THE HORROR OF RWANDA-
The
Loyal Edmonton Regiment Military Museum
Gulf War- Canada
Korean
War
Although
Korea is, in many regards, Canada's "forgotten" war, it stands as an
important milestone in the nation's military history. Canada's participation
helped to establish a tradition of Canadian involvement in UN military actions
that has endured for over four decades and demonstrated a willingness when
needed to send Canadian soldiers to war rather deploying them as peacekeepers
keeping armed adversaries at bay.
"Origins"
examines the beginnings of the North/South conflict in Korea and Canada's
commitment to provide a brigade group to the United Nations force.
Initial
North Korean advances were driven back by UN forces under General MacArthur
until China intervened on the North Korean side.
The
2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI) arrived in
Korea on 18 December 1950 and entered the war in February of 1951 as part of
the 27th British Commonwealth Infantry Brigade (27th BCIB).
At
Kap'yong, 2 PPCLI, and two other Commonwealth units, won a United States
Presidential Unit Citation. In a desperate battle, they stopped a Chinese
attack, which ultimately prevented a massive Chinese breakthrough in central
Korea.
Chail-li
was the next major engagement for the Canadians and the attempt by the 2nd
Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment to take Hill 467 was a costly one.
In
a situation similar to 2 PPCLI’s defence of Hill 677 at Kap'yong, the 2nd
Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment (the Van Doos), with a skillfully fought defence
of their positions adjacent to the US-held Hill 355, stopped the Chinese from
capturing an area that would have compromised the United Nations line of
defences.
Three
battalions each from the PPCLI, RCR, and R22eR rotated through the brigade
group in Korea and a fourth rotation was on its way when peace was finally
negotiated.
Extreme
and arduous combat conditions, long periods of little activity, difficult
terrain, extremes of heat and cold, and cultural differences made life in Korea
difficult for most Canadian soldiers.
Peace
talks concluded on 27 July 1953 with the signing of the Armistice Agreement
but, to this day, a peace treaty has never been signed.
COLD
WAR-
Cold
War
Although
possessing many virtues, the middle power and functionalist emphasis of
Canadian foreign policy did not address the problem of national security. The
Canadian government took steps to reduce drastically the size of Canada's armed
forces immediately after the war. The three services were reduced to an
active-service strength of 51,000: 26,000 in the army, 10,000 in the RCN, and
16,000 in the RCAF. The primary army component was the Mobile Striking Force
(MSF), an airborne brigade group built around the three infantry battalions --
The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR), The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light
Infantry (PPCLI), and Le Royal 22e Régiment (R22eR) -- intended for the defence
of the Canadian North and the Alaska Highway.
That
problem became critical when a new conflict emerged shortly after the war
ended. The so-called Cold War developed when the Soviet Union, a wartime ally
of the Western democracies, sought to expand its sphere of interest throughout
Europe and into parts of Asia. The West feared that the Soviets were bent on
subverting Western societies and spreading communist ideology and power
worldwide.
Eastern
Europe proved to be the testing ground for Soviet expansionism. Supported by
the military might of the Red Army, the USSR transformed nations of eastern
Europe into satellite states. This process culminated in 1948 with the
establishment of communist rule in Czechoslovakia. In the same year, Soviet
forces in East Germany attempted to cut off food and other supplies from West
Berlin, which, since the war, had remained under the control of the West.
(Ultimately, the Berlin Blockade failed as the West airlifted supplies into the
besieged city.)
National
Archives of Canada (PA-066238).
Royal
Canadian Air Force Buildings, Resolute Bay, Northwest Territories, 14 June
1950.
The
defence of Canada's arctic airspace became increasingly important with the
beginning of the Cold War. The RCAF helped to protect Canada and North America
against the threat of Soviet long-range bombers, which could carry nuclear
weapons.
The
threat of communist expansionism grew in September 1949 when the Soviet Union
tested its first nuclear device. The Soviets now possessed "the bomb"
and had long-range bombers that could deliver this horrific weapon of war to
the North American continent. The era of isolationism, which had been founded
partly on the limits of military technology and on North America's distance
from potential enemies, was at an end. Fears grew still further when China
passed into communist hands in 1949.
In
1947, Escott Reid of the Canadian External Affairs Department proposed the
formation of an organization to provide collective security in western Europe
and counter the Soviet threat. Secretary of State for External Affairs Louis
St. Laurent and his deputy, Lester B. Pearson, supported his proposal. The
American government endorsed the initiative, and subsequent discussions with
other Western powers soon followed. In April 1949, Canada and the United
States, along with 10 European countries, agreed to create a unified military
command and jointly defend any North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member
that was attacked. Canada made an early commitment, tentatively planning to
provide an infantry division and an air division of 11, quickly upped to 12,
squadrons. Canadian involvement in the Korean War delayed the dispatch of any
force but, on 4 May 1951, Minister of National Defence Brooke Claxton announced
his intention to send 27 Canadian Infantry Brigade Group to Europe (27 CIBG). (1) Before moving to
permanently assigned garrisons in the eastern Ruhr Valley in 1953, 27 CIBG was
placed in temporary ones in the Hanover area.
The
communist threat also prompted Canada and the United States to pursue even
closer military relations than had been the case during the Second World War.
During the 1950s, the United States successfully pressed for an integrated
North American defence system against Soviet aggression. Canada and the US
formed a Permanent Joint Board on Defense to coordinate training methods and
standardize equipment. In 1957, the two countries established the North
American Air Defence Command (NORAD) to provide joint control over continental
air defence. Furthermore, the Canadian government allowed the Americans to use
Canadian air bases, especially in Labrador, as staging areas for potential
bombing runs against the Soviets. It also permitted them to fly fighters and bombers
over Canada. Lastly, the United States built and manned Distant Early Warning
(DEW) Line stations (radar installations that tracked enemy air activity) in
Canada's High Arctic.
United
States, National Archives and Records Administration. Available online at
Images of American Political History, http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer%5Fpol%5Fhist/thumbnail404.htm,
[22 December 1999].
Mushroom
Cloud, Nagasaki, Japan, 9 August 1945.
The
bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima demonstrated the immense destructive power of
nuclear weaponry. The threat of an all-out atomic war increased dramatically
after the Soviet Union tested a nuclear device in September 1949.
Canada
had passed from the British to the American sphere of influence. Collective
security and increased American-Canadian defence co-operation reflected the
growing Western anxiety about the communist peril. The Korean War would soon
heighten those anxieties and threaten a third world war. Canada would once more
turn to its military to protect national interests.
----
Canada's
Role- WAR AND PEACEKEEPING
Participation
in international ventures, such as the Korean War, allowed Canada to take an
active role in world affairs, but these undertakings did not fully meet the
needs of Canadian foreign policy. Canada had not yet found a comfortable role
in which to exercise its middle-power status. Neither the functional principle
nor the concept of the middle power had been recognized in the United Nations
Charter of 1945. Canada also faced the problem of avoiding too great an
American influence on its foreign policy. Certainly the United States was the
dominant partner in the collective security organizations that had been created
in the post-war years.
Ultimately,
however, Canada was able to find a niche that was perfectly suited to its
national temperament and middle-power status. The role that Canada created for
itself was that of mediator and peacemaker. Canada became recognized for its
efforts to use quiet diplomacy to resolve international disputes. Even more
significantly, these efforts to broker peace agreements were accompanied by a
willingness to participate in UN peacekeeping missions with military force.
This peacekeeping role was useful, responsible, and relatively inexpensive. It
became a pillar of Canadian foreign policy in the post-war period. And it depended,
fundamentally, on the skills, dedication, and strength of the Canadian
military. Between 1947 and the present, Canada has participated in almost 40 UN
peacekeeping missions. More than 100,000 soldiers have served as peacekeepers.
The
United Nations pursues two main forms of peacekeeping. In one case, military
observers, widely known as UNMOs (United Nations Military Observers) are sent
to observe and report the status of a truce; these observers are generally
unarmed and their force is essential moral. Indeed, perhaps UNMO's most
significant weapon is that the violations they report are freely communicated
via unencrypted radio, which allows them to be monitored by both sides. Within
hours their reports will be published and posted for the press to access in the
truce mission headquarters and at UN Headquarters in New York. In other
circumstances, combat units are deployed in a ceasefire zone between two
conflicting forces. The presence of such troops is intended to give additional
stability to a ceasefire. Both types of peacekeeping are often present in the
same area. For example, in the Golan Heights, UNDOF (United Nations
Disengagement Observer Force) complements the line of observation posts manned
by UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organization). The latter is made up
solely of UNMOs. The troops come from countries not involved in the dispute,
and their job is to enforce the ceasefire terms. Then, peaceful solutions can
be sought through diplomacy and negotiation. Canadian troops have served in
both these contexts as well as performing arms control verification,
communications and technical support, and humanitarian assistance in a variety
of trouble spots. Canada has also participated in peacekeeping missions not
sponsored by the United Nations. For example, a team was sent to Nigeria in
1968-1969, and Canada's current peacekeeping contingent in Bosnia serves under
the NATO rather than UN banner. Although NATO carried out the international
military intervention in Kosovo, the peacekeeping operation is a UN mandate.
The UN intervention in the Congo was unique in that, at one point, the very
large UN peacekeeping force went to war with a large infantry division to
reintegrate the breakaway province of Katanga into the Congo.
Suez
Crisis
United
Nations (UN 52021
United
Nations Emergency Force in Egypt, December 1956.
Canadian
soldiers stand in formation upon their arrival in Egypt. The Canadian force was
part of a larger contingent of troops from Columbia, Denmark, Finland, India,
Norway, Sweden, and Yugoslavia that the UN sent to Egypt to establish peace
The
most significant of Canada's early peacekeeping missions occurred in 1956, when
a dispute over the Suez Canal threatened the stability of the Middle East.
The
British were in the process of decolonization in Asia and Africa. Accordingly,
in 1955, they relinquished control of the Suez Canal, owned by a predominantly
British company, to Egypt.
A
year later, the Egyptian government nationalized the canal (and thus took
ownership away from the British company) because Britain would not provide
loans for a massive irrigation project. In October 1956, a joint
English-French-Israeli military force attempted to regain control of the Suez
Canal.
PHOTO
National
Archives of Canada (PA-121704, photo by Duncan Cameron
Lester
B. Pearson Accepts Nobel Peace Prize, Norway, December 1957.
Pearson
was awarded the peace prize for his efforts to resolve the Suez Crisis.
The
invasion sparked an international crisis. The Canadian secretary of state for
external affairs, Lester Pearson, was, however, able to negotiate a diplomatic
solution. One of the key elements of the settlement was an innovative method to
help establish peace in the region: the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF).
This large, multinational military force was positioned between the opposing
Egyptian and Israeli armies to prevent the outbreak of hostilities. Canadian
General E.L.M. Burns, Chief of Staff (that is to say, commander (1) ) of the United Nations Truce Supervision
Organization, commanded the UNEF. The Canadian contribution to this
international contingent was originally to be based on the 1st Battalion, The
Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. The unit, including their vehicles and equipment,
had been moved from Calgary to Halifax by air and rail and was already loaded
on board HMCS Magnificent when President Nasser announced his refusal to accept
a regiment of "soldiers of the Queen." The Canadian contingent was
then changed to one of communications and logistics (supply, transport, and air
movements) and, in fact, these support functions became very much a Canadian
specialty. Indeed, they were the basis of Canada's reputation as a peacekeeping
nation until Cyprus in 1964. Early in 1957, however, a joint Canadian-Yugoslav
reconnaissance unit was created and gave Canadian combat arms soldiers a UNEF
role. The Canadian component-56 Reconnaissance Squadron and Royal Canadian
Armoured Corps, manned initially by contingents from the Royal Canadian
Dragoons and the Lord Strathcona's Horse-was equipped with Ferret scout cars
and jeeps. Future rotations were done by sending complete reconnaissance
squadrons from one of the four armoured regiments of the era: Royal Canadian
Dragoons, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), Fort Garry Horse, and the
8th Canadian Hussars. All four ultimately participated in the mission.
United
States, National Archives and Records Administration. Available online at
Images of American Political History, http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/thumbnail423.html,[23
December 1999].
U.S.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower Discusses the Suez Crisis with Secretary of
State John Foster Dulles, 14 August 1956.
The
Suez Crisis resulted in strained relations between the United States and its
senior European allies, France and Great Britain. The Canadian government, led
by the Secretary of State for External Affairs, Lester Pearson, succeeded in
defusing this dangerous international crisis.
With
the arrival of the UNEF, the fighting between the combatants halted and a
ceasefire was achieved. For his part in resolving the Suez Crisis, Pearson was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Cyprus
Canada's
longest peacekeeping mission began a few years after the Suez Crisis. In 1959,
Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean, gained its independence from Great
Britain. Greek and Turkish communities on the island, however, could not
coexist peacefully. By 1963, fighting had broken out between the two groups.
When both Greece and Turkey threatened to intervene, the conflict was poised to
become an international crisis. Britain hoped to restore peace through the
intervention of the UN. Subsequently, UN troops, including a Canadian
contingent, were stationed in Cyprus to keep the peace. In the past, Canadian
troops had been regarded as essentially "British." However, their
presence in Cyprus elicited no objection from either the Turkish or Greek Cypriots,
indicating that Canada was regarded as a state whose position was essentially a
neutral one. The conflict continued, however, and led to the partitioning of
Cyprus into Turkish and Greek republics.
photos
Liaison
with the Muhktar LdSH(RC), Louroujina, Cyprus, by Dr. Geoffrey George
Jamieson.
Copyright
Canadian War Museum (AC 19900170-004).
Liaison
with the Muhktar LdSH(RC), Louroujina, Cyprus, by Dr. Geoffrey George Jamieson.
An
officer of Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) facilitates negotiations
between two Cypriot leaders. From 1963 until the mid-1990s, Canadians were very
active in keeping the peace in Cyprus. Canada still has a small contingent of
observers on the island.
On 15
July 1974, Greek army officers serving in the Greek Cypriot National Guard
staged a coup d'état against the president of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios.
Their aim was to unite Cyprus with Greece, the goal that was the original cause
of the Cypriot civil war. Turkey reacted five days later by launching an
amphibious invasion of Cyprus with 40,000 troops. Turkey's stated aim was the
protection of the Turkish Cypriot minority. Within 24 hours, the Turkish
invasion force had gone beyond its initial objectives, securing the port of
Kryenia, their beachhead in the northern part of Cyprus, and extending its
territory into the Turkish sector of Nicosia. Their final objective was to be
the Nicosia airport on the western end the city. Indian Lieutenant-General Prem
Chand, who had also commanded the 1962 UN action against secessionist Katangan
gendarmes and mercenaries, led the UN forces in Cyprus. He and his chief of
staff, Canada's Colonel Clay Beattie, who was also the commander of the
Canadian contingent, decided that to allow the Turks to take the airport would
be an unacceptable blow to UN credibility.
PHOTO:"
Peacekeeping
Force, Kato Pyrgos, Cyprus, 15 April 1964.
United
Nations (UN 84573). Peacekeeping Force, Kato Pyrgos, Cyprus, 15 April 1964.The
United Nations Security Council established the United Nations Peacekeeping
Force in Cyprus to help prevent a recurrence of hostilities between Turk and
Greek Cypriots. The force was comprised of contingents from Canada, Finland,
Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Elements
of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, Canada's UNFICYP (United Nations
Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus) contingent at the time, were deployed to the
airport, which had been defined as a UN protected zone. An initial attack by
the Turks was stopped by Greek Cypriot defensive fire, but, when word of an
impending second assault reached the Canadian contingent, it reminded both
sides that they had agreed to a ceasefire. The Canadian soldiers also clearly
stated that they would defend their positions. The world press could then
report a Turkish assault on UN troops. The Turks apparently believed that the
Canadian contingent would stand its ground -- they certainly had the means to
overcome these troops but chose not to do so. Bravado, credible because of the
evident professionalism of Canada's soldiers, won the day. In addition to
preventing the Nicosia airport from falling into Turk hands, the action defined
a new style of peacekeeping: actively intervening between opposing sides rather
than passively occupying ground between them. Actions at the airport and other
hot spots throughout Nicosia came at a high cost for Canadian peacekeepers, 2
dead and more than 30 wounded! The same proactive style of peacekeeping, which
certainly has its roots in the UN action in Katanga in 1960s, was to be used in
Croatia and Bosnia. These operations, however, exacted an even higher price.
Canada
kept an infantry battalion of varying size in Cyprus until the mid-1990s and
still maintains a small group of observers there. Virtually every Canadian
infantry battalion did at least one Cyprus tour and most did several. Armoured
regiments and at least one artillery regiment also took their turn.
With
Suez, Cyprus, and a number of other smaller missions, peacekeeping was established
as a central feature of Canadian foreign policy. It continued to be vital both
to Canadian diplomacy and military policy right up until the 1980s and 1990s.
Yugoslavia
Perhaps
even more than in Egypt or Cyprus, Canadian soldiers faced arduous and perilous
conditions in Yugoslavia. This Balkan nation was composed of a number of ethnic
groups that were historically hostile to each other. This diverse ethnic
composition, and resulting rivalries, reflects the Balkan's centuries of
history as the front line of conflict between the Islamic and Christian world.
Ethnic tension in the region, never far from the surface, has traditionally
found an outlet in violence, and historic and ongoing betrayals, real and
imagined, have left the groups with a deep distrust of their neighbours.
Religious differences are also a factor. The Serbs (Orthodox), Croats
(Catholic), and Kosovars (Islamic) are, predominantly, of different faiths.
(The population of Bosnia was fairly evenly divided between these three religions.)
Under the communist rule of Marshal Tito, these tensions had been kept in
check. Yugoslavia survived the first decade of the post-Tito era, but the
pessimists proved to be correct. When civil war broke out, the only military
force was the Yugoslav National Army. It was soon fractured as the various
ethnic nations broke away and formed independent states. Those states formed
militias comprised of people with scant training and devoid of military
discipline and organization. As one historian aptly states: "Rival
militias fired weapons in the vicinity of opposing troops, more often than not,
intent on killing civilians. The result was to create a pattern of combat where
military casualties were few. The new armies knew how to kill, but not how to
wage war against other soldiers properly. Unprotected civilians were a
different matter. And so, the objective in these wars was not to defeat the
opponent's combat power but to consolidate new ethnic nation-states by killing
or driving out those who did not fit." (1) Such ethnic cleansing, as these tactics came
to be known, was practised by all parties in the civil wars that erupted in
1992, and Canadian soldiers became witnesses to unspeakable acts of barbarism.
United
Nations(UN 193526C, photo by Jihad El Hassan).
United
Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), Croatia, September 1993.
A
Canadian soldier stands guard amid the destruction in Croatia. On 21 February
1992, the United Nations Security Council established UNPROFOR to create the
conditions of peace and security necessary to negotiate a settlement to the
Yugoslav crisis
Slovenia
and Croatia declared independence in 1991. The Yugoslavian government
attempted, through force of arms, to prevent the secession of these two
would-be autonomous states. The stated reason for this action was to protect
Serbian minorities in those countries. Slovenia separated easily after a short
standoff between Slovene forces and the Yugoslav army garrison and has quietly
settled down to integrating into mainstream western European life. In Croatia,
Serb fears proved to be well founded, and, by 1995, the Serb communities that
had occupied eastern Croatia's Krajina area for hundreds of years had been
expelled. The Croats, despite the best efforts of Canadian peacekeepers, had
"ethnically cleansed" the Serbian population. For their part, the
Serbs undoubtedly wanted to retain control of a greater Yugoslavia. The result
of these three-sided civil wars was thousands of deaths and tens of thousands
of political refugees (perhaps as many as 1.7 million according to UN
estimates).
Bosnia,
celebrated by many as a successfully integrated multicultural society, also
pushed for independence and, in the process, a civil war erupted between
Bosnia's three main ethno-religious groups: Serbian, Bosniak (Bosnian Muslims),
and Croatian. (Convenience, however, sometimes brought the Bosniak and Croatian
elements together against Serbs seeking annexation of their territories to
Yugoslavia itself.) Canada was precipitated into the Bosnia morass in dramatic
fashion in 1992. The first Canadian contingent to the UN peacekeeping mission
in Yugoslavia, UNPROFOR (United Nations Protection Force), dispatched from
Germany, was nominally based on the 1st Battalion, Le Royal 22e Régiment (1
R22eR), with about 40 per cent coming from 3rd Battalion The Royal Canadian
Regiment (3 RCR) as well as a combat engineer squadron (company) from 1 Combat
Engineer Regiment in Lahr, a critical unit in an area saturated with unmarked
minefields. The UN had requested that this totally mechanized battalion replace
most of its M113 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) with trucks. The Canadian
commander in Germany, Brigadier-General Clive Addy, advised by Brigadier- (soon
to be Major-) General Lewis Mackenzie who was already in Yugoslavia, refused.
Canadian troops arrived in Croatia with all their APCs including those equipped
with TOW (Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided) anti-tank missiles and
81mm mortars. Addy and Mackenzie were quickly proven correct in their
conviction that the protection and firepower this equipment provided would be essential
to ensure both the success of the mission and the safety of Canada's soldiers.
The original UNPROFOR mandate was to deploy along the Serb/Croat ceasefire
line, and the Canadians, pretty much the first contingent on the ground, were
slowly starting to familiarize themselves with their new mission in May and
June, while a full-scale civil war was raging in Bosnia. UNPROFOR was
instructed to open a way for convoys of food and medical supplies. Thanks to
their robust equipment, the "Vandoos" and "Royals" of 1
R22eR were the only real option available to the UN in order to accomplish this
task. Fittingly, on Canada Day, 1 July 1992, the world press was reporting the
saga of these troops forcing their way through Serb checkpoints and deploying
around the airport and downtown of Sarajevo. Major-General Lewis Mackenzie, the
senior UN commander in Sarajevo, and the Canadian soldiers gained worldwide
prominence due to extensive media coverage. In early August, 1 R22eR returned
to Croatia, but, later that year, Canada sent a second battalion-sized battle
group to Bosnia -- 2nd Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment. This
contingent included a squadron of the 12e Régiment Blindé du Canada (12 RBC)
with their Cougar armoured cars (2)
and a squadron of combat engineers from Valcartier, Quebec.
United
Nations (UN 78799)-United Nations Operation in the Congo, January 1963. UN
troops train Congolese soldiers in various aspects of military activity
The
theoretical aim of the Canadian contingent's participation in UNPROFOR II, the
UN force in Bosnia, was to escort humanitarian relief convoys, but it quickly
became involved in trying to mitigate the impact of the civil war. The most
dramatic incident was its intervention on behalf of the besieged Muslim
communities in eastern Bosnia. At Srebenica, French General Claude Morillon
(Mackenzie's replacement as the UN commander in Sarejevo), with a small escort
of Canadians, worked out an agreement whereby the Muslims in five United
Nations "safe areas" were to disarm but be protected from the Serbs
by UN soldiers. The Canadian contingent increased, eventually, to as many as
175 before being replaced by a lightly armed, 500-man Dutch battalion. Canadian
soldiers were, like the local populations, besieged for months at a time. These
troops sometimes survived on half rations, and, on being relieved, often looked
as haggard as the populations they were protecting. The cost to Canadian
peacekeepers in injuries from hostile fire and mines was a heavy one. The Serbs
eventually crushed four of these five "safe areas" in 1995. The one
exception other than Sarajevo, which was really a sixth "safe area,"
was Gorazde. Unlike the other four, it had no peacekeepers in 1994, only a team
of UNMOs assisted by British Special Air Service (SAS) patrols. The story of
the role of a young Canadian UNMO, Major Pat Stogran, in protecting Gorazde has
recently come to light. (3)
The other "safe areas" protected by UN peacekeepers later fell to Serb
forces, but the use of NATO air power saved Gorazde. The air strikes were used
on the recommendation of Major Stogran and directed to their targets by the SAS
patrols. NATO had made air power available to the UN when evidence came to
light that Yugoslavia was giving strong military support to Bosnian Serbs. This
was the first instance of its use (and the first instance of the use of NATO
air power against ground targets). Serb forces were very near to investing the
town but backed off when the air strikes were escalated from local tactical
targets (individual tanks, etc.) to strategic targets deep in Bosnian Serb
territory. British UN peacekeepers then entered the town, which was the only
one that did not fall to Serbs in the final phase of the war in 1995.
The
Canadian contingent was able to protect the Serb enclave in the Krajina region
of eastern Croatia until 1995 when a major Croatian offensive succeeded in
expelling the entire Serb population. In 1993, the Canadian contingent, 2 PPCLI
battle group, had been able to stop an earlier offensive. The men of 2 PPCLI
did so despite the battalion having a great deal going against it. Of its 875
soldiers, only 375 came from the unit: the remainder were augmentees, 385
militia soldiers and 165 from other regular force units. Only a long period of
intense combat training that allowed the building of cohesive teams at section,
platoon, and company level allowed 2 PPCLI to avoid disaster. (4) Croatian forces attacked the Canadian soldiers
over a period of four days. The Canadians returned fire, suffering several
wounded but no loss of life. Croatian officials publicly admitted to losing
some 27 killed and wounded to UN fire in this action, but their actual losses
were probably much higher. (5)
Eventually, 2 PPCLI launched a full-scale assault, the first by the Canadian
army since Korea, to reoccupy the ceasefire zone. Although its objectives were
achieved without firing a shot, a tense confrontation took place between
Croatian tanks and Canadian TOW M113 APCs. This confrontation ended only when
the commanding officer of the Patricia's called forward 20 international
journalists accompanying the troops to witness what was going on. The Croatians
left the Krajina region but not before inflicting scenes of death, rape,
pillage, and wanton destruction on the areas they briefly occupied. The
Canadian "peacekeepers" who witnessed the carnage as they moved in
were left with indelible scars. The experience of Yugoslavia clearly provides
the lesson that peacekeeping is best carried out by combat trained,
well-equipped troops.
Bosnia,
however, is far from the only peacekeeping mission that Canada has recently
undertaken. The 1990s have seen Canadian troops in locations as diverse as El
Salvador, Cambodia, and the Israeli-Arab border. Canada has been particularly
active in Africa. Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda-Uganda, the Sahara, and Somalia
have all received Canadian peacekeepers over the last few years. The most
famous, and infamous, of these African operations occurred in Somalia, although
the UN mandate in Somalia was one of combating military factions interfering
with relief rather than peacekeeping.
Most
recently, Canadians have been attempting to keep the peace in Kosovo. Kosovo,
another province that has attempted to break away from Yugoslavia, has also
endured the wrath of the Serbian military and the ethnic cleansing campaigns of
Serbian politicians.
·
Gulf
War
United
States, National Archives and Records Administration. Available online at
Images of American Political History, http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer%5Fpol%5Fhist/thumbnail498.html,
[23 December 1999]
U.S.
President George Bush and Saudi King Fahd, Saudi Arabia, 21 November 1990.
The
two leaders are meeting to discuss the Gulf War
In
August 1990, Iraq invaded the Persian Gulf state of Kuwait. At issue in the
conflict were oil production and border disputes between the two countries.
When diplomacy failed to resolve the conflict, the United States formed a
military coalition to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. Canada joined the
multinational force. Canada's combat role was confined to aerial escort
missions and aerial ground support interdiction (albeit with conventional
rather than laser guided "smart" munitions), army medical and field
engineer support, and naval enforcement of the blockade. Approximately 4,000
Canadians served in the Gulf War, a bit more than 2,000 at any one time, but
the Canadian Armed Forces suffered no battlefield casualties. The war was
largely fought in the air, a theatre in which the Western nations held an
enormous advantage. Unable to support troops on the ground, Iraq was forced to
retreat and, eventually, to capitulate. Canada's participation is as
significant for what it failed to do as for what it actually did. Even though
Canada lobbied strongly and successfully to get the coalition effort against Iraq
to come under the UN banner, a meaningful Canadian presence among the ground
forces was markedly absent. Extensive planning was done to send a ground force
based on Canada's NATO contingent, 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. When it
came down to the crunch, Canada's lack of military preparedness was such that
the Canadian military did not participate. Only Canada's 36 pilots were
consciously put in harm's way. Canada's allies did not fail to notice this lack
of involvement. Shortly thereafter, in one of the first crisis of the post-Gulf
War "new world order," a contact group was established to oversee the
international strategy vis-à-vis the civil war in Yugoslavia. Even though
Canada was providing the third largest contingent of peacekeepers, it was not
included in this group of five nations. Canada had no say in the decisions made
by this contact group, decisions that had a direct impact on how the thousands
of Canadian soldiers in the midst of this bitter conflict were to be used.
Copyright
Canadian War Museum (AC 19910166-002).
Operations
Desert Shield/Desert Storm 7 August 1990-28 February 1991.
The
map shows the chronology of the Persian Gulf conflict. In particular, it
reflects the progress of the allied operations against Iraq: Desert Shield and Desert
Storm
United
States, National Archives and Records Administration. Available online at
Images of American Political History, http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer%5Fpol%5Fhist/thumbnail501.html,
[23 December 1999]
President
George Bush at a Military Briefing, Washington, D.C., n.d.
General
Colin Powell indicates the progress in the ground war with Iraq. Secretary
Cheney, Robert Gates and Secretary Baker are also present
Although
the Gulf War ended in April 1991, Canadian troops, and in particular sappers on
mine clearing duties, have remained in the region as part of the UN mission
along the Iraq-Kuwait border. Canada was also part of the special commission to
disarm Iraq's biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons production facilities.
Changing
Policy
We
are currently in the process of updating this segment of our web site to
document the changes in Canadian foreign and defence policy in the post 9/11
era. While our in-depth material on this topic is being prepared, we offer this
interim photo narrative
The
promotion of Lieutenant-General Rick Hillier to General and his appointment as
Chief of the Defence Staff effective 4 February 2005 was a clear signal that
the Government of Prime Minister Paul Martin was initiating a radical change of
direction for the Canadian Forces. Here we seem him in Kabul on 4 February 2004
when he assumed command of the NATO led International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF).
A
key component of the rebuilding of the Canada's armed forces was the
procurement of new equipment. One of the most critical needs was new C-130
Hercules transport aircraft, the workhorse of Canada’s strategic transport air
fleet. A replacement project to procure “at least 16” C-130J Hercules was
announced by Defence Minister Bill Graham on 22 November 2005.
Here
we see the first of the 17 procured arriving at Trenton on 4 June 2010. Defence
Minister Peter MacKay appears in the roof hatch.
The
Conservative government’s first Minister of National Defence, Gordon O’Connor,
insisted that the Canadian Forces air transport fleet needed more than just the
Hercules fleet. He convinced cabinet that we should procure also four Boeing
C-17 Globemaster III aircraft (in Canadian usage designated C-177). Canada
would no longer have to hire aircraft space for loads larger than the capacity
of a Hercules.
The
Globemaster can carry loads as large and heavy as a Leopard tank. Canada can
now deploy military force or humanitarian aid anywhere in the world using its
own resources and on its own timetable! In the photos below we see a Sea King
Helicopter being loaded at Shearwater and, mere weeks after being accepted in
Trenton, another Globemaster departs for the humanitarian relief mission to aid
Myanmar, hit by a devastating cyclone.
Canada's
Navy was perhaps the first of our armed forces to commence operations in the
“War on Terrorism” campaign that followed the horrific attack by Islamist
terrorists on the United States on 11 September 2001. In fact the navy had been
continuously deployed in the Persion Gulf and Arabian Sea since the first Gulf
War that followed Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
On
17 October 2001 we see the Canadian Fleet Atlantic Headquarters building in HMC
Dockyard Halifax flying a farewell banner for the departure of HMC ships
Iroquois, Charlottetown and Preserver, deploying to the Arabian Sea for
Operation APOLLO, Canada's military contribution to the international war
against terrorism
while
on 26 November HMCS Preserver, refuels the United States Navy warship USS
Ingraham in the Persian Gulf.
More
recently the navy's attention in the region has shifted to Somali based pirates
harassing shipping in the area of the Horn of Africa.In April 2009
Her
Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg escorts a United Nations World Food
Program contracted ship carrying urgent humanitarian supplies to Somalia during
counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
Right,
a CH-124 Sea King Helicopter provides air support to Her Majesty’s Canadian
Ship (HMCS) Fredericton’s Naval Boarding Party as they approach a fishing dhow
during a routine operation in the Gulf of Aden on 1 December 2009.
Here
the Naval Boarding Party from Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg
boarded a dhow that matched the description of a vessel that reportedly opened
fire on a merchant vessel in a shipping lane in the Gulf of Aden on 9 April
2009. The vessels were later released following a thorough search
Afghanistan
We
are currently in the process of updating this segment of our web site to
document Canada's soldiers and airmen in the Afghanistan conflict and to honour
those who have died there.
While
our in-depth material on Canada's armed forces in Afghanistan is being prepared
we offer in the interim this photo narrative selected from the very rich
archive available at http://www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca/site/combat-camera-eng.asp.
Kandahar
2002
In
mid-November 2001 the United States asked its coalition partners, which
included Canada, to provide ground troops to provide a stabilization force to
be deployed in areas secured by the Northern Alliance of Afghans seeking to
free Afghanistan from Taliban control. The mission goal was to facilitate the
distribution of humanitarian relief and supplies to the people of Afghanistan.
Canada's response was to place 1,000 members the Immediate Reaction Force
(Land) (IRF(L)) on 48 hours notice to deploy. The IRF(L) was based on 3rd Battalion
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (3PPCLI), a light infantry
battalion. By January the situation had changed significantly and the tasking
was reduced to 750 soldiers to deploy to Kandahar as part of a task force based
on the US Army 187th Brigade Combat Team. This was the first of a continuum of
Canadian Army involvement in Afghanistan.
By
mid-March they engaged in operations in the Tora Bora region to search Al
Quaeda material, documents and bodies and to destroy their caves and prevent
return to the region. Here soldiers disembark from a US Army CH-47D Chinook
helicopter on 7 May in a subsequent operation searching for Al Quaeda.
3PPCLI
battle group included a reconnaissance squadron of the Lord Strathcona's Horse
(LdSH). Soldiers of the squadron drive out of the Canadian camp at Kandahar
International Airport in Coyote armoured reconnaissance vehicles on 9 Feb 2002.
12
Field Sqadron of 1 Combat Engineer Regiment was attached to 3PPCLI Battle
Group. Here they develop Kandahar airfield defences while at right they prepare
to fire 84mm munitions at fixed targets during a training exercise at Tarnack
Farms just outside the Kandahar Airport. It was at this same location where
four members of 3PPCLI were killed when a US Air Force plane mistook the tracer
from the same 84mm weapons to be hostile anti-aircraft fire.
On
19 April 3PPCLI assemble as the four caskets are loaded onto an awaiting USAF
C-17 aircraft.
In
early July 3PPCLI Battle Group and the Afghan National Army deployed into Zobol
Province (100km NE of Kandahar) and conducted a sweep of the Shin Key Valley.
Shortly
after return to Kandahar from this operation the Battle Group ceased operations
and returned to Edmonton and other destinations at the end of July after a
brief “decompression” stopover in Guam
Kabul
(photos)
2003
Canada’s
soldiers were not long absent from Afghanistan. On 12 February 2003 Minister of
National Defence John McCallum announced that Canada had agreed to provide a
battalion group and brigade headquarters for a UN mandated mission in Kabul
starting in late summer.
Here
one of the first convoys of vehicles departs Kabul airport on 30 June after
offloading from a hired Antonov transport aircraft
The
battalion group was based on 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment from CFB
Petawawa, ON and started arriving in Kabul on 19 July. Also deployed to Kabul
Multi-National Brigade were gunners from 2 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery
2RCHA) seen on firing range near Kabul with their 105mm Howitzers.
Also
sent to Kabul was the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ( UAV ) Troop of 2RCHA here
launching a Sperwer UAV on 6 November. The Sperwer was the first UAV acquired
for the Canadian Forces.
2004
On
27 January 2004 Cpl Jamie Brendan Murphy is killed by a suicide bomber while
driving an Iltis utility vehicle [jeep] on a routine patrol. Obviously the
Iltis was not suitable for conditions in Afghanistan and the government gave
quick approval to its replacement, the Mercedes Geländewagen (G-Wagon) which is
here in Kabul in March 2004. A mine protection kit was purchased for some
vehicles and also a machine gun turret.
Quick
on the heals behind the G Wagon procurement was this South African RG-31 Nyala “mine
protected vehicle”. These are two vehicles operated by the Loyal Edmonton
Regiment platoon deployed to Afghanistan in 2006.
2005
On
14 February a Coyotte from the Kabul Reconnaissance Squadron moves along a
patrol route during deployed operations in Afghanistan.
In
April a LAV-III provides cover for a dismounted foot patrol in Kabul while
(below) sappers prepare demolitions to destroy 122mm rockets.
Kandahar
On
17 May 2005 the Government of Canada announced that Canada's soldiers would
shift their efforts from Kabul to Kandahar with up to 1250 troops. A Provincial
Reconstruction Team (PRT) was part of the package and would eventually involve
CIDA, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT), and the RCMP.
On
28 July a CC-130 Hercules approaches Kandahar airfield with the very first load
of the Provincial Reconstruction members into Kandahar International Airport
As
operations have just about ceased in Kabul in November 2005 a convoy prepares
to reposition equipment from Kabul to Kandahar.
On
20 December members of the Provincial Reconstruction Team prepare charges to
destroy various types of ordnance that were turned into the PRT by local
residents for disposal.
On
27 December young Afghan girls look on as Captain Colleen Forestier, a member
of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Medical Section, and Corporal
Helene April, a Weapons Tech with the PRT, displays crafts that participants
from various girls' schools have brought in to be judged for prizes.
2006
On
19 March we see a convoy of American and Canadian soldiers are stopping at the
local hospital in the village of Qalat. The convoy includes two G-wagons one
Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) from Canada and one American hummer.
On
17 May Captain Nichola Kathleen Sarah Goddard, an artillery Forward Observation
Officer, was killed by a bullet in the head while directing fire from her
LAVIII armoured vehicle. She was thus the first woman combat soldier to die in
action. In one of her letters home to her father, who teaches in the field of post-conflict
educational development at the University of Calgary, she wrote, “I do what I
do so you can do what you do.”
2006
was to see much more intense action against the Taliban insurgents trying
reimpose their harsh and unpopular regime on the Afghan people. After this
year's combat they less frequently risked direct combat with Canadians,
resorting instead to suicide bombers and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
In
previous wars Canadians used the comforts of the Salvation Army. In Afghanistan
in the 21st century there is a full range of amenities including this precious
cargo arrive aboard a US C-17 aircraft -- the Tim Horton's “double-double” kit.
Prior
to Afghanistan, Canada's army had just about abandoned tanks but as the threat
to our soldiers became increasingly one of IEDs it was decided that tanks with
their heavier armour would be a good addition to our Afghanistan contingent. On
3 October one of the first Leopard I tanks with its 105mm gun arrives aboard a
US C-17 transport aircraft. It a contract was soon made to purchase the newer
Leopard II tanks armed with a 120mm gun and increased armour and
air-conditioned interior, not a luxury when temperatures routinely reach 50C
and above!
Also
deployed was this Badger armoured engineer vehicle, built on the Leopard
chassis, in November developing the site of a Forward Operating Base (FOB)
Ma'Sum Ghar. Canada's soldiers were deployed in such bases throughout the
Kandahar area.
2007
On
29 March 2007, Engineers from 2 RCR Battle Group use another weapon against
IEDs, an explosives-sniffing dog and handler searching in a village, and on the
surrounding roads close to Forward Operating Base Gundi Ghar in western
Kandahar Province.
Canada's
government gave full support to our soldiers providing improved equipment to
meet changing circumstances. On 27 June, gunners of D Battery, 2RCHA, here load
charge bags full of propellant into the breech of their M777 155 mm howitzer at
the Canadian FOB at Sperwan Ghar, Afghanistan. Firing laser guided munitions these
guns deliver accurate fire of explosive, smoke, or illuminating projectiles to
a distance of several kilometres.
On
23 June 2007, Ma'Sum Ghar, Afghanistan, Canadian Forces Medical Technician
Sergeant Mike Escott of the Operational Mentoring Liaison Team (OMLT) checks
the pulse of an Afghan National Army soldier in a bunker at the Canadian
Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Ma'sum Ghar, Afghanistan. Watching is Afghan
National Army doctor Captain Rahollah.
16
August, the first Leopard 2A6 tank arrives at Kandahar Airport in Afghanistan
aboard an Antonov 124-100 aircraft. The tank was leased from Germany following
an announcement made by the Minister of National Defence April 2007 in which he
committed to renewing the armoured tank capabilities of the Canadian Forces.
The
training and mentoring of the Afghan army has been a major focus since the
first days in Kabul in 2003. Here on 27 June a group of Canadian and Afghan
soldiers depart an Afghan National Army post for a patrol near the FOB at
Ma'sum Ghar, Afghanistan.
Seen
in Trenton on 27 September is the latest weapon in the arsenal to deal with
mines and IEDs, this Buffalo Mines Detection Vehicle (BMDV). The hull of the
Buffalo is mine-resistant, its armour (and ballistic glass) protected against
IEDs and 7.62x51 mm rifle fire. Like the Nyala it is of South African design.
On
16 November 2007, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, a convoy of Canadian vehicles
and troops make their final preparations prior to departing for the next
destination point during an operation in the Zhari District, about 40 Km west
of Kandahar City, Afghanistan.
17
November 2007, Canadian soldiers from B Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal 22e
Régiment, return fire after receiving intermittent contact with Taliban
fighters November 17th 2007, about 40 km west of Kandahar City, Afghanistan.
After securing the objective location, the next phase was to construct a
protective compound, which will be used as a checkpoint by the Afghan National
Army (ANA) to reduce the freedom of movement of Taliban fighters.
2008
20
January 2008, Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, Major Lee-Anne Quinn examining a sick
Afghan girl at a free medical clinic run by Afghan, Canadian and US medical and
dental personnel in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan. Squadron A, 12e Régiment blindé
du Canada (12 RBC), also distributed shoes to nearly 1,000 young Afghans.
On
30 April, Master Corporal Anouk Beauvais of the Kandahar Provincial
Reconstruction Team (KPRT) gives handshakes to Afghan girls during a foot
patrol in Panjwayi district, Afghanistan. The goal of the patrol was to
determine the needs and living condition of the local population.
21
Aug 2008, Corporal Montgomery of 12 Field Squadron, 1 Combat Engineer Regiment
in Edmonton, Alberta, signals to a fellow soldier while keeping an all-around
defense position during OP TIMIS PREEM, a deliberate operation aimed at
disrupting insurgent command and control centres in key areas of the
Zharey/Panjwayi Districts. It was successful in finding the insurgents, digging
them out of hiding, and destroying their materiel caches, thus preventing them
from emplacing improvised explosive devices along Ring Route South, a key
thoroughfare in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
2009
Finally!
the missing link -- CH-147 Chinook helicopters are added to the resources of
Canada's soldiers in Afghanistan. Here on 13 February the Master Gunner sits in
the door-gunner’s position and mans the C-6 machine gun as the CH-146 Griffon
helicopter departs Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, on a training mission to
test fire the new Dillon Aero 7.62mm M134 Minigun. The Griffons were used as
escorts for the Chinooks.
On
March 7, 2009, anticipation runs high as soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, The
Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group prepare to board the Chinook helicopters
at Kandahar Airfield that will fly them deep into Zhari District for Operation
SANGA FIST, a one-day air-mobile deliberate operation.
10
June 2009, Canadian soldiers are patrolling the streets of Kandahar,
Afghanistan.
June
7, 2009, left, Sergeant César Montes, a member of 1st Battalion, Royal 22e
Régiment from Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, advances with his patrol, Patrol
51-A, in the centre of Deb-E-Bagh District.
2010
On 9
February 2010 Canadian Forces Chinook helicopters fly in formation during a
training mission for OP MOSHTARAK. Task Force Freedom, Canada's Helicopter
presence in Afghanistan prepares for the largest air assault since the Second
World War the Canadian component will consist of 3 Chinook helicopters, 4
Griffon helicopters and approximately 60 Canadian Forces members. Their mission
will be to insert British, Estonian and Afghan troops into the village of Nad
Ali. The village is considered to be an insurgent hot spot and locals have been
warned to stay inside their homes.
On
31 May 2010, 1 Royal Canadian Regiment (1RCR) Bravo Company (B COY) conduct a
presence patrol of Haji Baba and the surrounding area.
3
June 2010, 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment (1RCR), Bravo Company and
Afghan National Army members patrol the area while a CH146 Griffon helicopter
flies overhead supplying aerial support.
9
June 2010, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The CU-170 Heron UAV is a one tonne
aircraft that can conduct operations in excess of 24 hours with a maximum speed
of more than 1180 km/h and at altitudes of up to 10,000 metres. The CU-170
Heron can remain on-station for at least 12 hours, at least 100 kilometres away
from its operating base. The Heron has the ability to collect and transmit
gyro-stabilized, electro-optical and infrared full-motion imagery, and
broadcast full-motion and still imagery.
Panjwa'i
District, 16 October 2010, a Leopard 2A6M Main Battle Tank from The Lord
Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) and part of the 1st Battalion, The Royal
Canadian Regiment Battle Group, provides over-watch as soldiers from Charles
Company conduct an impromptu shura with local villagers during recent
operations in the volatile Panjwa’i and Zhari Districts of Kandahar Province.
The sheer size and firepower of the Leopard 2A6M Main Battle Tank makes it a
formidable force and a huge deterrent to enemy insurgents allowing for such
meetings to take place.
2011
Canada's
combat mission in Kandahar will cease in the summer of 2011. Our efforts will
shift to Kabul for the training of the Afghan National Army.
Canadian
Military History
·
Boer War
·
Cold War
·
Cyprus
·
Risks
·
Gulf War
·
Kosovo
.jpg)
the Authors
The
Canadian Military History was authored and edited by a team of Canadian
historians and Canadian military history experts.
Authoring
and Historical Verification
·
Chris
Hackett, MA (Hist), Chinook Multimedia
·
Dr.
Phil Massolin, PhD (Hist), Chinook Multimedia
·
Maj
(ret’d) John Matthews CD, rmc, BA (Hist), The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum
·
Maj
(ret’d) David Haas CD, rmc, BA (Hons), MA, JD, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment
Museum
·
Capt
(ret'd)Terry Allison, CD, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum
·
LCol
(ret’d) Lee Ahlstrom CD, BEd, LLB, QC, KofStJ, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment
Museum
·
Col
(ret’d) Don Miller, CD, BEd, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum
Editing
and Copyediting
·
Dr.
Bob Hesketh, PhD (Hist), Chinook Multimedia
·
Dr.
Bob Cole, PhD, Chinook Multimedia
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PRESENTS
Canadian Peacekeepers
Missions
More than 125,000 Canadians have participated in United Nations and NATO peacekeeping duties throughout the world. That is more Peacekeepers than any other country. Peacekeepers have helped to make the world a better place in which to live. The Nobel Committee recognized the good work that UN Peacekeepers have been doing by awarding them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.
Canada has honoured its Peacekeepers, past, present and future, by dedicating a monument to their service and dedication. The monument was unveiled in Ottawa, ON in October 1992. The Canadian Peacekeepers Service Medal (see below) is awarded to all Canadians who serve with peacekeeping missions.
For the full story of The Canadian Contribution To United Nations Peacekeeping- use this link. This is an external PDF document prepared by the United Nations Peacekeeping Association In Canada. It contains history, details, missions, photos and additional information. The following are additional external links regarding Canada's military operations, missions and history. After viewing external links, use your back button to return to this page.
Canadian Military Operations
U.N. Peacekeeping Missions
Canadian Peacekeeping Missions
Military History of Canada
Canadian Forces Portal (tons of information and links here)
Return to Peacekeepers Honor Roll
Canadian Peacekeeping / Military Missions since the end of the Second World War
| 1947 - South Korea. United Nations Temporary Commission in Korea (UNTCOK). 2 soldiers acted as observer during elections. 1947-1948. UNTCOK was meant as a show of good faith toward democracy in the country, and to show that the UN was willing to lend aid to Korea when it was most needed. The mission failed when the USSR refused to allow the observers entry into North Korea. |
| 1949 - Kashmir. United Nations Military Observer Group in Indian and Pakistan. (UNMOGIP) Up to 39 observers served here until 1979. Canada also supplied an aircraft to headquarters until 1996. |
| 1950 - Korea. United Nations Command Korea. 6,146 troops. By the end of the war in 1953 over 26,000 troops served. From 1953 to 1978 Canada participated with the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission with a very small number of personnel. After 1978 the military attaché in the South Korean embassy assumed this responsibility. |
| 1954 - Middle East. United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. (UNTSO). 11 personnel. One of Canada's longest peacekeeping missions helped enforce the ceasefire between Israel and its new neighbours. This mission continues with 8 personnel. |
| 1954 - Indochina. International Commission for Supervision and Control (ICSC). 133 military observers in Vietnam to supervise the French withdrawal and monitor border incursions. In 1973 the number of personnel was reduced to 20. |
| 1956 - Sinai. United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF I). 1,007 troops helped stop hostilities after Israel, France and Great Britain attacked Egypt over the Suez Canal. The mission lasted from November 1956 to June 1967. |
| 1958 - Lebanon. United Nations Observation Group in Lebanon. (UNOGIL). 77 Observers to monitor arms smuggling across the Lebanese border. The mission lasted from June to December 1958. |
| 1960 - Congo. Organisation des nation unies au Congo (ONUC). 421 troops helped maintain law and order in this African country from July 1960 until June 1964. |
| 1962 - West New Guinea. United Nations Security Force in West New Guinea (UNSF). 13 RCAF personnel served from October 1962 to April 1963 to help maintain peace in this Indonesian island. |
| 1963 - Yemen. United Nations Yemen Observation Mission. (UNYOM). 36 troops and observers monitored disengagement between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from July 1963 to September 1964. |
| 1964 - Cyprus. United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). 1150 troops. Canada maintained a strong presence in Cyprus until 1993 when troops were withdrawn for other uses. There is currently one staff officer still with the mission. Over 25,000 personnel served in Cyprus during our twenty-nine year mission. |
| 1965 - Dominican Republic. Mission Of The Representative Of The Secretary-General in the Dominican Republic. (DOMREP). 1 observer served with the mission from May 1965 to October 1966. |
| 1965 - India and Pakistan. United Nations India-Pakistan Observer Mission (UNIPOM) 112 troops served at any given time from September 1965 to March 1966 to monitor a ceasefire. |
| 1968 - Nigeria. Observer Team Nigeria (OTN). 2 personnel monitored a ceasefire between the Nigeria government and Biafran rebels. |
| 1973 - Middle East. United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II). 1,145 troops served from October 1973 to July 1979, again to supervise a ceasefire between Israel and Egypt and control the buffer zone between the countries. |
| 1973 - Vietnam. International Commission for Control and Supervision (ICCS). 248 personnel helped monitor the ceasefire and return of prisoners to Vietnam. Completed in 1974. |
| 1974 - Middle East. United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). 190 personnel withdrew on March 24, 2006 ending three decades of peacekeeping on the Israel-Syrian border involving 12,000 troops stationed near the Golan Heights. |
| 1978 - Lebanon. United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. (UNIFIL) 117 troops served between March and October 1978 to assist with Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon. |
| 1986 - Middle East. Multinational Force and Observers. (MFO) This mission was created after the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt in 1979. Canada began contributing personnel to this non-UN mission in 1986, when 1,800 troops were sent. Twenty years later we still have 31 personnel stationed in Egypt. |
| 1988 - Iran and Iraq. United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group. (UNIIMOG). Up to 525 personnel supervised the disengagement of the two sides from August 1988 to February 1991. |
| 1988 - Afghanistan and Pakistan. United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan (UNGOMAP). 5 observers monitored the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan from May 1988 to March 1990. |
| 1989 - Central America. United Nations Observer Group in Central America (ONUCA) 174 personnel helped verify compliance with the Esquipulas Agreement signed between Nicaragua and its neighbours to end conflict in the region. Canada participated from November 1989 to January 1992. |
| 1989 - Namibia. United Nations Transition Assistance Group Namibia (UNTAG). 301 personnel served between April 1989 and March 1990. |
| 1990 - Kuwait. (The Persian Gulf War) 2,700 personnel including three ships and a squadron of CF-18s and a medical unit helped a UN force push Iraq out of Kuwait. Ended 1991. |
| 1990 - Haiti. United Nations Mission for the Verification of the Elections in Haiti. (ONUVEH). 11 election observers served from November 1990 to February 1991. |
| 1990 - Afghanistan and Pakistan. Office of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan and Pakistan (OSGAP). 1 military observer from March 1990 to 1995 |
| 1991 - Iraq. United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM). This organization was created to disarm Iraq, especially weapons of mass destruction in 1991. Over the course of the mission from April 1991 to December 1999, 100 personnel participated. After American air strikes against Iraq in late 1998 a new UN agency was created to hunt for illegal weapons. Two Canadian Forces personnel were posted to the New York headquarters for this mission from 1999 to the spring of 2000 when they were replaced with civilians. |
| 1991 - El Salvador. United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL). Up to 55 personnel investigated human rights complaints and assisted military reforms and elections. The mission lasted from July 1991 to April 1995 |
| 1991 - Angola. United Nations Angola Verification Mission II (UNAVEM II). 15 observers monitored a ceasefire from July 1991 to April 1993. |
| 1991 - Cambodia. United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia (UNAMIC) that became United Nations Transition Authority in Cambodia. (UNTAC) . 7 military observers served from November 1991 to February 1992 with UNAMIC, then another 240 with UNTAC from February 1992 to September 1993. Part of the latter mission was de-mining and disarmament. |
| 1991 - Western Sahara. United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. (MINURSO). A maximum of 35 personnel helped monitor the ceasefire and supervise a referendum from May 1991 to June 1994. |
| 1991 - Kuwait. United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKON) 5 observers monitored the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait from 1991 until September 2001. |
| 1991 - Red Sea/Arabian Gulf/Persian Gulf. Maritime Interdiction Force (MIF). Canada contributed one vessel to this international force frequently from 1991 to September 2001. The purpose is to enforce a United Nations embargo against Iraq. |
| 1992 - Yugoslavia. European Community Monitoring Mission in the Former Yugoslavia (ECMMY). 48 personnel monitored a ceasefire between January 1992 and August 1995 under the auspices of the European Community and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. |
| 1992 - Somalia. Canada contributed to three separate United Nations missions in this country from October 1992 and January 1994. United Nations Operation in Somalia I and II (UNOSOM I and UNOSOM II) and the Unified Task Force (UNITAF). Approximately 1,300 personnel participated, most between December 1992 and March 1993. |
| 1992 - Balkans. United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) followed by United Nations Peace Forces Headquarters (UNPF). Close to 2000 personnel served in a variety of missions in the former Yugoslavia from the February 1992 until December 1995. They secured the Sarajevo airport, provided humanitarian relief, and protected demilitarized zones around Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. 13 personnel were also involved in monitoring "no fly zones' over Bosnia-Herzegovina (1993 -1995). From 1993 to 1996 one frigate with 210 personnel were used for the enforcement of maritime sanctions against the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1995 some staff participated in the United Nations Confidence Restoration Organization mission (UNCRO) as well. Several personnel and aircraft were also involved the Sarajevo Airlift from 1992 to 1996. In 1995 NATO replaced the United Nations as the sponsor of this mission. |
| 1992 - Former Yugoslavia. United Nations Committee of Experts (UNCOE) (1992-1994). At any given time, Canada was providing up to seven legal and military police officers to UNCOE in Operation Justice, to report on the evidence of grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and other violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. |
| 1993 - Uganda and Rwanda. United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda (UNOMUR) followed by United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) 115 personnel from June to October 1993 then December 1993 to February 1996. The missions were to monitor the Rwandan border then assist displaced persons and protect relief supplies following a civil war. A further 247 personnel also provided humanitarian assistance during 1994 but not under mandate from the UN. |
| 1993 - Mozambique. United Nations Operations in Mozambique (ONUMOZ). 4 observers monitored a ceasefire and kept warring sides apart. The Mission lasted from February 1993 and December 1994. |
| 1993 - Haiti. Haiti Embargo Enforcement followed by United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). 750 personnel, 80+ civilian police and one navy vessel enforce the embargo, train police, protect international personnel and maintain security from September 1993 to present. This included a small observer group along the border with the Dominican Republic in 1994. |
| 1994 - In February of 1994 Canada announced it would be contributing 12 CF members to CMAC, making it the largest single contributor at the time. From 1 March 1994 to 30 June 2000, anywhere from 4 to 12 CF personnel served with the CMAC at any one time. |
| 1995 - Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. United Nations Preventative Deployment Force in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (UNPREDEP). 1 officer from March 1995 to February 1999 then a further 55 personnel helped set up the NATO Extraction Force headquarters, December 1998 to April 1999. |
| 1995 - Azerbaijan. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) sponsored a peacekeeping mission in the former Soviet area of Nagorny-Karabakh. 3 personnel assisted this mission from 1995 to 1996. |
| 1995 - Former Yugoslavia. NATO Implementation Force (IFOR). This mission replaced the United Nations in the Balkans in December 1995 with 1,029 Canadian troops. In 1996 the mission was renamed SFOR and became a stabilization force. The number of Canadian personnel was gradually reduced after 2001 to 650 members by October 2004. In 1996 we contributed one frigate to enforce an embargo. The United Nations did continue some work in Bosnia-Herzegovina, called United Nations Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina (UNMIBH) (December 1995 – February 2000). Canada contributed two Canadian Forces members to de-mining and police training. From August to November 1997, 112 personnel providing tactical air support to enforce the Dayton Peace Accord. |
| 1996 - Zaire. African Great Lakes Multinational Force. 354 personnel to assist in the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Rwandan refugees and facilitate their return to Rwanda. This mission lasted from November to December 1996. |
| 1996 - Haiti. United Nations Support Mission in Haiti (UNSMIH). 750 personnel supported UN peacekeeping and institution building mission from July 1996 to July 1997. |
| 1996 - Croatia. United Nations Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP). 1 officer from February 1996 to September 2001. |
| 1997 - Guatemala. United Nations Mission in Guatemala. (MINUGUA). 15 observers and civilian police went to help enforce a ceasefire. The mission lasted January to May 1997. |
| 1997 - Haiti. There were two missions to this country in the same year. Mission de Police des Nations unies en Haiti. (MIPONUH) contributed vehicles and driver instructors from November 1997 to February 2000. The United Nations Transition Mission in Haiti (UNTMIH) sent 750 personnel and a number of police officers to train police and protect UN staff from August to November 1997. |
| 1997 - Italy. Canadian Air Component in MAMDRIM. 14 personnel supported the SFOR mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina by providing weather briefings, intelligence briefings and aircraft maintenance. From February 1997 to February 1998. |
| 1998 - Honduras. Joint Task Force Central America (JTFCAM) 290 personnel performed humanitarian work and the DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team) deployed from November to December 1998. |
| 1998 - Kosovo. Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission/Verification Mission. 23 personnel supported the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe with treaty compliance from October 1998 to May 1999 |
| 1998 - Central African Republic. Mission des Nations unies en Republique Centrafricaine (MINURCA). 80 personnel maintained security in the capital, Bangui, and then provided support during elections. This mission lasted from March 1998 to December 1999. |
| 1999 - Kosovo. Canada participated in several missions in this region. United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) 1 liaison officer followed by 1,450 personnel with the NATO Force Kosovo (KFOR). Two aircraft were also used in the Humanitarian Airlift in Support of Kosovar Refugees from April to August 1999. A further 4 personnel served with the United Nations Mine Action Co-ordination Centre in Kosovo for six months from June to December 1999. From January to April 1999 there were 8 personnel serving with the Kosovo Verification Coordination Centre in the Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia. |
| 1999 - Turkey. Joint Task Force Serdivan (JTFS). 200 personnel from the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) deployed after an earthquake. The mission lasted from August to October 1999. |
| 1999 - Mozambique. United Nations Development Programme's Accelerated Demining Programme. (ADP). 3 personnel served on this mission from April 1999 to July 2000. |
| 1999 - East Timor. International Force in East Timor (INTERFET). 650 personnel, including a navy vessel and aircraft, were sent to restore stability as the country voted for independence from occupying Indonesia. This mission lasted from September 1999 to February 2000. The remaining few personnel with the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) finished their mission in May 2001. |
| 1999 - Congo. United Nations Mission in the Republic of Congo. 1 officer was initially assigned but there are currently 9 personnel on this assignment to enforce a ceasefire between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and five regional states that was signed in 1999. This is a United Nations sponsored mission, MONUC. |
| 1999 - Sierre Leone. United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was created by the United Nations after years of civil war. 5 observers went to this African country in November 1999 to monitor disarmament. The mission was completed in July 2005. |
| 2000 - Sierra Leone. International Military Advisory Training Team (IMATT). 8 personnel initially deployed has increased to 11. The British led mission to restore peace and stability in this war ravaged West African country began in November 2000 and continues. |
| 2000 - Ethiopia and Eritrea. United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) 450 personnel deployed to verify a ceasefire. The mission lasted from August 2000 to June 2003. |
| 2000 - Albania. The Rinas airport recovery project. Albania's main airport was damaged when it was used for the Kosovar airlift. Together with the Canadian International Development Agency, National Defence helped rebuild runways, parking aprons and taxi-ways. This mission lasted from September 2000 to September 2001. |
| 2001 - Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. NATO Operation "Essential Harvest" involved 200 personnel and lasted from August 2001 to September 2002. |
| 2001 - Afghanistan. International Campaign Against Terrorism. 2,000 personnel was reduced to 1,000 in 2002 under this American led international mission against terrorism to remove the Taliban from government in Afghanistan and support a democratic government. See 2006 mission listing for Afghanistan. |
| 2003 - Senegal. Special Representative of the Secretary General in West Africa. 1 colonel on a peace support mission that lasted for one year from March 2003 to March 2004. |
| 2003 - Democratic Republic of Congo. Interim Emergency Multinational Force. Canada contributed two aircraft and about 50 personnel for the month of June to the French led operation. |
| 2003 - Liberia. United Nations Mission in Liberia. (UNMIL). 4 personnel from September to November 2003 to aid in the transition from regional peacekeeping mission to a United Nations sponsored mission. |
| 2003 - Iraq. United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). One military observer assigned to this mission lead by the Secretary General Special Representative for Iraq. The mission is continuing. |
| 2004 - Haiti. United Nations Multinational Interim Force followed by the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). 602 personnel. Mission from March to August 2004. Since 2005, 6 personnel continue with the UN mission. |
| 2004 - Sudan. United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMISUD). The two personnel originally assigned to this mission have been increased to more than 100. About 60 personnel are currently still in theatre with the United Nations and the African Union Mission. They are providing support in headquarters and training in the use of military vehicles in the troubled Darfur region. |
| 2004 - Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the fall of 2004 a European military force assumed command from NATO. There are about 24 personnel still in the Balkans with the Task Force Balkans and EUFOR Liaison and Observation Teams. Since 1992 more than 40,000 Canadians have served in the Balkans. |
| 2005 - Sri Lanka. Operation Structure sent the DART to provide disaster relief following the Asian tsunami. January to February 2005. |
| 2005 - Gaza. Eight personnel are providing military advice to the Palestinian Authority. They are based in Jerusalem and the mission is continuing. |
| 2005 - United States. Operation UNISOM. 900 personnel including navy divers, three vessels and engineers provided relief to the Southern United States after Hurricane Katrina. Completed in one month October 2005. |
| 2005 - Pakistan. Operation Plateau. DART disaster assistance team deployed to the Kashmir region of Pakistan following an earthquake. October to December 2005. |
| 2006 - Afghanistan. In February Canadian troops moved from Kabul to Kandahar to assume command of the Multi National Brigade for Regional Command South. There are 2,300 personnel serving at Kandahar Airfield (KAF) and with the Provincial Reconstruction Team at Camp Nathan Smith located in Kandahar City. Since the end of July 2006 this mission is now a NATO mission (ISAF) and continues the war against terrorism. |
| 2007 - West Bank - Palestine. The European Police Co-ordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support (EUPOL COPPS) works in the military occupied territories of the West Bank. This mission has had two serving Canadian police officers deployed for one year terms in the West Bank since 2007. Their objectives is security sector reform by creating a stable and professional police force with the Palestinian Civil Police, |
| 2008 - Myanmar/Burma. DART deployed to Myanmar to assist in disaster relief following a devistating cyclone. |
| 2010 - Haiti. Canada's military deployed the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to provide "eyes-on" feedback and assistance to the catastrophic situation left by the massive earthquake that occurred in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. A convoy of vehicles including transport planes; a frigate (HMCS Halifax - FFH-330), and a destroyer (HMCS Athabaskan - DDH 282); a Sea King helicopter; a CF-17 loaded with a Griffin helicopter, along with 2,000 Armed Forces members and rescue workers, were sent to Haiti to provide aid and rescue to trapped Haitians and Canadians. |
| 2012 - Canada’s contribution to French operations in Mali consists of one CC-177 Globemaster III heavy lift transport aircraft and about 40 Royal Canadian Air Force personnel: flight and maintenance crews from 429 Transport Squadron and traffic technicians from 2 Air Movements Squadron, both units of 8 Wing Trenton, ON. The one month mandate of Air Task Force Mali is limited to airlift, and specifically excludes combat. |
| 2013 - The Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), was deployed in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan. 315 Canadian military personnel were deployed to the northern part of the island of Panay in the Phillipines following the November 8th, 2013 typhoon. Engineers cleared debris, opened roads and restored electrical power. A military water-purification system provided almost 500,000 litres of drinking water. Medical teams treated 6,500 patients and help set up aid centres. The military also sent 2 Griffon helicopters to reach isolated communities. The whole effort was supported by an air bridge to Canada supported by giant C-17 transport planes. |
THE CANADIAN PEACEKEEPING SERVICE MEDAL
Inspired by the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to United Nations Peacekeepers in 1988, the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal (CPSM) was created to acknowledge the efforts of all past, present and future Canadian Peacekeepers. This includes all serving and former members of the Canadian Forces, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other police services, and Canadian civilians who have upheld the long tradition of Canadian peacekeeping.
The History of Canadian Peacekeeping
(by Peter McCluskey, CBC News Online)
(Updated October 30, 2003 and May 21, 2004)
The seeds of peacekeeping can be found buried on the battlefields, in the trenches and in the graveyards of Europe and Asia. The men who fought and lived through two world wars never wanted to see another. They believed that by putting an end to regional conflicts they could reduce the potential of the world ever being consumed by war again. They would create a new international body to keep peace in the world and support social and economic progress.
The newly formed United Nations seemed the perfect place to put such lofty ideals into practice; an organization founded on the principle of discussing and mediating ideological and political differences.
The first United Nations peacekeeping mission was in 1948. Its objective was to supervise the cease-fire between Israel and her Arab neighbours after the War of Independence. Monitors were sent to supervise the truce.
But the first peacekeeping force wasn't established until 1956, a time filled with fears of another global conflict erupting. And once again the backdrop was the Middle East.
In the midst of summer, Egyptian President Gamal Abdal Nasser declared he was nationalizing the Suez Canal, cutting out the Anglo-French company that held controlling interest in the vital waterway that joins the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
Nasser told a cheering crowd that the imperialists could "choke on their rage." From that point on, ships wishing to use the canal would pay a toll and that money would go toward financing the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile.
France and Britain were worried about Nasser's future plans to control such a strategically important waterway. They were also worried about what amounted to a direct challenge from Egypt to their trading interests. Secret plans were made for Israel to attack Egypt. France and Britain would send troops to protect the canal.
In October fighting erupted. On one side the Egyptians; on the other, Britain, France and Israel. Once again it looked as if the major military powers of the world would be drawn into battle. Would the Soviet Union come to Egypt's aid? Would the United States become involved in order to keep the Suez open? The world braced for another deadly meeting of the world's military powers.
But it was not to be. A former diplomat, relatively unknown on the world stage, now Canada's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Lester B. Pearson, had a proposal. He argued that a force sponsored by the UN, made up of soldiers from non-combatant countries, could separate the warring armies and supervise the cease-fire.
The UN General Assembly accepted his proposal, as did the various belligerents. Canadian General E.M.L. Burns was named commander of the UN force and peacekeeping was born.
Although the "Suez Crisis" remains a vivid reminder of how seemingly regional issues can threaten to draw much larger nations into conflict, it is equally important to applaud the political and diplomatic courage shown by UN members who agreed on an untried and untested idea - peacekeeping.
For his vision of a world where countries would enter a conflict in order to bring stability and peace, Lester B. Pearson would receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Since then Canada has been at the forefront of peacekeeping operations around the world. Soldiers, police and civilians have all played prominent roles in separating armies and in the resolution of conflicts in Golan Heights, Cyprus, Crotia, Haiti, Cambodia, Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor, Afghanistan, El Salvador, Somalia, Rwanda and Angola to name a only few. Currently Canadian peacekeepers are serving in 14 operations in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East.
But Canada's involvement in so many trouble spots has not come without a price. More than 180 Canadians have been killed while on peacekeeping duties around the world. The operations in both Somalia and Rwanda led to a crisis of confidence in the Canadian military.
Canada's armed forces have undergone dramatic change over the years since Pearson proposed that first peacekeeping effort in the Middle East. Canadian soldiers now find themselves more likely to be disarming combatants than fighting battles.
The job they will most likely face now is protecting civilian populations, organizing elections and guarding humanitarian convoys. The military has also set up a Rapid Response Force to fly to the scene of natural disasters. Its first deployment came in 1998 when Hurricane Mitch ravaged Central America. Canadian soldiers and medical staff rushed to provide medical and humanitarian relief.
Arguments exist for the end to UN peacekeeping operations: too costly, too ineffective, a hindrance to the development of a stable, lasting peace negotiated by politicians and diplomats. But in the near future it seems unlikely the UN will abandon what has become its most highly respected international symbol. The blue helmets of the peacekeepers are likely to remain as a buffer between the world's warring factions.
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I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my way, free to stand for what I think is right, free to oppose that which I believe wrong, and free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and mankind. John Diefenbaker (From the Canadian Bill of Rights, July 1, 1960)
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Early Exploration
The earliest records of life in North America begin in a warmer age, when people moved across the Bering land bridge or travelled by water and ice and made a home in what is now the Canadian Arctic. People have been living in the Yukon region for almost 30,000 years. The aboriginal people who crossed the land bridge were the first inhabitants of North America. Many settled in various areas, including the northern tundra, while some moved south to the warmer climate and good hunting found there.
Eric the Red brought the Vikings to Greenland, where they lived for about 500 years, then died out. They were farmers who built their huts of dirt and timber, with sod roofs. They raised sheep, goats and cattle imported from Norway. Life span of these early Viking settlers was about 30 to 35 years. It is believed they died of disease or starved to death when crops failed due to severe weather (possibly a mini ice age) about the year 1500. Remains of their settlements remain today.Around the year 1000 Leif Ericsson and other Vikings explorers sailed into into Labrador waters and at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland they made landfall to gather provisions and replenish their supply of drinking water for the long return voyage to Europe. Historians believe that Leif landed somewhere on the northernmost tip of Newfoundland on the Strait of Belle Isle. The theory was confirmed in 1963, after a Norwegian expedition uncovered the remains of a Viking settlement near the fishing village. Some hut ruins and small stone markers have been credited to them. It is believed that they stayed in the area for a period of time to rest and hunt.
In 1497 John Cabot claimed Cape Breton Island for Henry VII of England during his first voyage to the new world. 1498 saw John Cabot make his second voyage to North America and it is believed he went ashore in Newfoundland and the mainland.In 1577 Martin Frobisher of England make the first of three futile attempts to find the northwest passage to Asia, sailing as far as Hudson Strait.
Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c1537-1583) arrived off Newfoundland in 1583 with his ships Delight, Golden Hind, Swallow and Squirrel. He entered St. John's Harbour two days later to claim Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth I of England. Gilbert set up the first English colony in North America on 5 August 1583
The first permanent English settlement in the new land that was to later become Canada, was at Cuper's Cove in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. It was founded in 1609-1610 by John Guy and a group of 39 settlers who came there because of the vast quantities of fish found there. They fell upon hard times within a few years and many of them died. A very harsh climate forced the few survivors to abandon the settlement and return to England in 1613.
Origin of the name "Canada"
In 1535, the aboriginal people told French explorer Jacques Cartier about the route to "kanata". They were referring to the village of Stadacona - "kanata" was simply the Huron-Iroquois word for "village" or "settlement". Cartier used "Canada" to refer not only to Stadacona (site of present-day Quebec City), but also to the entire area. Maps as early as 1547 designated everything north of the St. Lawrence River as "Canada".Jacques Cartier also called the St. Lawrence River the "rivière de Canada", a name used until the early 1600s. When Samuel de Champlain and other Europeans began to visit (what is now New Brunswick) in the early 1600s, they were met by Maliseets and Micmacs. Some early French farmers settled at the head of the Bay of Fundy and up the St. John River Valley as far as present-day Fredericton, and called the land Acadia. In 1608 Champlain established Quebec City on the banks of the St. Lawrence river. By 1616, although the entire region was now known as "New France", the area along the St. Lawrence and the Gulf of St. Lawrence was referred to as Canada by the settlers.
NOTE: Need more info on the Early Explorers of Canada? Click here to go to our EXPLORERS page.
"We are the land" and "the Earth is our mother"
(2 old First Nations sayings)
(For Detailed Maps of Canada and the Provinces and Territories - Click here)
THE CAPITAL CITIES OF THE PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES
The following are the capital cities of the 10 Provinces (from West to East) and the 3 Territories:-
British Columbia (Victoria); Alberta (Edmonton); Saskatchewan (Regina); Manitoba (Winnipeg); Ontario (Toronto); Québec (Québec City); New Brunswick (Fredericton); Nova Scotia (Halifax); Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown); Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's); Yukon Territory (Whitehorse); Northwest Territory (Yellowknife); and Nunavut Territory (Iqaluit).
PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES QUICK FACT SHEETS
to load the small Canada Map which will link you to individual Province and Territory Quick Facts Sheets.
Canada is a BIG country!
Area: 9,970,610 sq. km. (3,849,652 sq. mi.)The estimated population of Canada as of 2010 is 34,000,000+.
Canada is the second-largest country in the world, by surface area. Russia is first with 17,070,000 sq. km., then Canada, followed by China with 9,597,000 sq. km. and the U.S.A. with 9,363,000 sq. km.
Canada comprises seven percent (7%) of the earth's total surface area.
It reaches more than 4,600 km. from Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island (Canada's northern extremity) to Middle Island, Ontario (the southern-most point).
From west to east, Canada covers 5,047 km. from Victoria, B.C. to St.John's, Nfld.
The Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railway operate 86,880 km. of track from the Maritimes to the Fraser Delta in B.C. and from the U.S border to the far North.The Canada /U.S.A Border
The boundary between the newly formed United States and British North America was established by the Treaty of Paris in 1783. From 1818 to 1925, the line was further established. By the 1870s, it became clear that the border needed some maintenance, not to mention some fine-tuning as to who owned what. A major resurveying of the boundary took place between 1908 and 1924.
The unguarded Canada / U.S.A. has always been calculated using metric measurements - even by the United States, which does not use metric.
The length of the boundary between Canada and the USA is 8,893 kilometres (5,526 miles), including the border between British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska. A total of 5,061 kilometres (3,145 miles) are along land and 3,832 kilometres (2,381 miles) are along water.
There are over 8000 monuments and reference points along the Canada/USA border.
FLAGS OF CANADA, PROVINCES AND TERRITORIESThe Canadian Maple Leaf flag is our proud National symbol.
Just as Canada has a National Flag, each Canadian Province and Territory has its own flag. To learn more about Canada's flags throughout history and view all the many and varied Canadian flags, click the 'Canada's Flags' button in the left frame.
Official Lyrics of O Canada (in English and French)
Previously, Canadians sang God Save the Queen/King as their anthem.
"O Canada" was proclaimed Canada's national anthem on July 1, 1980, 100 years after it was first sung on June 24, 1880. The music was composed by Calixa Lavallée, a well-known composer. French lyrics to accompany the music were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. Many English versions have appeared over the years. The anthem on which the official English lyrics are based was written in 1908 by Mr. Justice Robert Stanley Weir.
The official English version now includes changes recommended in 1968 by a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons. The French lyrics remained unaltered.
The criticism of Weir's original version was that the words asked Canadians to "stand on guard" too many times without telling them exactly for what reason. As a result, two of the five "stand on guard's" and one "O Canada" were removed and replaced by "From far and wide" and "God keep our land". With these alterations, we now have a new national anthem.
Click here to play O Canada
Click here view sheet music
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA and
THE PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA
 His ExcellencyThe Right Honourable David Johnston Governor-General of Canada |  The Right Honourable Stephan HarperTwenty-second Prime Minister of Canada |
To go to the LEADERS page click the link in the left frame.
NATIONAL EMBLEMS
The Maple LeafA National emblem of Canada is the maple leaf and according to many historians, it began to serve as a Canadian symbol as early as 1700. In 1834, the first St. Jean Baptiste Society in North America made the maple leaf its emblem. In 1848, the Toronto literary annual "THE MAPLE LEAF" referred to it as the chosen emblem of Canada.
In 1860, the maple leaf was formally adopted as a national emblem and was incorporated into the badge of the 100th Regiment (Royal Canadians). It was used extensively in decorations for the visits to Canada of the Prince of Wales. In 1868 it appeared on the coats of arms granted to Quebec and Ontario. Since 1921, the Royal Arms of Canada have included three maple leaves as a distinctive Canadian Emblem.
The Maple leaf today appears on the Canadian penny. However, between 1876 and 1901, it appeared on all Canadian coins. The modern one-cent piece has two maple leafs on a common twig, a design that has gone almost unchanged since 1937.
During the First World War, the maple leaf was included in the badge of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
With the proclamation of Canada's new flag in 1965, the maple leaf has become the most prominent Canadian symbol.
Canada's National Tartan The Maple Leaf Tartan became Canada's official tartan in March 2011. The Maple Leaf Tartan was created by designer David Weiser in 1964 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Confederation in 1967.
Other Canadian Symbols
The Beaver, West Coast totem poles, the RCMP Musical Ride, the birch-bark canoe, the Canada Goose, and the Schooner Bluenose are other very well-known Canadian symbols.
Visit our page devoted to the Beaver. Click Here
Canada - continued on Page 2
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