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BLOGSPOT:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: O
Canada...sigh, Why aren’t there more (visible/invisible) disabled TV Anchors,
Media, Radio, OnLine folks representing us on air and radio AND
POLITICS?-Here’s how 2do it-make the world proud/ #1BRising /UN Peacekeepers
stop raping/OmarKhadr dishonours Canada and our troops who died 4 Afghan
freedom
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BLOGGED: #1BRising
HILLARY BETRAYED-SARAH RIDICULED-MAY IGNORED-TZIPI LIVNI OVERLOOKED-. YEAR 2008- Shania Twain fan tells it like it was in year 2008 and political betrayal of women candidates- women/girls f**king matter- #1BRising- TELLING OF CBC AND ETCH A SKETCH JOURNALISTS OF 2 MANY MAINSTREAM ELITE GROUPIES- WHO ROUGHSHOD OVER ONE PARTY 4 ANOTHER - TRUTH DON'T MATTER...2 sides of the story died with 'just the facts please- just the news...period.- imho April 2015/Afghanistan women rose up and shook the world voting April 14, 2014 for freedom in the face of horrific child killing monsters among them Taliban /Mike Duffy only journalist 2 support Elizabeth May
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/04/year-2008-shania-twain-fan-tells-it.html
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CANADA MILITARY NEWS: May- Silent Majority changing the landscapes- party colours blind-all elected parties 2gether working parliament needed- Elections 2015- Canadians are stepping up and changing the landscape 2 the parties that will give Canadians, troops, kids and aged the best whilst keeping Canada safe and free- Check out our political history- and politicians must be true 2 Canadians - safety, economy, climate, freedoms education are cherished in Canada- can u do that? Promise? BLOGS AND LINKS/Orange and Green have bcome the new red and blue
#1BRising - St. Mary's University
BLOGGED:- BLOGSPOT
CANADA MILITARY : Peacekeeping and War- A history of our Canada- Peacekeeping – War and the horrors our beautiful troops suffered – 4 our freedom – our flag and our beloved Canada. Question: why doesn’t Islam nations fight so hard 4 their innocents?-why always our nations/ We remember Rwanda
WORDPRESS BLOG:
One Billion
Rising- Canada Military News Feb2015/Idle No More Canadian/Some stories and
history and VOTE -Afghan women rose up and voted against pure evil- RISE UP
CANADA AND VOTE- ONE BILLION RISING-NO MORE EXCUSES
WORDPRESS- CANADA’S ELECTION 2015
O CANADA- Election 2015- Liberal Justin Biber/NDP- Taliban Jack/Tory-I ain’t a gonna change/Green- no plan or platform- O Canada – odds March 2015- CALL IT MINORITY NDP GOVERNMENT- Mulcair is cleaning NDP brand cause troops matter imho/PHOTOS POLITICAL CARTOONS
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BLOGSPOT:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: -Why Youth Don't/Won't Vote in Canada- there's your trouble- youngbloods don't care 4 any of the parties or leaders in Canada because they are so dumbed down about the real Canada and grassroots everyday folks just like the rest of world- why are so many politicians so damm old???Federal Canada has 4 Youngblood Leaders-but communities???-- Canada and America are young and vibrant- WTF???- and Italy some in 80s- ???/How 2 run 4 office/Britain's Green Party nails it/comedy/Why don't young vote (TELLING US WHY-USA ESSAYS) and honouring old folks who do/some nasty political history of all parties-NEW ETHICS NEEDED FOLKS OF CANADA /updates/THE ENVIRONMENT MATTERS...not 2 tree cutting poster posers- but everyday folks who walk the talk-ask South Africa
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WORDPRESS BLOG:
#1BRising – CANADA MILITARY NEWS- Canada’s women equal men by law in Canada and that tops any Religion- POLITICIANS WANTING WOMEN’S VOTE IN CANADA… u better make sure u stamp ur approval or lose our vote 2015
Always say you are sorry- man or woman.... it shows courage... and humanity
BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: #1BRising- no more excuses or abuses/IN CANADA OUR GENDER EQUALITY TOPS RELIGION BY LAW…. USA and UN both refuse 2 proclaim women equal men- BUT CANADA DOES- GET USED 2 IT… or don’t come 2 Canada or leave… simple as that folks /HEADS UP- CANADA ELECTION THIS YEAR- I sincerely believe in Canada women’s rights and equality beats your religious beliefs…. seriously…. and if any political party says differently in Canada- tell voting women now… ONE BILLION RISING- NO MORE EXCUSES
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/02/canada-military-news-1brising-no-more.html
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: #1BRising- no more excuses or abuses/IN CANADA OUR GENDER EQUALITY TOPS RELIGION BY LAW…. USA and UN both refuse 2 proclaim women equal men- BUT CANADA DOES- GET USED 2 IT… or don’t come 2 Canada or leave… simple as that folks /HEADS UP- CANADA ELECTION THIS YEAR- I sincerely believe in Canada women’s rights and equality beats your religious beliefs…. seriously…. and if any political party says differently in Canada- tell voting women now… ONE BILLION RISING- NO MORE EXCUSES
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/02/canada-military-news-1brising-no-more.html
A Grade IV Canadian Student
CANADA
Third parties called new threat in wake of P.E.I. election
Published May 5, 2015 - 7:18pm
Liberal Leader
Wade MacLauchlan hugs supporters after the celebration party in Charlottetown
on Monday. The rookie politician led his Liberal party to a majority victory
Monday. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)
A strong election showing Monday
by third parties that once struggled for slivers of Prince Edward Island’s vote
is a warning to Tories and Liberals that generations-old political loyalties
are fading, say political commentators.History professor Ian Dowbiggin of the University of Prince Edward Island says the gains made by the NDP and the Green party, which each won about 11 per cent of the popular vote, represents a historic shift that won’t be easily erased.
“When you get over 20 per cent of the total number of votes, it’s got to reflect a changing of political allegiance, especially among young people,” he says.
“The people who were voting yesterday for the Greens and the NDP weren’t simply old hippies with pony tails voting their heart.”
The Liberals won their third straight majority under rookie premier Wade MacLauchlan, dropping from 20 seats to 18, while the Tories took eight seats and the Green party claimed its first seat in the legislature.
Dowbiggin says the Liberal win shows the electorate is comfortable with the former university president, the province’s first openly gay premier.
He also says the Greens and NDP still face huge obstacles in fundraising, candidate recruitment and a first-past-the-post system that works against parties that don’t have a strong chance of forming government.
But the old days of predictable swings of the majority of the 27 ridings on the Island from one major party to the other after two to three terms in power are being challenged.
The NDP’s share of the vote shot from 3.2 per cent in 2011, when they seldom attracted more than 200 voters in most ridings, to almost winning a Charlottetown seat and quadrupling their overall support.
Green leader Peter Bevan-Brown swept to victory in the riding of Kellys Cross-Cumberland, with his own total of 2,077 votes equalling two thirds of what the entire party was able to muster in the last election.
Don Desserud, a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island, said he’s cautious about concluding the results will lead to further growth — but he was nonetheless impressed.
“It could be a step towards a historic change. What it shows is that there’s a substantial number of voters on the Island who do two things: they don’t vote for the Liberals and the Conservatives, and they do vote,” he said.
Both Desserud and Dowbiggin say interest in the third parties may help explain an overall turnout of 86 per cent of voters, up significantly from the 76.5 per cent turnout in the last election.
Chief electoral officer Gary McLeod says in an email he’s unable to confirm the reasons for the increase at this time.
Dowbiggin says the results also demonstrated the failure of the Tories to capitalize on public disenchantment with the government of former Liberal premier Robert Ghiz.
He says many voters identified the Liberals with the provincial nominee program, which brought immigrants into the province if they invested in Island companies. In 2009, the auditor general released a report on conflict of interests that were related to the program.
The professor says that issue, along with provincial financial woes, could have led to a breakthrough for Conservative Leader Rob Lantz.
Instead the party’s overall popular vote fell, and Lantz was unable to win his seat in Charlottetown. Dowbiggin said he doubts Lantz can stay on as leader of the party if he can’t win a seat in a byelection.
About the Author
E-Mail: dramsay@herald.ca
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And Canadians this means u also.... get ur proper f**king papers in order- IT'S THE LEAST U CAN DO... and register and vote.... make it matter.....
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Canada is a Commonwealth nation- Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
Political Parties of Canada
A
colour-coded map produced by the CBC shows Canadians' party preferences
by province and riding. Blue equals Conservative, orange NDP, red
Liberal, and light blue Bloc Quebecois. Click for full version.
How Do the Parties Work?
Once
every three or four years, party members will gather in a big Canadian
city to hold what's known as a "party convention." During these
boisterous events, members vote to elect or re-elect their party leader
as well as pass various policy resolutions. Seen here, the 2011 NDP
convention in Vancouver.
Political parties in Canada are all organized the same fashion, which is to say, very hierarchically. There’s always a single “leader” at the top who is basically boss of the party. The leader formulates party policy and determines where his party stands on the issues of the day, and all party members below are expected to respectfully support him. In federal elections, party leaders run as candidates for prime minister.
Being a party “member” in Canada refers to someone who holds an active, fee-paying, card-carrying membership in a political party. These are the people who get to elect the party leaders and vote on various other internal matters, like amendments to the party constitution. Though being a party member can bring a number of perks, only about two per cent of Canadians actually hold membership in a political party. It’s mostly the politicians themselves, and their staff and family, who are willing to pay the costs and go through the trouble.
The Party System Today
Canada has what is sometimes called the “two party-plus” system. This means that while the country is usually dominated by two large parties — one of the left (broadly favouring reform and activist government), and one of the right (broadly favouring tradition and limited government) — there is almost always a strong third-place party as well, either of the further-left or further-right, that threatens to bump off one of the “big two” if they don’t watch it. Historically, the Canadian two-party plus system has featured the centre-left Liberal Party and the centre-right Conservative Party as the two dominant parties, with more ideological parties existing on the further right or further left. Here’s the basic spectrum of the main Canadian political parties of the last decade:
Let’s look at them one by one.
The Liberals
The Liberal Party of Canada
is the longest-running political party in the country, and the most
historically successful. When Liberals are feeling particularly braggy,
they even like to call themselves “Canada’s Natural Governing Party” in recognition of the fact that they’ve held power for such long periods of Canadian history.
A
career academic before entering politics, Trudeau was dubbed a
"philosopher king." To this day, a lot of Liberals take very seriously
the idea that their leaders should be big-idea intellectuals.
After World War II, the Liberals moved in a more noticeably left-wing direction, a process that was greatly sped up during the reign of Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000), who ran the country from 1968 to 1984, and remains a sort of “founding father” figure of modern Canadian liberalism. Suspicious of the free market, Trudeau believed that a larger, more activist Canadian government could help alleviate the country’s social and economic ills, and create a more compassionate and egalitarian “Just Society” in the process. Today, Trudeau-fans usually credit him with helping popularize ideas such as immigrant-welcoming multiculturalism, French-English bilingualism, and an internationalist foreign policy that have remained mainstream Liberal Canadian values ever since.
Liberal
Prime Minister Jean Chretien (b. 1934) and his finance minister, Paul
Martin (b. 1938), ran the country from 1993 to 2006, and are credited
with helping move the Liberal Party to the centre by championing
balanced budgets and low taxes.
Today, the Liberal Party portrays itself as a party that is fiscally conservative, but socially progressive. They are strongly supportive of abortion rights, gay marriage and ample immigration, but also favour a largely unregulated free market. The Party has moved away from being quite as pro-”big government” as it was in the past, but still opposes right-wingers who call for the scaling back of cherished social programs such as universal health care and old age pensions.
The New Democratic Party
Founded during the midst of the Great Depression, Canada’s New Democratic Party, or NDP, was originally a hardline socialist
party dedicated to the downfall of the capitalist system. In the
decades since, the NDP has moved in a more moderate direction, away from
doctrinaire Marxism and towards a more modern spirit of social
democracy and a “mixed economy,” where the government regulates but
doesn’t rule.
The
current leader of the NDP, Thomas Mulcair (b. 1954), is a former member
of the Quebec legislature who actually began his political career in
the Liberal Party. He's been a big proponent of bringing the NDP closer
to the political centre, but has also remained hostile to the idea of
merging with the Liberals outright.
For a long time it seemed like the NDP was stuck on the fringes forever. During the 1990s, some predicted it might disappear entirely. But then, in the 2011 federal election, the party made a sudden, dramatic breakthrough, upping their seat count from 37 to 102 overnight — and sending the Liberals to third place with a distant 34. Much of this success was credited to NDP leader Jack Layton (1950-2011), a politician of great charisma and skill who helped make his party more electorally viable in Quebec — a province written off by many of his predecessors.
In 2013, the NDP officially removed the final traces of socialism from its party constitution, and today the party is probably best regarded as a pragmatic party of the centre-left with an appeal and agenda broadly similar to that of the Liberals. Indeed, it’s becoming increasingly fashionable to argue the two parties should probably just merge to avoid splitting the progressive vote. Ideologically, NDPers are stalwart champions of Canada’s social safety net and generally favour high tax rates for large corporations and the wealthy. The party also has a long pacifist tradition and very strong ties to organized labour, particularly public sector unions such as teachers, nurses, and government employees.
The Conservatives
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Laureen Harper
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC)
is the party that currently governs Canada. It’s also Canada’s newest
party, having only been founded in 2003. Previously, what is now the CPC
used to be two distinct parties: the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance.
In order to understand what the CPC is about today, it might be best to
review the history of the two parties that merged to form it.The Progressive Conservative Party (1867-2004)
Brian
Mulroney is often grouped in with Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) and
Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) as one of the western world's key
right-wing reformers of the 20th century.
Much as Pierre Trudeau helped modernize the Liberals and steer them to the left, the PCs underwent a significant ideological shift under the leadership of Brian Mulroney (b. 1939), a corporate CEO who became PC leader and then prime minister from 1984 to 1993. Mulroney was dubbed a “neo-conservative” and was a self-declared member of the right-wing movement that swept much of the western world during the 1980s. His administration called for lower taxes, deregulation, and privatization of government services in order to generate greater wealth and prosperity.
The Reform Party and the Canadian Alliance (1987-2004)
Though he was the most right-wing leader of the PCs in quite some time, a lot of conservative Canadians still felt Mulroney was not nearly right-wing enough. In Canada’s western provinces in particular, which tend to be the most religious and libertarian parts of the country, there was growing sentiment during the 1980s that Mulroney was a “conservative in name only,” and was actually continuing the high-spending, high-taxing, immoral policies of his Liberal predecessors.
Preston
Manning (b. 1942), a former Social Credit politician, founded the
Reform Party in 1987 and led it until 2000. The name "Reform" was
intended to reflect a desire to change the entire Canadian way of
practicing "politics as usual."
The New Conservative Party of Canada
If forced to define themselves, today’s Conservatives would describe their party as one that favours low taxes, smaller, less intrusive government, a strong regime of law-and-order, a strong military and respect for traditional values. Though the party is officially neutral on social matters like abortion and gay rights, the Conservatives also possess a large and important constituency of Christian conservatives who oppose both.The Bloc Quebecois
As we discuss in more detail in the Quebec chapter,
one of the biggest issues in contemporary Canadian politics is whether
or not the French-speaking province of Quebec should separate from
Canada and form its own country. People who support this idea are known
as separatists in Canadian political lingo, and the Bloc Quebecois is Canada’s leading separatist political party.
From
1990 to 2011 the Bloc was led by these two men, Lucien Bouchard (b.
1938) the party founder and later premier of Quebec, and Gilles Duceppe
(b. 1947), party boss from 1997 to 2011. Despite their aggressive,
confrontational personalities, the sheer passion both men exuded for
their controversial cause has earned them grudging respect from critics.
Ideologically, the Bloc is quite left-wing, perhaps unsurprisingly considering that Quebec is said to be the most left-wing region in all of North America. Though they won’t ever be in a position to impose an agenda of their own, Bloc MPs do sit in Parliament and vote just like everyone else (and, controversially, collect their paycheques and pensions, too) and generally support causes similar to that of the NDP. From 1993 to 2011 the Bloc finished a strong third place in every Canadian election, but was then thoroughly decimated in the game-changing 2011 election, plunging from 49 seats to a measly four. Much like the surge of the NDP (which gobbled up much of the Bloc’s voting base), this is something political analysts are still scratching their heads over. Is separatism finished as a political ideology in Quebec, or were French-Canadians simply tired of voting for the same party all the time?
Green Party
Another one of the great dilemmas of modern Canadian politics is how seriously to take the Green Party of Canada.
Only electing its first Member of Parliament in 2011, the party has
remained on the extreme fringe of Canadian politics until very recently,
and even now it’s still not entirely clear if it’s a party with a
future or just a flash in the pan.
The
recent history of the Green Party has very much been the history of
party leader Elizabeth May, who has worked tirelessly to win a seat in
parliament. From 2006 to 2011 she ran for the House three times in three
difference provinces before finally being elected to represent the
British Columbia district of Saanich-Gulf Islands in 2011.
Dead Political Parties
As you may have noticed from some of the histories of the parties above, Canadian party politics can be fairly volatile, with parties rising and falling with great speed. Here are a couple of parties that have seen their moment of glory pass.Social Credit
The Social Credit Party is Canada’s most recently deceased political party. It held influence in various parts of the country, to varying degrees, from the 1930s to the 1990s.
For
many years, Social Credit enjoyed considerable success in Quebec's
rural communities, whose residents shared the party's strongly
conservative views on social issues such as abortion. From 1963 to 1976,
the federal Socred party was led by a charismatic French-Canadian named
Real Caouette (1917-1976), who led the party to some of its greatest
gains.
As the years went on and Social Credit grew into a more serious and sophisticated political movement, Major Douglas’ theories were gradually abandoned and Social Credit became a fairly standard right-wing political party with a strong emphasis on Christian morality and populism. Its strongest support remained in some of the most rural and religious parts of the country, particularly rural Quebec. Though the “Socreds” would remain in power in Alberta until 1971, and ruled British Columbia for most of the 1952-1991 period, it never elected more than 30 members to the Parliament of Canada, where it routinely languished in third or fourth place. By the 1990s, most Socred supporters had migrated to other parties, and across the country, what remained of the old Social Credit organization was quietly dismantled or dissolved.
The Progressives
Alberta
Premier John E. Brownlee (1883-1961) presided over Canada's most
successful Progressive administration, serving from 1925 to 1934.
The Progressives never really had a clear plan on how to govern or what to do with power, however, and they declined as quickly as they had risen. During the Depression, much of their voting base migrated to parties that offered more ideological solutions to their economic complaints – either Social Credit on the right, or the socialists on the left.
The Others
While they’ve never quite matched the influence of the Socreds or Progressives, there have been a number of other small-time parties that have elected a few politicians here and there over the years. The Labour Party was a short-lived socialist party that enjoyed some successes in some provinces before the foundation of the CCF/NDP. Similarly, there were a number of small, pseudo-nationalist parties in Quebec prior to the formation of the Bloc Quebecois, the most notable of which was probably the Bloc Populaire. In general, the historical trend in Canada has been for small political movements to get gradually absorbed into larger “coalition” parties.Provincial Parties
In early Canadian history, the parties seen in the Canadian provinces usually matched up closely with the parties seen in the federal government. Which is to say, most provincial governments operated under a two-party system divided between the Liberals on one side and the Conservatives on the other (and the NDP in third place). Today, however, most provinces have actually evolved unique two-party systems that reflect the “left/right” split in various different ways:
A Saskatchewan Party campaign poster for Brad Wall (b. 1965), who was elected premier of Saskatchewan in 2007.
Alberta has a traditional “two-party plus” system with the Conservatives, Liberals, and NDP. However, a new, further-right party known as the Wildrose Party has made substantial inroads in recent years. Since 2012, it has held second-place status in the provincial legislature.
Saskatchewan is ruled by the Saskatchewan Party, which is a coalition of Liberal and Conservative supporters. The opposition party is the NDP, which has ruled for long stretches of the province’s history.
Manitoba‘s dominant parties are the NDP and Conservatives, with the Liberals in a distant third place.
Ontario has probably the healthiest “traditional” three-party system in Canada, with the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP all holding significant amounts of seats in the provincial legislature and all having served as government during the last 20 years.
Pauline Marois (b. 1949), leader of Quebec's separatist Parti Quebecois. In 2012 she was elected premier.
The four provinces in Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland) all have two-party systems under the Liberals and Conservatives. The NDP is generally in distant third, except in Nova Scotia, where they have surged mightily in recent years, electing Atlantic Canada’s first-ever NDP government in 2009.
Links About The Canadian Political Parties:
- Party seat counts in federal elections since 1867, from the Canadian Election Almanac
- Where the parties stood on the major issues of the 2011 election (CTV)
- Index of past and present registered Canadian political parties, Parliament of Canada
http://www.thecanadaguide.com/political-parties
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CANADA MILITARY NEWS: May2015- The great and incredible Canada Military, Militia, Reservists, Rangers and Special Forces and Cadets of Canada - the history and news of tradition, courage, brilliance, determination, and the ability 2 master your circumstances with very little- this one's 4 u. And Canada's politics are changing colours- but if u want Canadian votes- u better support your military - or u are truly lost 2 Canadians- we are watching. God bless our Canada andCommonwealth
http://nova0000scotia.blogspot.ca/2015/05/canada-military-news-may2015-great-and.html-------------------
CANADA-
The Military
Protected by close alliances with the world’s dominant
superpowers — first Britain, then America — Canada has not historically
felt the need to develop much of a military for itself, and even today
the country maintains one of the smallest armed forces in the western
world. At about 50 000 strong, less than half a per cent of Canadians
are currently enlisted soldiers, and among NATO members, only tiny Luxembourg spends less of its GDP on defence.
Nevertheless, the Canadian military remains a proud national symbol just the same, and Canadian troops have helped carry out Canadian foreign policy objectives all over the world in conflict, peacekeeping and nation-building capacities. The precise role and purpose of the Canadian armed forces in the 21st century remains a topic of considerable debate, however.
For much of Canada’s early history as a British colony, there was
very little interest in creating a strong domestic military
force. British troops still occupied much of Canada, after all, and
everyone assumed they always would. In 1871, however, Britain and the
United States signed the Treaty of Washington in order
to secure a lasting peace between their nations, and in doing so the
U.K. agreed to withdraw all imperial troops from North America.
Suddenly, Canada was forced to pick up the slack.
The first true Canadian militia, known as the Royal Canadian Regiment, was established in 1883, but continued to be thought of mostly as an auxiliary support unit for British imperial forces, and was indeed used as such in the Boer War (1899-1902). When World War I (1914-1918) broke out, however, the Regiment proved quite insufficient to protect the motherland, and many more militias were quickly cobbled together, sending a total of over 400 000 Canadian fighting men to Europe.
Those same militias fought again in World War II (1939-1945), after Canada had become independent from British political control. By now, Canada’s soldiers were largely organized into the traditional structure of a national military, befitting a country that was now fully in charge of its own protection and self-defence.
When in service, members of these three branches operate together under four larger Operational Command units, each of which has a different realm of responsibility. Canada Command (CANCOM) is in charge of domestic security, the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command is in charge of overseas missions, Canadian Special Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) is the country’s elite special ops unit, and Canadian Operation Support Command provides auxiliary services such as surgeons, engineers and mechanics.
Lastly, there is also the North American Aerospace Defence Command, or NORAD, which, as it sounds, is a joint U.S.-Canadian operation to monitor and protect the security of North American airspace. A tribute to continental military cooperation that dates back to the Cold War (1945-1990), NORAD has several bases in both Canada and the United States, featuring members of both the Canadian Forces and the American Air Force under joint U.S.-Canadian command.
At the moment, Canada does not maintain any permanent military bases outside of Canada itself, though the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper (b. 1959) has shown interest in trying.
The Cold War was an era of unprecedented military expansion for the
United States, which provoked a relatively stand-offish attitude towards
foreign policy in Canada. Safe under the umbrella of American
protection as guaranteed by the NORAD alliance, successive Ottawa
administrations viewed their country’s armed forces as a luxurious
irrelevance at best, and a costly waste of money at worst. Critical
government attitudes towards military spending became particularly
pronounced during the deficit-conscious budget-slashing 1990s, which,
even today, some soldiers sneeringly describe as the “dark decade.”
Lurid stories of Canadian soldiers wearing bright jungle-green uniforms
on desert battlefields and decrepit air force helicopters that required
two hours of repair for every hour they spent in the air became
commonplace, prompting historian J.L. Granatstein (b. 1939) to author a
national bestseller entitled Who Killed the Canadian Military? (2004).
The events of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent “War on Terror” that saw Canadian troops deployed to Afghanistan (and over 150 killed) is usually seen as a critical turning point in helping reverse Canada’s trend of military neglect, in favour of a new era in which the armed forces once again play a large role in Canadian foreign policy — and the public imagination. Under the present government of Prime Minister Harper, who has long made support for the military one of his leading political priorities, funding for the armed forces has increased, along with several high-profile purchases of jets, subs and destroyers.
The larger question of “what kind of military does Canada need”
remains unresolved, however, and is ultimately closely tied with one’s
opinions on the overall direction of Canadian foreign policy.
Those who believe Canada should maintain an aggressive stance against
foreign terrorists and rogue regimes will naturally see a strong,
well-equipped military as one of the necessary components of giving
Canada the capacity to act on its convictions. Those who would like to
see the country play a lesser role in foreign conflicts, by contrast,
and focus more on humanitarian causes and peacekeeping, will be
more inclined to favour a smaller and leaner armed forces and be
critical of excessive spending. To a large degree, this debate is one of
the sharper left/right polarizations within the modern Canadian party system.
Nevertheless, the Canadian military remains a proud national symbol just the same, and Canadian troops have helped carry out Canadian foreign policy objectives all over the world in conflict, peacekeeping and nation-building capacities. The precise role and purpose of the Canadian armed forces in the 21st century remains a topic of considerable debate, however.
History of the Canadian Military
During
World War I (1914-1918) Canada lost over 3,000 troops securing the
French territory of Vimy Ridge from German control, in one of the major
battles of the Western Front. To this day, the battle remains one of
Canada's most celebrated military moments of all time.
The first true Canadian militia, known as the Royal Canadian Regiment, was established in 1883, but continued to be thought of mostly as an auxiliary support unit for British imperial forces, and was indeed used as such in the Boer War (1899-1902). When World War I (1914-1918) broke out, however, the Regiment proved quite insufficient to protect the motherland, and many more militias were quickly cobbled together, sending a total of over 400 000 Canadian fighting men to Europe.
Those same militias fought again in World War II (1939-1945), after Canada had become independent from British political control. By now, Canada’s soldiers were largely organized into the traditional structure of a national military, befitting a country that was now fully in charge of its own protection and self-defence.
The Structure of the Canadian Military
Like most countries, Canada’s military is divided into three specialized branches: the army, navy and air force. Unlike most countries, however, these branches are all unified into a single organization known as the Canadian Forces. The forces are in turn headed by a single commander known as the Chief of the Defence Staff, currently General Walter Natynczyk (b. 1958), who reports directly to the prime minister of Canada. Known as unification, this was a fairly controversial plan introduced in 1968 to help streamline the country’s small military in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible, and today results in measures such as joint training for new recruits, and senior officers who get promoted from one branch to another.The Three Branches
 |
The Canadian Army – Canada’s
traditional land force consists of around 19 500 regulars (full-time
soldiers) plus another 16 000 in reserve (part-time) service. The oldest
and largest branch of the Canadian armed forces, the army consists of 419 units, some of which trace their roots back to the old militia days. |
 |
The Royal Canadian Navy – Founded in 1911 to help Britain rule the waves, the Canadian Navy now consists of 8 500 regulars, 5 100 reserves and 33 warships. Although the Canadian Navy maintains active operations around the world in order to help assist the country’s land forces, in practice Canada’s sea forces serves mostly as a patrol and rescue force, similar to the Coast Guard of most nations. |
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The Royal Canadian Air Force – With Canada being such a gigantic country, a large air force has long been pushed as the most logical way to protect domestic security. The RCAF consists of 14 500 regulars and 2 600 reserves who are spread out in 10 bases across Canada. Most of the country’s 300 or so aircraft are U.S.-made. |
Lastly, there is also the North American Aerospace Defence Command, or NORAD, which, as it sounds, is a joint U.S.-Canadian operation to monitor and protect the security of North American airspace. A tribute to continental military cooperation that dates back to the Cold War (1945-1990), NORAD has several bases in both Canada and the United States, featuring members of both the Canadian Forces and the American Air Force under joint U.S.-Canadian command.
At the moment, Canada does not maintain any permanent military bases outside of Canada itself, though the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper (b. 1959) has shown interest in trying.
Issues and Controversy
Canada's
aging collection of Sea King helicopters are one of the most infamous
symbols of the Canadian military's decay. Originally built in the 1960s,
they are only now being phased out of service.
The events of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent “War on Terror” that saw Canadian troops deployed to Afghanistan (and over 150 killed) is usually seen as a critical turning point in helping reverse Canada’s trend of military neglect, in favour of a new era in which the armed forces once again play a large role in Canadian foreign policy — and the public imagination. Under the present government of Prime Minister Harper, who has long made support for the military one of his leading political priorities, funding for the armed forces has increased, along with several high-profile purchases of jets, subs and destroyers.
Canada
ended its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2010, but Canadian troops
will remain stationed in the country until at least 2014, according to
the Harper Administration.
Links About the Canadian Military:
Quick Facts:
- Canada is not a major military power and has only a small and mostly under-funded armed forces.
- Canada's military rose in size and professionalism after the two world wars.
- Canada's army, navy and air force are all centralized under a single command structure.
- In recent years, there has been much controversy in Canada regarding how big or well-funded the country's military should be.
- ---
Flags of Canada
A flag might be little more than a piece of coloured cloth
hanging on a pole, but to those taught to respect it, it can wield
enormous symbolic power.
Canada is home to a wide variety of flags representing the full scope of the country’s geography, history and culture. As a result, they remain some of the most important emblems of the nation, easily recognized and much beloved — even if they’re not always the easiest things in the world to draw.
Canada’s national flag, the Maple Leaf,
is probably one of the most famous and recognizable in the world. But
it’s also a fairly recent flag and was actually quite controversial at
first.
During the country’s early history as a British colony, Canada had no flag other than the Union Jack, the proud banner of empire. But even the British needed a way to tell their colonies apart, so in the late 19th century it became fashionable to make what were known as ensigns for the colonies; red or blue flags with little Union Jacks in the top left corner and some sort of crest or symbol in the bottom right. The Canadian version of this set, featuring a red field and the Canadian coat of arms was called simply the “Red Ensign” and started being used as Canada’s de facto national flag in 1922.
As Canada became more and more politically independent from the Brits, however, the Red Ensign became more and more controversial. Why give up so much space on your flag to a picture of someone else’s? Prime Minister Lester Pearson (1897-1972, served 1963-1968) was particularly offended. Having worked as an international diplomat, he claimed other countries could not look at the Red Ensign without thinking “colony,” while back at home, sensitive French-Canadians (and other minorities) could not see it without thinking “Anglo domination.” So he proposed the Maple Leaf as a new flag, with the leaf and colours not representing anything other than the unity of the country.
The suggestion spawned one of the longest parliamentary debates in
Canadian history. Older, conservative Canadians said the Red Ensign was
the flag that Canadians had fought and died under during two world wars,
and one that reflected Canada’s historic ties to Britain and current
ties to the monarchy.
Though these people obviously lost the argument and the Maple Leaf was
officially proclaimed on July 1, 1965, it’s not too uncommon to meet
older or very right-wing people in Canada who are still bitter over
losing the Ensign.
Interestingly, the Union Jack retains official status as a Canadian flag to this day, though very rarely seen. This was Pearson’s great sop to the traditionalists; according to law, the Jack can still be trotted out once in a while as a “symbol of membership in the Commonwealth and allegiance to the Crown.”
Though diverse in design, the 13 provincial/territorial flags share a number of common traditions. Most are based on their province’s coat of arms in some form or another, and the majority feature some medley of preexisting, government-designated “official symbols” of the place.
Some of the more notable examples include:
Canada is home to a wide variety of flags representing the full scope of the country’s geography, history and culture. As a result, they remain some of the most important emblems of the nation, easily recognized and much beloved — even if they’re not always the easiest things in the world to draw.
The Canadian Flag
Canada’s national flag, the Maple Leaf,
is probably one of the most famous and recognizable in the world. But
it’s also a fairly recent flag and was actually quite controversial at
first.During the country’s early history as a British colony, Canada had no flag other than the Union Jack, the proud banner of empire. But even the British needed a way to tell their colonies apart, so in the late 19th century it became fashionable to make what were known as ensigns for the colonies; red or blue flags with little Union Jacks in the top left corner and some sort of crest or symbol in the bottom right. The Canadian version of this set, featuring a red field and the Canadian coat of arms was called simply the “Red Ensign” and started being used as Canada’s de facto national flag in 1922.
As Canada became more and more politically independent from the Brits, however, the Red Ensign became more and more controversial. Why give up so much space on your flag to a picture of someone else’s? Prime Minister Lester Pearson (1897-1972, served 1963-1968) was particularly offended. Having worked as an international diplomat, he claimed other countries could not look at the Red Ensign without thinking “colony,” while back at home, sensitive French-Canadians (and other minorities) could not see it without thinking “Anglo domination.” So he proposed the Maple Leaf as a new flag, with the leaf and colours not representing anything other than the unity of the country.
The
Red Ensign still appears now and then, often in the context of
far-right political causes, as we see here with some happy
anti-immigration protesters.
Interestingly, the Union Jack retains official status as a Canadian flag to this day, though very rarely seen. This was Pearson’s great sop to the traditionalists; according to law, the Jack can still be trotted out once in a while as a “symbol of membership in the Commonwealth and allegiance to the Crown.”
- Canada’s flag debate, Saskatchewan Council for Archives & Archivists
- The national flag of Canada, Canadian Department of Heritage
Provincial Flags
Each province and territory of Canada has its own flag, too. Like the Maple Leaf, most are fairly recent creations, often the result of contests and committees held during the 1960s and 1970s, when many provinces were getting ready to celebrate their centennial anniversaries. Prior to that, some provinces occasionally flew ensign-style flags with their provincial coats of arms in the corner, in the style of the national red ensign mentioned above.Though diverse in design, the 13 provincial/territorial flags share a number of common traditions. Most are based on their province’s coat of arms in some form or another, and the majority feature some medley of preexisting, government-designated “official symbols” of the place.
 |
| The Alberta flag has a simple design featuring the province’s coat of arms on a blue background. The coat itself features a stylized representation of the Alberta landscape topped by the English Cross of St. George. |
 |
| British Columbia’s flag was created in 1960 during the activist reign of premier WAC Bennett (1900-1979). Based on the B.C. coat of arms, it’s supposed to personify that old trope about how “the sun never sets on the British Empire” and shows a never-setting sun against the waves of the Pacific coast — at one time one of the Empire’s most distant points. |
 |
| Manitoba and Ontario are the only two provinces that never engaged
in the flag re-designing fad that swept the rest of Canada in the late
20th century, and still use fairly generic-looking red ensigns as a
result. The Manitoba flag features the province’s coat of arms, which has a buffalo — the official provincial animal — on it. |
 |
| The Maritime provinces’ flags are all quite rich in British heraldic symbolism. The New Brunswick flag
features a golden lion, representing England, and an old-timey sailing
ship as a nod to the province’s historic status as a major centre of
Maritime trade and ship-building. |
 |
| The newest flag of any province, the flag of Newfoundland
was drafted by a graphic design firm in 1980. It’s supposed to resemble
a stylized Union Jack with the blue representing the sea and the white
the frozen north. The other colours represent stuff like hope, pride and
forward-thinking. |
 |
| Very similar to the Yukon flag, the Northwest Territories flag
features the coat of arms between two blue bars, representing the
territory’s rivers, lakes and oceans. The crest itself features a white fox, a traditional animal of northern Canada. |
 |
| The flag of Nova Scotia is an inverted version of the Scottish flag, the Cross of St. Andrew, with the provincial coat of arms in the centre. |
 |
| Nunavut is Canada’s newest territory and the Nunavut flag was created by a local artist in 1999. It features a red Inukshuk, a traditional stone formation made by the territory’s native peoples. In the top right corner sits the North Star, another traditional symbol of northern Canada. |
 |
| A vocal critic of the Maple Leaf, in 1965 Ontario premier John Robarts (1917-1982) designated the Ontario red ensign as
his province’s official flag to help ensure that the Union Jack would
continue to fly in Ontario. Like Manitoba’s flag, it features the
Ontario coat of arms in the bottom-right corner. |
 |
| Prince Edward Island’s flag
is also a stretched-out version of the provincial coat of arms. The
lion and the big tree represent mother England, while the three little
trees represent the Island’s historic three counties. |
 |
| Always a hotbed of nationalistic sentiment, in 1948 Quebec became the first province in Canada to create their own distinctive flag. Like the Maple Leaf flag, it doesn’t have any specific symbolism but uses the Fleur-de-lis and cross to evoke memories of the medieval banners of royal France. |
 |
| Designed as part of a province-wide contest in 1969, the Saskatchewan flag
displays a stylized depiction of the prairie province’s flat landscape,
with the coat of arms in the top left corner and the provincial flower,
the red lily, on the right. |
 |
| Another contest-winner, the Yukon flag
has the territorial coat of arms surrounded by a green bar,
representing the forests, and a blue bar representing rivers and lakes. |
City Flags
With national and provincial flags happily established, in recent years many of Canada’s cities and towns have begun to create flags of their own, too. These tend to vary in quality quite a bit, with the worst often bearing obvious signs of being designed by some art-illiterate municipal board — which of course they often were. While some cities will fly their municipal flag proudly, many more will be largely unknown to the general public and exist primarily for the sake of existing.
Here’s a few of the official banners of Canada’s biggest cities:
Other Flags
Canada is truly a country with a flag for every occasion. A good way to measure the importance of someone or something in Canada, in fact, is whether or not they have an official banner of some sort.Some of the more notable examples include:
- Canada’s Queen and governor general have official flags that are flown from any building they’re visiting at that moment.
- The three branches of the Canadian military (army, navy, and air force) all have flags, and there are usually flags representing dozens of individual regiments as well.
- Canada’s two recognized ethnic minority groups, first nations and French-Canadians, have a vast array of Francophone and aboriginal flags to recognize their different communities.
Links About Canadian Flags:
Canadian Links
If you’re seeking more information about some aspect of Canadian
life or culture, the following links might help steer you in the right
direction.
Canadian Association of University Teachers
Canadian Federation of Students
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
Canadian Bankers Association
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Canadian Manufacturing Coalition
Heart and Stroke Foundation
World Vision Canada
Canadian Cancer Society
United Way Centraide Canada
Canadian Association of Retired Persons
Royal Canadian Legion
Humane Society International Canada
Canadian Medical Association
Canadian Mental Health Association
Canadian Pharmacists Association
Canadian Nurses Association
YMCA Canada
Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Council of Canadians With Disabilities
The National Action Committee on the Status of Women
Canadian Union of Public Employees
United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada
National Research Council
Canadian Consortium for Research
National Citizens Coalition
C.D. Howe Institute
Council of Canadians
Broadbent Institute
Academia
Association of Universities and Colleges of CanadaCanadian Association of University Teachers
Canadian Federation of Students
Business/Finance
Canadian Federation of Independent BusinessCanadian Council of Chief Executives
Canadian Bankers Association
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Canadian Manufacturing Coalition
Charity
Canadian Breast Cancer FoundationHeart and Stroke Foundation
World Vision Canada
Canadian Cancer Society
United Way Centraide Canada
Citizens Advocacy
Canadian Taxpayer’s FederationCanadian Association of Retired Persons
Royal Canadian Legion
Humane Society International Canada
Health
Red Cross CanadaCanadian Medical Association
Canadian Mental Health Association
Canadian Pharmacists Association
Canadian Nurses Association
YMCA Canada
Human Rights
Canadian Human Rights CommissionCanadian Civil Liberties Association
Council of Canadians With Disabilities
The National Action Committee on the Status of Women
Labour/Unions
Canadian Labour CongressCanadian Union of Public Employees
United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada
Regulation and Research
Canadian Standards AssociationNational Research Council
Canadian Consortium for Research
Political Advocacy - Conservative/Libertarian
Fraser InstituteNational Citizens Coalition
C.D. Howe Institute
Political Advocacy - Liberal/Progressive
Canadian Centre for Policy AlternativesCouncil of Canadians
Broadbent Institute
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