Military | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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  • Article

    Canada and SOSUS

    The Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) was a network of passive sonar stations established by the United States Navy (USN) in the early 1950s to “listen” for Soviet submarines. SOSUS was a core element of antisubmarine warfare (ASW) during the Cold War. It developed out of intense postwar oceanographic research into how sound is propagated under water. Given Canada’s shared responsibility for the defence of North America, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was actively engaged in this research and mission and helped operate SOSUS. The mission was highly classified throughout the Cold War and only declassified in 1991. SOSUS became part of the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS), a broader network of fixed and towed sensors that remains operational. 

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  • Article

    Canada and the Battle of the Atlantic (Plain-Language Summary)

    The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest battle of the Second World War. It lasted between 3 September 1939 and 8 May 1945. The Atlantic Ocean was important for the Allies because they needed to send supplies and people by ship from North America to Europe. German U-boats (submarines) attacked and sank many of these ships. Canada played an important role in the Battle of the Atlantic. The Canadian navy and air force protected convoys of supply ships and hunted U-boats. The Canadian merchant navy transported troops, food and other supplies. (This is a plain-language summary of the Battle of the Atlantic. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Canada and the Battle of the Atlantic.) 

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  • Article

    Canada and the Battle of the Scheldt

    The Battle of the Scheldt was fought in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands in 1944 during the Second World War. It was part of the Allied campaign to liberate northwestern Europe and defeat Nazi Germany. The First Canadian Army played a crucial role in clearing the Scheldt of German forces, opening crucial supply lines via the port of Antwerp. However, this victory came at a cost. The Allies suffered nearly 13,000 casualties during the battle, including more than 6,300 Canadians.

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  • Article

    Canada and the Cold War (Plain Language Summary)

    During the Cold War, most of the world was divided into two camps. The "West" was led by the US and the "East" was led by the Soviet Union. Canada sided with the West. The Cold War started after the Second World War. It ended in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. There was no direct or "hot" war between the two superpowers. But tensions were high, and people were afraid of nuclear war. Some smaller wars were fought, like the Korean War. (This article is a plain-language summary of the Cold War. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Canada and the Cold War.) 

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  • Article

    Canada and the Dutch Hunger Winter

    The Dutch Hunger Winter was a severe food crisis that took place in the Netherlands in 1944–45, during the Second World War. By the time the country was liberated by Canadian and Allied forces in May 1945, around 20,000 Dutch people had died from the famine. With liberation came an influx of food and other provisions for the starving population. The Canadian role in liberating the Netherlands resulted in a lasting relationship between the two countries.

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  • Article

    Canada and the Iraq War

    The Iraq War (2003–11) was fought against Iraq by a coalition of 46 countries led by the United States and the United Kingdom. The decision to go to war was based in part on faulty intelligence and assumptions about the Iraqi manufacture and storage of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The war was conducted in two phases, a brief conventional one in March and April 2003 and a much longer counterinsurgency operation, which ended in December 2011. Despite American and British pressure, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien refused to publicly support the war. Ostensibly, this was because there was no United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution authorizing the operation, although several other factors were involved. 

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  • Article

    Canada and the Manhattan Project

    Canada helped develop the world’s first nuclear reactors and nuclear arms. During the Second World War, Canada participated in British research to create an atomic weapon. In 1943, the British nuclear weapons program merged with its American equivalent, the Manhattan Project. Canada’s main contribution was the Montreal Laboratory, which later became the Chalk River Laboratory. (See Nuclear Research Establishments). This Allied war effort produced the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. It also led to the development of Canada’s nuclear energy industry. Click here for definitions of key terms used in this article.

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  • Article

    Canada and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

    The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a non-binding political commitment made by United Nations Member States to protect populations from genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and war crimes. Canadian leadership was instrumental in the establishment of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) in 2000, which led to the development and eventual adoption of R2P at the 2005 UN World Summit (see also Canada and Peacekeeping). 

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  • Macleans

    Canada and the US Explore Joint Defence

    This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on September 12, 2005. Partner content is not updated. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Canadian and American officials will sit down across the table from one another this month and begin delicate negotiations over the future of their joint military institutions.

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  • Article

    Canada and Weapons of Mass Destruction

    Canada has a long, complicated history with weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Canadian soldiers have been attacked with chemical weapons and have used them offensively. (See Canada and Gas Warfare.) Canada has researched chemical, biological and nuclear weapons; but also, ways to defend against them. Some chemical weapons were tested in Canada and against Canadians with long-term consequences. Canada played a crucial role in the development of nuclear weapons. (See Canada and the Manhattan Project.) The country employed nuclear weapons primarily as defensive weapons during the Cold War. Canada signed international documents limiting the use of these weapons. Canada no longer has weapons of mass destruction. However, Canada is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and NORAD — alliances that employ nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

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  • Macleans

    Canada Likely to Join US in War against Iraq

    This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on September 23, 2002. Partner content is not updated. IT WAS BY MOST ACCOUNTS an uncomfortable meeting when Jean CHRÉTIEN sat down with George W. Bush for 45 minutes in Detroit's Cobo Hall last week.

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  • Article

    Canada’s Cold War Purge of LGBTQ from the Military

    For much of its history, the Canadian military had a policy of punishing or purging LGBTQ members among their ranks. During the Cold War, the military increased its efforts to identify and remove suspected LGBTQ servicemen and women due to expressed concerns about blackmail and national security. In 1992, a court challenge led to the reversal of these discriminatory practices. The federal government officially apologized in 2017.

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  • Article

    Canada's Road to the Second World War

    As the threat of another world war loomed ever larger, Canadians, far from the conflict, would face a difficult choice of whether to stand again with Britain or remain isolated and safe in North America.

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  • Article

    Canadian Army

    The history of the Canadian Army parallels that of Canada itself. What started as a small Confederation-era militia was built into a respected force of mostly citizen soldiers for the First and Second World Wars. From the Korean War to United Nations peacekeeping to Afghanistan and Latvia — despite limited resources and sometimes ill-defined missions — Canada's now largely professional army has served with distinction around the globe.

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  • Article

    Canadian Army Medical Corps Nursing Sisters

    More than 2,800 trained civilian nurses enlisted with the Canadian army during the First World War, becoming the first women in the modern world to hold military commissions as officers. As members of the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC), the nursing sisters treated and cared for wounded soldiers overseas and at home. At least 58 died from disease or enemy action during the war. 

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