetyee.ca.

Canada at War
A very detailed information source about Canadian military action during World War I and World War II. Also features an extensive database of Canadian soldiers who sacrificed their lives in WWI, WWII, and Korea.

Wartime Production
In honour of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, the Archives of Ontario presents this stirring retrospective of Ontario’s extraordinary Home Front contribution to the war effort. Check out the personal stories, photographs, posters, video clips and other multimedia.

Library and Archives Canada: Military and Peacekeeping
Check out the online exhibits about the history of Canadian military and peacekeeping operations featured at the website for Library and Archives Canada. View paintings by Canada's great war artists, gripping photographs of war on the frontlines, war diaries and stories, multimedia, and much more.

Through a Lens: Dieppe in Photography and Film
The horrors of war are clearly depicted in this collection of old photographs and newsreels about the disastrous Allied raid on Dieppe in World War II. From Library and Archives Canada.

Doing Our Bit: Canadians and the Great War
Compelling stories about the extraordinary bravery and patriotism of ordinary Canadians who took part in Canada’s World War I effort at home and overseas. Illustrated with posters, pictures and photos. From the Toronto Public Library. A very large PDF file.

Canadian Military History Gateway
Search this website for authoritative information about Canadian military history. Provides online access to Canadian museums, libraries, archives, and other heritage organizations. Also features an online glossary of military terminology, educational resources and much more. From the Department of National Defence.

Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today
A flotilla of information about the ships and aircraft of Canada's navy, from its inception in 1910 until present day.

RCAF.com
This website is devoted to the history of Canadian military aviation. Features extensive online photo galleries and details about aircraft flown by Canadian forces.

Veterans Affairs Canada
The Veterans Affairs Canada website commemorates the service and sacrifice of Canada’s war veterans. Click on "Past Features" on left side of page for an extensive list of informative multimedia features about Canadian military history. This site also provides updates about programs for veterans and their families.

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
An informative feature about the history of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. From Veterans Affairs Canada.

Testaments of Honour Historical Archives
Stunning photographs complement this digital video archive of personal recollections from Canadian veterans who fought in World War II. This Blake Heathcote project has been supported by the Canadian Studies Program, Canadian Heritage, and many other organizations. Note: some videos on this site may not be functional.

An Archival Look at World War I
Peruse soldiers' letters to their girlfriends and other fascinating archival material about Canada's war effort at home and overseas. From Queen's University Archives.

VICTORIA Class Submarines: An Indispensable Asset
This Department of National Defence website discusses the operational role and specifications of Canada’s Victoria Class submarines.

INDEPTH: CANADA'S MILITARY
Features stories about Canadian military operations, peacekeeping forces, and the status of major armament programs. From the CBC.

Canadian Forces Combat Camera
This extensive archive of photographs and video clips provides an up close view of contemporary Canadian military operations and personnel. From the Department of National Defence. Consult Library and Archives Canada for historical information and images about the Canadian military.

Canadian Military Journal
The online edition of the "Canadian Military Journal." Many articles about contemporary military issues, compelling history features, book reviews, and much more.

The Cost of Freedom
This outstanding multimedia website from The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum features an illustrated overview of Canada’s military involvement in two world wars and the Korean War. Also offers an interactive timeline and a virtual tour of the museum’s exhibits. The “Rights & Freedoms” section focuses on Canadian citizenship.

The Cadet Program
The Canadian Cadet Program is a community-based youth training activity managed by the Canadian Forces (CF) in partnership with the Navy League of Canada; the Army Cadet League of Canada; and the Air Cadet League of Canada.

A ‘MERE RUSTLE OF LEAVES’: CANADIAN STRATEGY AND THE 1970 FLQ CRISIS
A detailed account of the events leading up to the deployment of Canadian military forces during the 1970 October Crisis. With photographs of military activity in various locations. From the “Canadian Military Journal.”

Canadians and Conflict
"Canadians and Conflict" is an illustrated online textbook about Canadian military history. Covers Canada's participation in international military conflicts and related political issues, developments in military technology, and much more. Produced by the Edmonton Public School Board.

National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials
A searchable database of over 5,100 Canadian military memorials. Provides photographs, descriptions, and the wording displayed on plaques. Also a glossary of related terms. A website from the Directorate of History and Heritage.

Canadian Forces College
The Canadian Forces College provides professional military education for selected members of the Defence Team for the command and control of the Canadian Forces, across the continuum of operations in joint, interagency, multinational and public environments. Check out the "Spotlight on Military News and International Affairs."

Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute
This organization provides comprehensive policy analysis to promote understanding of Canada’s foreign affairs and aid policies and the state of military preparedness. Numerous online publications are available on their website.

Royal Canadian Military Institute
This Toronto institute focuses on the area of defence studies, particularly on issues related to Canadian military heritage and contemporary Canadian security. Offers many online papers and reports related to military issues.

CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum
The website for the CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum, located at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, Vancouver Island. Special features include ship histories, local heroes, women merchant mariners, characters & controversies, and much more.

The Canadian Military and the Victoria Cross
This document profiles previous Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross and describes the creation of the Canadian Victoria Cross. From the website for the Governor General of Canada. A PDF file.

Canada’s National Army, Canada’s National Interest 1918, 2008
This paper offers some comparisons between decisions taken by Prime Minister Sir Robert Laird Borden and Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie in the last years of World War I and contemporary foreign and defence policy in the era of Prime Minister Harper and General Hillier. From the "Journal of Military and Strategic Studies." A PDF file.

Glossary: Military History
A glossary of terms that relate to military history. Check the rest of the site for additional information. From the Department of National Defence.

Glossary: Military Terms
A glossary of military terminology from the website for the Department of Defense in the US. A PDF file. Scroll down to page 8 for the glossary.

Glossary: NATO Contemporary Military Terms
Listing terms of military significance and their definitions for use in NATO. Scroll down to Page 43 of this document to access this bilingual glossary. A large PDF file.

Glossary: Air Force
Some jargon frequently used in conversation amongst Canadian Air Force personnel. From the website for the Department of National Defence.

Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies
The Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies focuses on national defence and international relations issues.

Winnipeg Tribune fonds
The material in the Winnipeg Tribune fonds pertaining to the Canadian Wartime Experience includes newspaper clippings and photographs of subjects relating to a number of conflicts including the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. From Archives & Special Collections, University of Manitoba.

The secret life of women spies
About a new exhibit that the focuses on the crucial role played by women in relaying, intercepting, translating, and decoding military intelligence as it flashed over the airwaves during World War II. From thestar.com website.

Canadian Libraries
Search this site for full text digitized copies of books on various topics. From the "Internet Archive."

Collections of the CWM: A Historical Resource
This article provides an overview of the Canadian War Museum collection. From the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University.