View source for Military history of Canada

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{{If mobile |[[File:Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Tombe du Soldat inconnu.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|[[Ceremonial Guard (Canada)|Ceremonial Guard]] stand watch over [[National War Memorial (Canada)|Canada's national memorial]], ''The Response'', with the [[Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier|Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]] in the foreground.]]|{{Military history of Canada}}}}

The '''military history of Canada''' comprises centuries of conflict within the territory, and interventions by the [[Canadian Forces|Canadian military]] in conflicts and [[Canadian peacekeeping|peacekeeping]] missions worldwide. For millennia, the area comprising modern Canada saw sporadic conflicts among [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous peoples]]. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Canada was the site of several conflicts, including [[French and Indian Wars|four major colonial wars]] between [[New France]] and [[British America]]. The conflicts spanned nearly 70 years and was fought between British and French forces, supported by their [[colonial militia in Canada|colonial militias]], and various [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]].

In 1760, the British [[conquest of New France|conquered New France]], and its civilians, whom they hoped to assimilate, were subsequently declared British subjects. After the [[Quebec Act]] of 1774, Canadians received their first charter of rights under the new regime, resulting in the northern colonies abstention from joining the [[American Revolutionary War]] and loyalty to [[the Crown|British Crown]]. The US invaded in 1775 and again from 1812 to 1814 but were rebuffed each time. The threat of US invasion persisted into the 19th century, partially facilitating [[Canadian Confederation]] in 1867. 

In 1871, the British Army withdrew from Canada, ceding defence responsibilities to the [[Canadian militia]]. In subsequent decades, the militia underwent changes that transformed it into a professional force. As a British [[dominion]], Canada participated in the [[Second Boer War]] and the [[First World War]]. In 1939, Canada issued its [[Canadian declaration of war on Germany|first declaration of war]], joining the [[Second World War]] in support of the UK and the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. Since then, Canada has shown support for [[multilateralism]] and [[Internationalism (politics)|internationalism]] through its peacekeeping efforts and participation in multinational [[military coalition|coalitions]], including the [[Korean War]], the [[Gulf War]], the [[Kosovo War]], and the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghan war]].
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== Warfare pre-contact==
Warfare existed in all regions and waxed in intensity, frequency and decisiveness. It was even common in [[subarctic]] areas that had sufficient population density.<ref name="ChaconMendoza2007">{{cite book|author1=Richard J. Chacon|author2=Rubén G. Mendoza|title=North American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LANhCIxlKM8C&pg=PA55|year= 2007|publisher=University of Arizona Press|isbn=978-0-8165-2532-4|page=55}}</ref> However, [[Inuit]] groups in the extreme northern [[Arctic]] typically avoided direct warfare due to their small populations, relying on [[Inuit#Traditional law|traditional law]] to resolve conflicts.<ref name="González2010">{{cite book|author=Roberto J. González|title=Militarizing Culture: Essays on the Warfare State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZG8W9TfdUjkC&pg=PA25|year= 2010|publisher=Left Coast Press|isbn=978-1-59874-560-3|page=25}}</ref> Conflict was waged for economic and political reasons, such as asserting their tribal independence, securing resources and territory, exacting tribute, and controlling trade routes. Additionally, conflicts arose for personal and tribal honour, seeking revenge for perceived wrongs.<ref name="Echo-Hawk2011">{{cite book|author=Walter Echo-Hawk|title=In the Courts of the Conqueror |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ov5WBhy-TGMC&pg=PA220|year=2011|publisher=Fulcrum|isbn=978-1-4596-0276-2|pages=220–}}</ref><ref name=govcanwaprco>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/warfare-pre-columbian-north-america.html|website=www.canada.ca|date=15 March 2023|access-date=3 April 2018|publisher=Government of Canada|title=Warfare In Pre-Columbian North America|archive-date=March 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324062210/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/warfare-pre-columbian-north-america.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 
[[File:Some of the earliest armaments look more like kitchen implements! (24238925663).jpg|thumb|left|Indigenous weaponry on display at the [[Canadian Museum of History]]]]
In [[precontact|pre-contact]] Canada, [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous]] warriors relied primarily on the [[bow and arrow]], having honed their archery skills through their hunting practices. Knives, hatchets/[[tomahawk]]s and warclubs were used for hand-to-hand combat.<ref name=govcanwaprco/> Some conflicts took place over great distances, with a few military expeditions travelling as far as {{convert|1200|to|1600|km|mi}}.<ref name=govcanwaprco/> 

Warfare tended to be formal and ritualistic, resulting in few casualties.<ref name="JohansenPritzker2008">{{cite book|author1=Bruce E. Johansen|author2=Barry Pritzker|title=Encyclopedia of American Indian history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sGKL6E9_J6IC&pg=PA1066|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-817-0|page=1066|author-link1=Bruce E. Johansen}}</ref> However, some violent conflicts occurred, including the complete genocide of some [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] groups by others, such as the displacement of the [[Dorset (culture)|Dorset]] of Newfoundland by the [[Beothuk]].<ref name="Feest1999">{{cite book|author=Christian F. Feest|title=Indians and Europe: an interdisciplinary collection of essays|url=https://archive.org/details/indianseurope00chri/page/64|year=1999|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-6897-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/indianseurope00chri/page/64 64]|author-link=Christian F. Feest}}</ref> The St. Lawrence Valley [[Iroquois]] were also almost completely displaced, likely due to warfare with their neighbours the [[Algonquin people|Algonquin]].<ref name="Barr2006">{{cite book|author=Daniel P. Barr|title=Unconquered: the Iroquois League at War in Colonial America|url=https://archive.org/details/unconquerediroqu00barr_0/page/24|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-98466-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/unconquerediroqu00barr_0/page/24 24]}}</ref> The threat of conflict impacted how some groups lived, with [[Algonquian people|Algonquian]] and Iroquois groups residing in fortified villages with layers of defences and wooden [[palisade]]s at least {{convert|10|m|ft|adj=mid|-tall}} by 1000 CE.<ref name=govcanwaprco/>

Captives from battles were not always killed. Tribes frequently adopted them to replenish lost warriors or used them for [[prisoner exchange]]s.<ref name="Cave2004tim">{{cite book|author=Alfred A. Cave|title=The French and Indian war|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiZoWyv77qQC&pg=PA33|year=2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32168-9|page=33}}</ref><ref name="SchneiderSchneider2006">{{cite book|author1=Dorothy Schneider|author2=Carl J. Schneider|title=Slavery in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QlemwRTsY20C&pg=PA216|year= 2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-6241-6|page=216}}</ref><ref name="Muckle2007">{{cite book|author=Robert James Muckle|title=The First Nations of British Columbia: An Anthropological Survey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11ii63EytIYC&pg=PA60|year=2007|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-4010-1|page=60}}</ref> Slavery was common among the [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast|Pacific Northwest Coast's Indigenous people]] like the [[Tlingit people|Tlingit]] and [[Haida people|Haida]], with around a quarter of the region's population being enslaved.<ref name="Muckle2007" /> In certain societies, slavery was hereditary, with slaves and their descendants being [[prisoners of war]].<ref name="Muckle2007" />

Several First Nations also formed alliances with one another, like the [[Iroquois League]].<ref name="Shannon2009vy">{{cite book|author=Timothy J. Shannon|title=Iroquois Diplomacy on the Early American Frontier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s_Zte_nv634C&pg=PT22|year= 2009|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-14-311529-8|page=22}}</ref> These existing [[military alliance]]s became important to the colonial powers in the struggle for North American hegemony during the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref name="Educational2010h">{{cite book|author=Britannica Educational|title=Native American History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bnabh4i3ppMC&pg=PA182|year=2010|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-61530-265-9|page=182}}</ref>

===European contact===
[[File:John White – The skirmish at Bloody Point, Frobisher Bay (British Museum) (central detail).png|thumb|Skirmish between [[Martin Frobisher]]'s men and [[Inuit]], {{circa|1577–78}}.]]
The first clash between Europeans and Indigenous peoples likely transpired around 1003, during [[Norse colonization of the Americas|Norse attempts to settle North America's northeastern coast]], such as at [[L'Anse aux Meadows]].<ref name="Josephy1991">{{cite book|author=Alvin M. Josephy|title=The Indian heritage of America|url=https://archive.org/details/indianheritageof0000jose|url-access=registration|year=1991|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-395-57320-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/indianheritageof0000jose/page/295 295]}}</ref> Although relations were initially peaceful, conflict arose between the Norse and local First Nations, or ''[[Skrælings]]'', possibly due to the Norse's refusal to sell weapons. Indigenous bows and clubs proved effective against [[Viking weaponry|Norse weaponry]], and their canoes offered greater manoeuvrability in an environment they were familiar with. Outnumbered, the Norse abandoned the settlement.<ref name="WilsonThompson1997">{{cite book|author1=Wendy S. Wilson|author2=Lloyd M. Thompson|title=Native Americans: A Thematic Unit on Converging Cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hs0HFU2ZR0IC&pg=PA14|year=1997|publisher=Walch Publishing|isbn=978-0-8251-3332-9|page=14}}</ref><ref name=govcatharofeu>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/arrival-europeans-17th-century-wars.html|title=The Arrival of the Europeans: 17th Century Wars|date=19 April 2018|access-date=15 March 2023|website=www.canada.ca|publisher=Government of Canada|archive-date=January 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130183325/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/arrival-europeans-17th-century-wars.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first European-Indigenous engagements to occur in Canada during the [[Age of Discovery]] took place during [[Jacques Cartier]]'s third expedition to the Americas from 1541 to 1542. Between 1577 and 1578, the Inuit clashed with English explorers under [[Martin Frobisher]] near [[Baffin Island]].<ref name=govcatharofeu/>

== 17th century ==
Firearms began to make their way into Indigenous hands by the early 17th century, with significant acquisition starting in the 1640s.<ref name=govcanwaprco/> The arrival of firearms made fighting between Indigenous groups bloodier and more decisive,<ref name="Given1994">{{cite book|author=Brian James Given|title=A most pernicious thing: gun trading and native warfare in the early contact period|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7UaB74a5HGQC&pg=PA107|year= 1994|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-88629-223-2|page=107}}</ref> especially as tribes got embroiled in the economic and military rivalries of European settlers. Unequal access to firearms and horses significantly amplified bloodshed in Indigenous conflicts.<ref name="Sturtevant1988">{{cite book|author=William C. Sturtevant|title=Handbook of North American Indians: History of Indian-White relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQRpEgEzYd4C&pg=PA357|year= 1988|publisher=Government Printing Office|isbn=978-0-16-004583-7|page=357}}</ref> By the end of the 17th century, [[Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands]] and the [[Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic|eastern subarctic]] rapidly transitioned to firearms, supplanting the bow.<ref name="Starkey1998po">{{cite book|author=Armstrong Starkey|title=European and Native American warfare, 1675–1815|url=https://archive.org/details/europeannativeam0000star|url-access=registration|year=1998|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3075-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/europeannativeam0000star/page/21 21]}}</ref> Though firearms predominated, the bow and arrow saw limited use into the early 18th century as a covert weapon for surprise attacks.<ref name=govcanwaprco/> 
[[File:QueenAnnesWarBefore.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Map of European claims on North America at the end of the 17th century, with European forts and settlements also shown. English claims are coloured in pink, while French claims are coloured in blue. The English and French had conflicting claims around [[Hudson Bay]] and [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]].]]
Early [[European colonization of the Americas|European colonies]] in Canada include the French settlement of [[Port-Royal (Acadia)|Port-Royal]] in 1605 and the English settlement of [[Cuper's Cove]] five years later.<ref name="Major">[[Kevin Major]], ''As Near to Heaven by Sea: A History of Newfoundland and Labrador'', 2001, {{ISBN|0-14-027864-8}}</ref> French claims stretched to the [[Mississippi River]] valley, where fur trappers and colonists established scattered settlements.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/people/explorers/samuelhearne.asp |title=Our History: People |access-date=November 14, 2007 |publisher=Hudson's Bay Company |archive-date=November 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114080505/http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/people/explorers/samuelhearne.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[List of French forts in North America|French built a series of forts]] to defend these settlements,<ref name="Chartrand2013nh">{{cite book|author=Rene Chartrand|title=French Fortresses in North America 1535–1763: Quebec, Montreal, Louisbourg and New Orleans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihSrWOl-zsIC&pg=PT3|year=2013|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-4728-0317-7|pages=3–5}}</ref> although some were also used as trading posts.<ref name="Chartrand2013nh"/> [[New France]]'s two main colonies, [[Acadia]] on the Bay of Fundy and [[Canada (New France)|Canada]] on the St. Lawrence River, relied mainly on the fur trade.<ref name="Eccles1983">{{cite book|author=William John Eccles|title=The Canadian frontier, 1534–1760|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EksQ2jB5__UC&pg=PA217|year= 1983|publisher=UNM Press|isbn=978-0-8263-0706-4|page=217}}</ref> These colonies grew slowly due to difficult geographical and climatic circumstances.<ref name="BoyerJr.2008">{{cite book|author1=Paul S. Boyer|author2=Clifford E. Clark, Jr.|author3=Joseph F. Kett |author4=Neal Salisbury |author5=Harvard Sitkoff|title=The enduring vision: a history of the American people|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=964N-Xou5xkC&pg=PA84|year= 2008|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-547-05211-3|page=84}}</ref> By 1706, its population was around 16,000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Estimated population of Canada, 1605 to present|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm|publisher=Statistics Canada|year=2009|access-date=2010-08-26|archive-date=January 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105184945/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Dale2004">{{cite book|author=Ronald J. Dale|title=The Fall of New France: How the French Lost a North American Empire 1754–1763|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZmpn3g3UFQC&pg=PR2|year=2004|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|isbn=978-1-55028-840-7|page=2}}</ref><ref name="FindlingThackeray2011">{{cite book|author1=John E. Findling|author2=Frank W. Thackeray|title=What Happened?: An Encyclopedia of Events that Changed America Forever|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2YSI904ZNsC&pg=PA38|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-621-8|page=38}}</ref> By the mid-1700s, New France had about one-tenth of the population of the British [[Thirteen Colonies]] to the south.<ref name="Hart-Davis2012">{{cite book|author=Adam Hart-Davis|title=History: From the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SCouMhrlDzYC&pg=PA483|year=2012|publisher=DK Publishing|isbn=978-0-7566-9858-4|page=483}}</ref><ref name="MiddletonLombard2011hg">{{cite book|author1=Richard Middleton|author2=Anne Lombard|title=Colonial America: A History to 1763|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2hexv5SmqLgC&pg=PT88|year=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-9628-7|page=88}}</ref> In addition to the Thirteen Colonies, the English chartered seasonal fishing settlements in [[Newfoundland Colony]] and claimed [[Hudson Bay]] and its drainage basin, known as [[Rupert's Land]], through the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (HBC).<ref name="Porter1994">{{cite book|author=Andrew Neil Porter|title=Atlas of British overseas expansion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8EOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA60|year= 1994|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-06347-0|page=60}}</ref>

The early [[military of New France]] was made up of regulars from the [[French Royal Army]] and [[French Navy|Navy]], supported by the [[Colonial militia in Canada|colonial militia]].<ref name="Choquette2009a">{{cite book|author1=Leslie CHOQUETTE|author2=Leslie Choquette|title=Frenchmen into Peasants: Modernity and Tradition in the Peopling of French Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79dXRyCCeG0C&pg=PA14|year=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02954-5|page=14}}</ref> Initially composed of soldiers from France, New France's military evolved to include volunteers raised within the colony by 1690. Many French soldiers stationed in New France also chose to stay after their service, fostering a tradition of generational service and the creation of a military elite.<ref name="Heritage1"/><ref name="Brault1986">{{cite book|author=Gerard J. Brault|title=The French-Canadian Heritage in New England|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZkXdBzYjzcC&pg=PA110|year=1986|publisher=UPNE|isbn=978-0-87451-359-2|page=110}}</ref> By the 1750s, most New French [[Officer (armed forces)|military officers]] were born in the colony.<ref name="Heritage1">{{cite web |url=http://www.cmhg.gc.ca/cmh/page-67-eng.asp |title=Canadian Military Heritage |publisher=Canadian Military History Gateway |year=2011 |access-date=2014-02-27 |archive-date=June 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613104827/http://www.cmhg.gc.ca/cmh/page-67-eng.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> New France's military also relied on [[Franco-Indian alliance|Indigenous allies]] for support to mitigate the manpower advantage of the Thirteen Colonies.<ref name=govcaimpwar>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/imperial-wars.html|title=The Imperial Wars|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=12 March 2023|website=www.canada.ca|date=26 April 2018|archive-date=March 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312210345/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/imperial-wars.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This relationship significantly impacted New French military practices, like the adoption of Indigenous [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla tactics]] by its military professionals.<ref name=govcatharofeu/><ref name="Horn2011oo">{{cite book|author=Bernd Horn|title=Battle cries in the wilderness: the struggle for North America in the Seven Years' War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IMdh_YDgJAwC&pg=PA39|year=2011|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-4597-0077-2|page=39}}</ref>

===Beaver Wars===
{{Main|Beaver Wars}}
[[File:Attaque d'un fort Iroquois, 1610.tif|thumb|[[Algonquin people|Algonquin]], French, and [[Wyandot people|Wyandot]] forces besiege a [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] fort during the [[Battle of Sorel]] in 1610.]]
The Beaver Wars (1609-1701) were intermittent conflicts involving the [[Iroquois Confederacy]], New France, and France's Indigenous allies.<ref name="Raaflaub2007">{{cite book|author=Kurt A. Raaflaub|title=War and peace in the ancient world|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XBDo5bWgBY4C&pg=PA359|year=2007|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-4526-8|page=359}}</ref> By the 17th century, several First Nations' economies relied heavily on the [[North American fur trade|regional fur trade]] with Europeans.<ref name=canenirwar>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/iroquois-wars|title=Iroquois Wars|last1=Parrott|first1=Zach|first2=Tabitha|last2=Marshall|date=31 July 2019|access-date=24 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127070035/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/iroquois-wars|url-status=live}}</ref> The French quickly joined pre-existing Indigenous alliances such as the [[Wyandot people|Huron]]-Algonquin alliance, bringing them into conflict with the Iroquois Confederacy,<ref name=canenirwar/><ref name="HarrisMatthews1993">{{cite book|author1=Richard Cole Harris|author2=Geoffrey J. Matthews|title=Historical atlas of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itsTLSnw8qgC&pg=PA82|year=1993|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-2495-4|page=82}}</ref><ref name="TuckerArnold2011">{{cite book|author1=Spencer C. Tucker|author2=James Arnold|author3=Roberta Wiener|title=The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsM4A0GSO34C&pg=PA12|year= 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-697-8|page=12}}</ref> who initially aligned with [[Dutch colonization of the Americas|Dutch colonists]] and later with the [[British colonization of the Americas|English]].<ref name="Hunt1967">{{cite book|author=George T. Hunt|title=The wars of the Iroquois: a study in intertribal trade relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CdIgzZdTuEUC&pg=PA69|year=1967|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0-299-00164-3|page=69}}</ref> As a result, the primary threat against New France in its early years were the Iroquois, particularly the easternmost [[Mohawk nation|Mohawks]].<ref name="JohnsonSmith2003">{{cite book|author1=Michael Johnson|author2=Jonathan Smith|title=Tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVPz-EbFShQC&pg=PA3|year=2003|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84176-490-0|pages=3–17}}</ref> 

Conflict between the French and Iroquois likely arose from the latter's ambition to control the beaver pelt trade.<ref name=canenirwar/> However, some scholars posit Iroquoian hegemonic ambitions as a factor, while others suggest these were "mourning wars" to replenish populations in the wake of the [[Native American disease and epidemics|epidemic that afflicted Indigenous peoples]]. Regardless, Iroquois hostilities against First Nations of the St. Lawrence Valley and Great Lakes disrupted the fur trade and drew the French into the wider conflict.<ref name=govcatharofeu/> 

====1609–1667====
[[File:Battle of Long Sault 1660.jpg|thumb|Iroquois warriors attack an Algonquin fort defended by a Franco-Indigenous force at the [[Battle of Long Sault]], 1660]]
Initially, the French offered limited support to their Indigenous allies, providing iron arrowheads and knives, but few firearms.<ref name=govcatharofeu/><ref name="Brandão2000">{{cite book|author=José António Brandão|title=Your Fyre Shall Burn No More: Iroquois Policy Toward New France and Its Native Allies to 1701|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qi5hMqyPXLYC&pg=PA100|year= 2000|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-6177-8|page=100}}</ref> Although France's Indigenous allies saw some success, the Iroquois gained the initiative after adopting tactics that integrated Indigenous hunting skills and terrain knowledge with firearms acquired from the Dutch.<ref name="Cox1987">{{cite book|author=Bruce Alden Cox|title=Native people, native lands: Canadian Indians, Inuit and Métis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZTBawkiwBgC&pg=PA7|year=1987|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-88629-062-7|page=7}}</ref> Access to firearms proved decisive, enabling the Iroquois to wage an effective guerrilla war.<ref name=canenirwar/> 

After depleting the beaver population within their lands, the Iroquois launched several expansionist campaigns, raiding the Algonquin in the [[Ottawa Valley]] and attacking the French in the 1630s and 1640s.<ref name=canenirwar/> These attacks caused the dispersion of the [[Neutral people|Neutral]], [[Petun]], and [[Huron Confederacy]], along with the systematic destruction of [[Huronia (region)|Huronia]].<ref name=govcatharofeu/><ref name=canenirwar/> The string of Iroquois victories isolated the French from their Algonquin allies and left its settlements defenceless. Exploiting this, the Iroquois negotiated a favourable peace, requiring French Jesuits and soldiers to relocate to Iroquois villages so they could aid in their defence.<ref name=govcatharofeu/>

Hostilities resumed between the two sides in 1658 when the French withdrew their Iroquois missions.<ref name=govcatharofeu/> After years of expansionist campaigns in the mid-1650s, the outbreak of a wider front in 1659 and 1660 strained the Confederacy.<ref name=canenirwar/> 
To secure a favourable peace, the French sent the [[Carignan-Salières Regiment]] in 1665,<ref name=govcatharofeu/> the first uniformed professional soldiers station in Canada, and whose members formed the core of the [[Compagnies Franches de la Marine]] militia.<ref name="MurrinJohnson2011bgt">{{cite book|author1=John M. Murrin|author2=Paul E. Johnson|author3=James M. McPherson |author4=Alice Fahs |author5=Gary Gerstle|title=Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, Volume 1: To 1877|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CADtJymgzk4C&pg=PT85|year=2011|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-495-91587-4|page=85}}</ref> The regiment's arrival led the Iroquois to agree to peace in 1667.<ref name=govcatharofeu/>

====1668–1701====
[[File:Frontenac with the Indians.jpg|thumb|New France's governor general, [[Louis de Buade de Frontenac]], with First Nations allies, 1690]]
After the 1667 peace, the French formed alliances with First Nations further west, most of whom conflicted with the Iroquois. The French provided them with firearms and encouraged them to attack the Iroquois. They also solidified ties with the [[Abenaki]] in Acadia, who were harassed by the Iroquois. Conflict resumed in the 1680s when the Iroquois targeted French [[Coureur des bois|coureurs de bois]] and the [[Illinois Confederation]], a French ally. French-allied expeditions were launched in 1684 and 1687, though only the latter saw some success.<ref name=govcatharofeu/><ref name=canengrpemo>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/peace-of-montreal-1701|title=Great Peace of Montreal, 1701|last1=Jaenen|first1=Cornelius J.|first2=Andrew|last2=McIntosh|date=13 November 2019|access-date=24 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225084410/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/peace-of-montreal-1701|url-status=live}}</ref> 

In 1689, the Iroquois launched new attacks, including the [[Lachine massacre]], to support their English allies during the [[Nine Years' War]] and in retaliation for the 1687 expedition.<ref name=canenirwar/> However, after a flurry of raids by France's western allies and a Franco-Indigenous expedition led by Governor General [[Louis de Buade de Frontenac]] in 1696, the weakened Iroquois opted to negotiate peace.<ref name=canenirwar/> The [[Great Peace of Montreal]] was signed in 1701 between the Iroquois, France, and 38 other First Nations. The terms saw the Iroquois agree to remain neutral in Anglo-French conflicts in return for trade benefits. This weakened the [[Covenant Chain]] between the Iroquois and English and weakened their trading relationship.<ref name=canengrpemo/> Although the Iroquois nations expanded their territories during the conflict, they did not achieve the prosperity initially envisioned.<ref name=canenirwar/>

===Early British-French colonial hostilities===
[[File:Incendie Port-Royal 1613.jpg|thumb|English forces under [[Samuel Argall]] [[Samuel Argall#Raid on Acadia|raiding the French settlement of Port-Royal]] in 1613.]]
English-French hostilities over colonial interests first escalated in 1613 when [[Samuel Argall]] and his sailors [[Samuel Argall#Raid on Acadia|razed the French settlement of Port-Royal]] with little resistance to secure the Bay of Fundy fisheries for the English [[colony of Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lermuseum.org/new-france-1600-1730/1600-1649/destruction-of-port-royal-1613|title=Destruction of Port Royal: 1613|publisher=The Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum|year=2018|access-date=26 September 2023|website=www.lermuseum.org|archive-date=September 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927114829/https://lermuseum.org/new-france-1600-1730/1600-1649/destruction-of-port-royal-1613|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[Anglo-French War (1627–1629)|Anglo-French War of 1627 to 1629]], the English authorized [[David Kirke]] to settle Canada and conduct raids against the French there. In 1628, Kirke's forces [[Action of 17 July 1628|seized a French supply fleet]] and [[Tadoussac]], and [[Surrender of Quebec|captured Quebec City]] the next year.<ref name=davidkirke>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-david-kirke|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|publisher=Historica Canada|last=Cooper|first=Celine|title=Sir David Kirke|date=17 January 2020|access-date=26 September 2023|archive-date=September 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923214644/https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-david-kirke|url-status=live}}</ref> Scottish settlers founded settlements in seized French territories like Port-Royal and [[Baleine, Nova Scotia|Baleine]]. However, French forces destroyed Baleine just two months after its founding in 1629.<ref name=fortanne>{{cite web|url=https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/fortanne/culture/charles-fort/histoire-history|title=Fort Anne National Historic Site|website=parks.canada.ca|publisher=Government of Canada|date=26 November 2022|access-date=23 September 2023|archive-date=September 27, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927002426/https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/fortanne/culture/charles-fort/histoire-history|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1630, an Anglo-Scottish attack against [[Fort St. Louis (Shelburne County, Nova Scotia)|Fort St. Louis]], one of France's last remaining Acadian strongholds, was repulsed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/cape-sable-historical-society-new-stewards-of-property-surrounding-national-historic-site-in-port-latour-100651625/|website=www.saltwire.com|title=Cape Sable Historical Society new stewards of property surrounding national historic site in Port LaTour|last=Johnson|first=Kathy|date=29 October 2021|access-date=26 September 2023|publisher=SaltWire Network|archive-date=September 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926194108/https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/cape-sable-historical-society-new-stewards-of-property-surrounding-national-historic-site-in-port-latour-100651625/|url-status=live}}</ref> French settlements that were seized during the war were returned in the 1632 [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1632)|Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye]].<ref name=davidkirke/><ref name=fortanne/>

==== Acadian Civil War and its subsequent seizure ====
{{Main|Acadian Civil War}}
Acadia fell into [[civil war]] in the mid-17th century.<ref name="Careless2011">{{cite book|author=J. M. S. Careless|title=Canada: A Story of Challenge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mARx1-EGwR0C&pg=PA57|year= 2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-67581-0|page=57}}</ref> After Lieutenant Governor [[Isaac de Razilly]] died in 1635, Acadia was split administratively. [[Charles de Menou d'Aulnay]] ruled from Port-Royal and [[Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour]] governed from [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John]].<ref name=canenacciw>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/civil-war-in-acadia-feature|title=Acadian Civil War|last=Marsh|first=James H.|date=21 July 2015|access-date=24 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225011445/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/civil-war-in-acadia-feature|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Brasseaux1997">{{cite book|author=Carl A. Brasseaux|title=The founding of New Acadia: the beginnings of Acadian life in Louisiana, 1765–1803|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R3xaRPSluLsC&pg=PA7|year= 1997|publisher=LSU Press|isbn=978-0-8071-2099-6|pages=7–9}}</ref> Unclear boundaries overs administrative authority led to conflict between the two governors.<ref name=canenacciw/>
[[File:Madame La Tour Defending Fort St.Jean.jpg|thumb|[[Françoise-Marie Jacquelin]] defends Fort Sainte Marie with other supporters of [[Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour]] during the decisive engagement of the [[Acadian Civil War]] in 1645.]]
In 1640, La Tour forces attacked Port-Royal.<ref name="Canada, the Empire of the North">{{cite book|title=Canada, the Empire of the North|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mkEI8g0_Rx0C&pg=PA65|publisher=Forgotten Books|isbn=978-1-4510-0695-7|page=65}}</ref> In response, d'Aulnay imposed a five-month blockade on Saint John. La Tour's forces overcame the blockade and retaliated with an attack on Port-Royal in 1643.<ref name="Hayes2008psg">{{cite book|author=Derek Hayes|title=Canada: an illustrated history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hrkq7t_4080C&pg=PA29|year= 2008|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=978-1-55365-259-5|page=29}}</ref> In April 1645, d'Aulney besieged and captured Saint John, after hearing of La Tour's departure to meet his supporters in New England.<ref name="Jobb2005">{{cite book|author=Dean Jobb|title=The Acadians: a people's story of exile and triumph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gc6OplM0jsAC&pg=PT33|year= 2005|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-83610-1|page=33}}</ref> d'Aulney governed all of Acadia from 1645 until he died in 1650, having gained favour with the French government by informing them of La Tour's attempt to seek aid from the English in New England.<ref name=canenacciw/>

After d'Aulney's death, La Tour returned to France and regained his reputation and governorship over Acadia.<ref name="Hayes2008psg"/> La Tour's governorship ended in 1654 when English forces under [[Robert Sedgwick (colonist)|Robert Sedgwick]] seized the territory exhausted by years of civil war and neglect by the French court.<ref name=canenacciw/> Sedgwick seized Acadia to secure its fur and fishing resources for New England and [[The Protectorate]], having been authorized to retaliate against French [[privateer]] attacks on English ships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sedgwick_robert_1E.html|title=Sedgwick, Robert|website=www.biographi.ca|publisher=University of Toronto/Université Laval|year=2023|access-date=26 September 2023|archive-date=September 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926194108/http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sedgwick_robert_1E.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Anglo-Dutch Wars ===
{{further|Anglo-Dutch Wars}}
[[File:The Route of the Dutch Naval Campaign of 1672-1674.jpg|thumb|Route of the [[Dutch Raid on North America|Dutch fleet raiding North America]] from 1672 to 1674.]]
The [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]] (1665–1667) resulted from tensions between [[Kingdom of England|England]] and the [[Dutch Republic]], driven partly by competition over maritime dominance and trade routes. A year before the conflict, in September 1664, [[Michiel de Ruyter]] was instructed to retaliate against the English seizures of [[Dutch East India Company]] assets in [[West Africa]] by attacking English ships.<ref>{{cite book |last = Bruijn |first = J. R. |author-link = Jaap R. Bruijn |date = 1993 |title = The Dutch Navy of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries |location = Columbia |publisher = University of South Carolina Press |isbn = 9780872498754 |pages=68–69}}</ref> In 1665, de Ruyter's fleet raided English merchant ships and settlements in the West Indies and Newfoundland, including [[Raid on Newfoundland (1665)|St. John's]].<ref>{{cite book |last = Kloster |first = W. |date = 2016 |title = The Dutch Moment: War, Trade, and Settlement in the Seventeenth-Century Atlantic World |location = Ithaca |publisher  = Cornell University Press |isbn = 9781501706677 |page=103}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nlgeotourism.com/content/city-of-st-johns/nflF255940DE7B62E652|title=History of St. John's|author=Staff writer|year=n.d.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128204612/http://www.nlgeotourism.com/content/city-of-st-johns/nflF255940DE7B62E652|archive-date=28 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The peace treaty that ended the conflict resulted in the English returning Acadia to the French, a region they seized in 1654.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/treaty-of-breda|title=Treaty of Breda|last=Sutherland|first=Stuart R.J.|date=19 June 2015|access-date=24 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224232507/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/treaty-of-breda|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]] (1672–1674), in 1673, a [[Dutch Raid on North America|Dutch fleet raided English colonies in North America]], including fishing fleets and shore facilities at Ferryland on Newfoundland.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roper|first=L. H.|title=Advancing Empire English Interests and Overseas Expansion, 1613-1688|year=2017|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107118911|page=215}}</ref>

=== Nine Years' War ===
{{main|Nine Years' War}}
During the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), English and French forces clashed in North America in a conflict known as [[King William's War]]. Initially, Governor General Frontenac devised an invasion plan aimed at conquering the [[Province of New York]] to isolate the Iroquois. However, the scale of the plan was later reduced. In February 1690, three joint New French-First Nations military expeditions were dispatched to New England. One [[Schenectady massacre|attacked Schenectady]], another [[Raid on Salmon Falls|raided Salmon Falls]], while a third [[Battle of Falmouth (1690)|besieged Fort Loyal]]. New France also urged other First Nations allies to conduct smaller raids along the [[British America|English American]] frontier and promoted [[scalping]]s as a form of [[psychological warfare]].<ref name=govcaimpwar/> 
[[File:Quebecbatteries.jpg|left|thumb|The batteries of [[Quebec City]] bombard the English fleet during the [[Battle of Quebec (1690)|Battle of Quebec]] in 1690.]]
Having faced several attacks by New France's ''petite guerre'',<ref name="UtleyWashburn2001">{{cite book|author1=Robert Marshall Utley|author2=Wilcomb E. Washburn|title=Indian wars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cc3l29gVaHkC&pg=PA63|year= 2001|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-618-15464-7|page=63}}</ref> the English launched two retalitory expeditions against New France.<ref name=govcaimpwar/> 
The first naval expedition in 1690 was to capture Quebec City. However, it suffered from poor organization and arrived just before the St. Lawrence River froze in mid-October, leaving little time to achieve its objective.<ref name="Eames2011">{{cite book|author=Steven Eames|title=Rustic Warriors: Warfare and the Provincial Soldier on the New England Frontier, 1689–1748|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C3yE9RnGTlcC&pg=PA3|year=2011|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-0-8147-2270-1|page=3}}</ref> After a [[Battle of Quebec (1690)|failed landing at Beauport]], English forces withdrew.<ref name="TuckerArnold2011vfji">{{cite book|author1=Spencer C. Tucker|author2=James Arnold|author3=Roberta Wiener|title=The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsM4A0GSO34C&pg=PR41|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-697-8|page=41}}</ref> The second English expedition was repulsed at the [[Battle of La Prairie]] in 1691.<ref name=govcaimpwar/> The English also attacked Acadia, [[Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696)|besieging Fort Nashwaak]] and [[Raid on Chignecto (1696)|raiding Chignecto]], [[Battle of Chedabucto|Chedabucto]], [[Battle of Port Royal (1690)|Port Royal]].<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite book|author1=Spencer C. Tucker|author2=James Arnold|author3=Roberta Wiener|title=The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JsM4A0GSO34C&pg=PA306|year= 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-697-8|page=306}}</ref>

[[Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville]] was tasked with attacking English fishing stations in Newfoundland during the [[Avalon Peninsula campaign]],<ref name="Marshall2005">{{cite book|author=Bill Marshall|title=France and the Americas: culture, politics, and history: a multidisciplinary encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfq5Tp0nq98C&pg=PA593|year=2005|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-411-0|page=593}}</ref> and to expel the English from the island.<ref name="Frost1852">{{cite book|author=John Frost|title=Indian wars of the United States, from the discovery to the present time: With accounts of the origin, manners, superstitions, &c., of the aborigines. From the best authorities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VRMTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA151|year=1852|publisher=W. A. Leary|page=151}}</ref><!--flag ref--> Setting sail from [[Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador|Plaisance]], the French administrative capital for the island,<ref name="Frost1852"/> d'Iberville's squadron razed [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St John's]] in November 1696 and destroyed English fisheries along Newfoundland's eastern shore. Smaller raiding parties razed and looted remote English hamlets and seized prisoners.<ref name="Schneider2009">{{cite book|author=Stephen Schneider|title=Iced: The Story of Organized Crime in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZO8jKSn25DAC&pg=PA17|year=2009|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-83500-5|page=17}}</ref> In four months of raiding, Iberville destroyed 36 settlements. By the end of March 1697, only [[Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador|Bonavista]] and [[Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador|Carbonear]] remained in English control. <ref name="Crump2010">{{cite book|author=Jennifer Crump|title=Canada Under Attack|url=https://archive.org/details/canadaunderattac0000crum|url-access=registration|year= 2010|publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-1-55488-731-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/canadaunderattac0000crum/page/23 23]}}</ref>
[[File:Les Anglais évacuant le Fort Nelson en 1697 dans la baie d'Hudson.jpg|thumb|The [[Hudson's Bay Company]] garrison at [[York Factory]] surrendering to French forces following the [[Battle of Hudson's Bay]] in 1697.]]
During the war, the French strengthened their control over Hudson Bay, having already seized several HBC forts in [[Hudson Bay expedition (1686)|an expedition two years before the war]]. French attempts to capture [[York Factory]], HBC's only remaining fort around Hudson's Bay, included a failed effort in 1690 and its [[Capture of York Factory|brief capture in 1694]], although the English later recaptured the fort. The French finally secured York Factory after the [[Battle of Hudson's Bay]] in 1697.<ref>{{cite web|title=Battle of Hudson Bay|last1=Pannekoek|first1=Frits|first2=Jeff|last2=Scott|last3=Filice|first3=Michelle|date=23 January 2023|access-date=12 March 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-hudson-bay|website=www.thecanadianencylopedia.ca|archive-date=March 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312224255/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-hudson-bay|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 1697 [[Peace of Ryswick]] ended the war, and required the return of territorial gains in North America. The HBC was also forced to surrender all but [[Fort Albany (Ontario)|one fort on Hudson Bay]]. After the peace, the English and French reinforced their alliances and trade relations with Indigenous groups. It also paved the way for the negotiated peace of the Beaver Wars in 1701.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/treaty-of-ryswick|title=Treaty of Ryswick|last=Sutherland|first=Stuart R.J.|date=10 January 2023|access-date=24 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224231758/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/treaty-of-ryswick|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CourvilleHoward2009">{{cite book|author1=Serge Courville|author2=Richard Howard|title=Quebec: A Historical Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDDs1HJWfOQC&pg=PA9|year= 2009|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-1426-3|page=9}}</ref>

====English-maritime Algonquians conflict====
The English-French conflict intertwined with an ongoing conflict between the English and maritime Algonquians. Shortly before King William's War, the maritime Algonquians attacked several English settlements in retaliation for English encroachment on their territory. French missionaries and settlers living in Indigenous villages leveraged Algonquian-English hostilities to France's advantage. The French sabotaged peace talks in 1693 between the English and maritime Algonquians, encouraging their Indigenous allies to continue fighting. The French also encouraged the Abenaki and [[Mi'kmaq]] to engage in privateering or [[buccaneer]]ing with the French Navy, taking part in the [[naval battle off St. John (1696)|naval battle off St. John]] and the [[Siege of Pemaquid (1696)|second siege of Pemaquid in 1696]].<ref name=govcaimpwar/>

== 18th century ==
{{further|French and Indian Wars|Second Hundred Years' War|Sixty Years' War}}
[[File:Nouvelle-France map-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of European claims on North America from the [[Peace of Utrecht]] in 1713 to the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1763, with European forts and settlements also shown. British claims are in pink, while French claims are in blue. Purple areas were territories the French ceded to the British in 1713.]]
During the 18th century, the British–French struggle in Canada intensified as the rivalry worsened in Europe.<ref name="MatthewsMoldofsky1998">{{cite book|author1=Geoffrey J. Matthews|author2=Byron Moldofsky|title=Concise historical atlas of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dw39BoD0-6cC&pg=PA74|year=1998|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-4203-3|page=74}}</ref> The French government increased its military spending in its North American colonies, maintaining expansive garrisons at remote fur trading posts, improving the [[Ramparts of Quebec|fortifications in Quebec City]], and constructing a new fortified town on [[Île-Royale (New France)|Île Royale]], [[fortress of Louisbourg|Louisbourg]], dubbed the "Gibraltar of the North" or the "Dunkirk of America."<ref name="Anderson2000addv">{{cite book|author=Fred Anderson|title=Crucible of war: the Seven Years' War and the fate of empire in British North America, 1754–1766|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FFO2clqJCqMC&pg=PA250|year=2000|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-0-375-70636-3|page=250}}</ref>

New France and the [[New England Colonies]] engaged in three wars during the 18th century.<ref name="MatthewsMoldofsky1998"/> The first two of these conflicts, [[Queen Anne's War]] and [[King George's War]], stemmed from broader European conflicts—the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] and the [[War of the Austrian Succession]]. The final conflict, the [[French and Indian War]], began in the [[Ohio Valley]], and evolved into the [[Seven Years' War]]. During this period, the [[Canadien]] ''petite guerre'' tactics ravaged northern towns and villages of New England and travelled as far south as Virginia and the Hudson Bay shore.<ref name="Granatstein2011sf">{{cite book|author=J. L. Granatstein|title=Canada's Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7E-j1UWuOMC&pg=PA28|year=2011|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-1178-8|pages=28–52}}</ref><ref name="Chartrand2012ny">{{cite book|author=Rene Chartrand|title=Tomahawk and Musket – French and Indian Raids in the Ohio Valley 1758|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wZLrTFSuCGgC&pg=PA10|year=2012|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84908-564-9|page=10}}</ref>

=== War of Spanish Succession ===
{{main|War of Spanish Succession}}
Hostilities between the British and French during the War of Spanish Succession extended to their North American colonies in a conflict known as [[Queen Anne's War]] (1702–1713). The conflict primarily focused on Acadia and New England, as Canada and New York informally agreed to remain neutral. Initially neutral, the French-aligned Abenaki were drawn into the conflict due to English hostilities.<ref name=govcaimpwar/> 
[[File:MassacreOfTheIndiansByOrderOfChurch.png|thumb|left|The New England [[raid on Grand Pré]] in June 1704. The raid was carried out in retaliation for an earlier New French-First Nations [[raid on Deerfield]].]]
Raids between Acadians and New Englanders took place throughout the war, including the [[raid on Grand Pré]] in 1704 and the [[Battle of Bloody Creek (1711)|Battle of Bloody Creek]] in 1711.<ref name="Peckham1965">{{cite book|author=Howard H. Peckham|title=The colonial wars, 1689–1762|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZjZyOVdjmiIC&pg=PA57|year=1965|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-65314-3|page=57}}</ref> The raid on Grand Pré, launched by New England forces, was in retaliation for a French-First Nations [[raid on Deerfield]] in the British [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]]. Similar raids in Massachusetts included the [[Raid on Haverhill (1708)|raid on Haverhill]].<ref name=govcaimpwar/> The French [[Siege of St. John's|besieging St. John's]] in 1705 and captured the city after a [[Battle of St. John's|battle in 1709]].<ref name=canenwrspasu>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-of-the-spanish-succession|title=War of the Spanish Succession|last=Ogilvy|first=James A.|date=21 September 2017|access-date=25 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226003045/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-of-the-spanish-succession|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Early Settlement of St. John's">{{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/stjohns.html |title=The Early Settlement of St. John's |publisher=Heritage.nf.ca |access-date=2011-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106145218/http://www.heritage.nf.ca/exploration/stjohns.html |archive-date=6 January 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The French faced a significant setback when the British captured the Acadian capital of Port-Royal after besieging it three times during the conflict. Despite repelling [[Siege of Port Royal (1707)|two sieges in 1707]], Port-Royal fell to the British during the [[Siege of Port Royal (1710)|third siege in 1710]].<ref name="Reid2004">{{cite book|author=John G. Reid|title=The "conquest" of Acadia, 1710: imperial, colonial, and aboriginal constructions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MqJ9qFqWK4IC&pg=PA22|year=2004|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8538-2|page=22}}</ref> Building on their success in Acadia, the British initiated the [[Quebec expedition (1711)|Quebec Expedition]] to capture the colonial capital of New France. However, the expedition was abandoned when its fleet was wrecked by the waters of the St. Lawrence River.<ref name=canenwrspasu/>

The ensuing [[Peace of Utrecht]] saw the French surrender substantial North American territory. This included returning Hudson Bay lands to the HBC and relinquishing claims to Newfoundland and Acadia, though retaining fishing rights in parts of Newfoundland.<ref name="FrancisFrancis2009">{{cite book|author1=R. D. Francis|author2=Donald B. Smith|author3=Richard Jones|title=Journeys: A History of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbbZRIOKclsC&pg=PA81|year=2009|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-17-644244-6|page=81}}</ref> However, due to a dispute over the size of Acadia, the French maintained control over its western portion (present-day New Brunswick).<ref name=canentreoutr>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/treaty-of-utrecht|title=Treaty of Utrecht|last=Sutherland|first=Stuart R.|date=19 June 2015|access-date=25 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217155220/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/treaty-of-utrecht|url-status=live}}</ref> The French also continued its relationship with the Abenaki and Mi'kmaq in Acadia and encouraged them to attack the British.<ref name=govcaimpwar/> After the conflict, the French built the Fortress of Louisbourg to protect its remaining Acadian settlements on Île-Royale and [[Île Saint-Jean]],<ref name=canentreoutr/> while the British quickly built new outposts to secure its Acadian holdings.<ref name=govcaimpwar/>

===Father Rale's War===
{{Main|Father Rale's War}}
Although British-French hostilities ended in 1713, conflict persisted between the maritime Algonquians and the British, with the Mi’kmaq seizing 40 British ships from 1715 to 1722.<ref name=govcaimpwar/><ref name="Miller1991iok">{{cite book|author=James Rodger Miller|title=Sweet promises: a reader on Indian-white relations in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YUc-sAvji6QC&pg=PA55|year= 1991|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-6818-7|page=55}}</ref> In May 1722 Lieutenant Governor [[John Doucett]] took 22 Mi'kmaq hostages to [[Annapolis Royal]] to prevent the capital from being attacked.<ref name="Grenier2008qw">{{cite book|author=John Grenier|title=The far reaches of empire: war in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVG5h6G5fWMC&pg=PA56|year=2008|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3876-3|page=56}}</ref> In July, the Abenaki and Mi'kmaq initiated a blockade of Annapolis Royal, aiming to starve the capital.<ref name="Murdoch1865">{{cite book |author=Beamish Murdoch |author-link=Beamish Murdoch |title=A History of Nova-Scotia, Or Acadie |volume=I |date=1865 |publisher=J. Barnes |location=Halifax |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistorynovasco00murdgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/ahistorynovasco00murdgoog/page/n363 339]}}</ref><!--flag ref--> Due to increasing tensions, Massachusetts Governor [[Samuel Shute]] declared war on the [[Abenaki]] on July 22.<ref>{{cite book|author=Spencer C. Tucker|title=The encyclopedia of North American Indian wars, 1607–1890|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-603-9|page=559|date=2011-09-19}}</ref> Early engagements during the war took place in the Nova Scotia.<ref name="Grenier2008">{{cite book|author=John Grenier|title=The far reaches of empire: war in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVG5h6G5fWMC&pg=PA75|year=2008|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3876-3|page=75}}</ref><ref name="Grenier2008imp">{{cite book|author=John Grenier|title=The far reaches of empire: war in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVG5h6G5fWMC&pg=PA62|year=2008|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3876-3|page=62}}</ref> In July 1724, 60 Mi'kmaq and Maliseets raided Annapolis Royal.<ref name="Faragher2006ll">{{cite book|author=John Mack Faragher|title=A great and noble scheme: the tragic story of the expulsion of the French Acadians from their American Homeland|year=2006|publisher=W.W Norton|pages=[https://archive.org/details/greatnoblescheme00fara/page/164 164–165]|isbn=978-0-393-32827-1|url=https://archive.org/details/greatnoblescheme00fara/page/164}}</ref>

The treaty that ended the war marked a major change in European relations with the maritime Algonquians, as it granted the British the right to settle in traditional Abenaki and Mi'kmaq lands.<ref name=govcaimpwar/> The treaty was also the first formal recognition by a European power that its control over Nova Scotia was dependent on negotiation with its Indigenous inhabitants. The treaty was invoked as recently as 1999 in the [[R. v. Marshall|Donald Marshall case]].<ref name="Wicken2002">{{cite book|author=William Wicken|title=Mi'kmaq treaties on trial: history, land and Donald Marshall Junior|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0MEQyYggQE8C&pg=PA21|year=2002|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-7665-6|page=21}}</ref>

===Fox Wars===
{{main|Fox Wars}}
The [[Fox Wars]], was an intermittent conflict from 1712 to the 1730s between New France and its Indigenous allies against the [[Meskwaki]].<ref name=govcatharofeu/><ref name=bccampfoxwars>{{cite journal|url=https://opentextbc.ca/preconfederation/chapter/4-9-war-in-the-pays-den-haut/|title=4.9 War in the Pays d'en Haut|journal=Canadian History: Pre-Confederation|last=Belshaw|first=John Douglas|date=April 13, 2015|publisher=BCcampus Open Publishing|access-date=April 14, 2024|archive-date=March 18, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318044302/https://opentextbc.ca/preconfederation/chapter/4-9-war-in-the-pays-den-haut/|url-status=live}}</ref> The conflict highlighted how the New French military, supported by its allies, was able to inflict significant losses against enemies thousands of kilometres away from its Canadian core.<ref name=bccampfoxwars/>

In response to Meskwaki raids on coureurs de bois and indigenous allies, particularly the Illinois, New French troops were deployed westward in 1716 to confront the Meskwaki. Despite initial success in forcing them to seek peace, the attacks continued. With diplomatic efforts failing in the 1720s, New France resolved to exterminate the Meskwaki. Subsequent campaigns, including an Illinois-led siege in 1730, led to the death or enslavement of many Meskwaki. A final punitive expedition by New France to present-day [[Iowa]] in 1735 failed due to lack of support from Indigenous allies, who deemed the Meskwaki adequately punished.<ref name=govcatharofeu/>

=== War of Austrian Succession ===
{{main|War of Austrian Succession}}
[[File:WCJefferys Battle of Grand Pre.png|thumb|The French-[[Mi'kmaq]] [[Battle of Grand Pré|raid on Grand Pré]] in 1747]]
British and French forces clashed in the War of Austrian Succession, with the North American theatre known as [[King George's War]] (1744–1748). While maritime Algonquians swiftly allied with the French, many Indigenous groups in the [[Great Lakes region]] hesitated to join, preferring to maintain trade ties with the British. These ties were deliberately fostered by the British prior to the war to weaken France's Indigenous alliances.<ref name=govcaimpwar/>

Throughout the war, Acadians and Canadiens raided frontier settlements in Nova Scotia, New England, and New York.<ref name=canenwaaussu>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-of-the-austrian-succession|title=War of the Austrian Succession|last1=Eccles|first1=William John|last2=Marshall|first2=Tabitha|date=29 March 2021|access-date=25 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226020316/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-of-the-austrian-succession|url-status=live}}</ref> Attacks on Nova Scotia include those on [[raid on Canso|Canso]], [[Siege of Annapolis Royal (1744)|Annapolis Royal]], and [[Battle of Grand Pré|Grand Pré]].<ref name="LeaMilward2001sb">{{cite book|author1=David Lea|author2=Colette Milward|author3=Annamarie Rowe|title=A political chronology of the Americas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPeSL2xVjUYC&pg=PA49|year=2001|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-85743-118-6|page=49}}</ref> French-Mohawk also attacked New England and New York, such as the [[raid on Saratoga]] and the [[siege of Fort Massachusetts]]. However, the Mohawk were unwilling to join French excursions deeper into New York to avoid conflicts with other members of the Iroquois Confederacy.<ref name=govcaimpwar/>
[[File:Prise de Louisbourg en 1745 gravure allemande couleur.jpg|thumb|The British [[Siege of Louisbourg (1745)|siege of Louisbourg]] in 1745. The fortress was captured after several weeks.]]
In 1745, a British-New England force [[Siege of Louisbourg (1745)|besieiged and captured Louisbourg]].<ref name="Nester2000">{{cite book|author=William R. Nester|title=The first global war: Britain, France, and the fate of North America, 1756–1775|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YxFc_DoR0yIC&pg=PA48|year=2000|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-96771-0|page=48}}</ref> The capture of Louisbourg significantly weakened Franco-Indigenous alliances around the Great Lakes by isolating Quebec City from France to interrupt trade. As a result, the price of goods skyrocketed and the French could not provide annual gifts to secure its alliances. This caused some Indigenous nations to end their support of the French war effort, with some nations viewing the absence of gifts as a breach of alliance terms.<ref name=govcaimpwar/>The French [[Duc d'Anville expedition]] was launched in 1746, the largest military expedition to sail from Europe for the Americas at the time, aiming to recapture Louisbourg. However, it failed due to adverse weather and illness among troops before reaching Nova Scotia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hmhps.ca/sites/birch-cove-and-duc-danville|title=Birch Cove and Duc D'Anville Expedition|website=hmhps.ca|publisher=Halifax Military Heritage Preservation Society|access-date=April 15, 2024}}</ref>

Although Louisbourg was captured, the British were unable to advance further into New France,<ref name=canenwaaussu/> with a British [[Battle at Port-la-Joye|advance at Port-la-Joye]] being defeated in 1746.<ref name=govcaimpwar/> The [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]] ended the war in 1748, returning control of Louisbourg to the French in exchange for some wartime territorial gains in the Low Countries and India.<ref name=canenwaaussu/> The return of Louisbourg to the French outraged New Englanders. In response to the continued French presence, the British founded the military settlement of [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] and built [[Citadel Hill (Fort George)|Citadel Hill]] in 1749.<ref name=autogenerated5>{{cite book|author1=Richard Cole Harris|author2=Geoffrey J. Matthews|title=Historical atlas of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itsTLSnw8qgC&pg=PA76|year=1993|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-2495-4|page=76}}</ref>

=== Father Le Loutre's War ===
{{main|Father Le Loutre's War}}
[[File:CaptureOfAlcideAndLys.jpg|thumb|The [[Royal Navy]] [[Action of 8 June 1755|capture of the French ships ''Alcide'' and ''Lys'']] in 1755. The ships were carrying war supplies to the [[Acadians]] and Mi'kmaq.]]
Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) occurred in Acadia and Nova Scotia, pitting the British and New Englanders, led by figures like [[John Gorham (military officer)|John Gorham]] and [[Charles Lawrence (British Army officer)|Charles Lawrence]],<ref name=autogenerated9>{{cite book|author=John Grenier|title=The far reaches of empire: war in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVG5h6G5fWMC&pg=PA139|year=2008|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=978-0-8061-3876-3|page=139}}</ref> against the Mi'kmaq and Acadians, under the leadership of French priest [[Jean-Louis Le Loutre]].<ref name="Plank2003">{{cite book|author=Geoffrey Plank|title=An Unsettled Conquest: The British Campaign Against the Peoples of Acadia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XWwtrvUzceIC&pg=PA99|year=2003|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-1869-5|page=99}}</ref> Throughout the conflict, Mi'kmaq and Acadians attacked British fortifications and newly established Protestant settlements in Nova Scotia to hinder British expansion and aid France's Acadian resettlement scheme.<ref name="History1993">{{cite book|title=Acadiensis|year=1993|publisher=University of New Brunswick Department of History|page=47}}</ref>

After Halifax was established by the British, the Acadians and Mi'kmaq [[Battle at Chignecto|attacked Chignecto]], [[Siege of Grand Pre|Grand-Pré]], [[Raid on Dartmouth (1751)|Dartmouth]], Canso, Halifax and [[Attack at Mocodome|Country Harbour]].<ref name="Wicken2002b">{{cite book|author=William Wicken|title=Mi'kmaq treaties on trial: history, land and Donald Marshall Junior|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0MEQyYggQE8C&pg=PA131|year= 2002|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-7665-6|page=131}}</ref> The French erected forts at present-day Saint John, Chignecto and [[Fort Gaspareaux]]. The British responded by attacking the Mi'kmaq and Acadians at Mirligueche, Chignecto and [[Battle at St. Croix|St. Croix]],<ref name="ZedricDilley1996b">{{cite book|author1=Lance Q. Zedric|author2=Michael F. Dilley|title=Elite Warriors: 300 Years of America's Best Fighting Troops|url=https://archive.org/details/elitewarriors3000000zedr/page/31|year=1996|publisher=Pathfinder Publishing|isbn=978-0-934793-60-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/elitewarriors3000000zedr/page/31 31]}}</ref> and building forts in Acadian communities at Windsor, Grand-Pré, and Chignecto.<ref name="Lepage2009b"/> The conflict ended with the defeat of the British victory at the [[Battle of Fort Beauséjour]].<ref name="Lepage2009b">{{cite book|author=Jean-Denis G.G. Lepage|title=French Fortifications, 1715–1815: An Illustrated History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aeVAPShsbTMC&pg=PA101|year= 2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-4477-9|page=101}}</ref>

Acadia and Nova Scotia experienced unprecedented fortification building and troop deployments.<ref name="Plank2003"/> The region also saw unprecedented population movement, with [[Acadian Exodus|Acadians and Mi'kmaq leaving Nova Scotia in an exodus]] to the neighbouring French colonies of Île Saint-Jean and Île Royale.<ref name="Johnston2008">{{cite book|author=Andrew John Bayly Johnston|title=Endgame 1758: the promise, the glory, and the despair of Louisbourg's last decade|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m73Le-o2NygC&pg=PA39|year=2008|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-6009-2|page=39}}</ref>

=== Seven Years' War ===
{{Main|French and Indian War}}
[[File:French and indian war map.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of North American military campaigns during the [[Seven Years' War]].]]
New French-British colonial hostilities culminated in the [[Seven Years' War]]. Although formal hostilities between France and Britain began in 1756, fighting erupted in North America in 1754 in what became known as the French and Indian War (1754–1760).<ref name=canenseyewa>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/seven-years-war|title=Seven Years' War|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|date=24 March 2021|access-date=4 March 2023|last1=Eccles|first1=William John|last2=Marshall|first2=Tabitha|archive-date=October 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026152114/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/seven-years-war|url-status=live}}</ref> Disputes over the [[Ohio Country]] prompted the French to construct a series forts in 1753, sparking hostilities with neighbouring British colonies in 1754.<ref>{{cite book|author=Joseph L. Peyser|title=Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre: officer, gentleman, entrepreneur|url=https://archive.org/details/jacqueslegardeur0000peys|url-access=registration|year=1996|publisher=Michigan State University Press|isbn=978-0-87013-418-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/jacqueslegardeur0000peys/page/201 201–207]}}</ref> Most First Nations supported the French, largely due to their opposition to earlier British territorial policies. The British worked to undermine the Franco-Indigenous alliances by seeking the latter's neutrality through Iroquois intermediaries. The Iroquois Confederacy eventually entered the conflict as a British ally at the [[Battle of Fort Niagara]] in 1759.<ref name=govcaimpwar/>

====Early French success and Acadia====
In 1754, the British planned a four-pronged attack against New France, with attacks planned against [[Fort Niagara]] on the [[Niagara River]], [[Fort Saint-Frédéric]] on Lake Champlain, [[Fort Duquesne]] on the Ohio River, and [[Fort Beauséjour]] at the border of French-held Acadia. The plan fell apart as forces sent to capture Niagara and Saint-Frédéric abandoned their campaigns, and the [[Braddock Expedition]] sent to capture Duquesne was [[Battle of the Monongahela|defeated at Monongahela]] by a New French-First Nations force.<ref name=canenseyewa/><ref name="Bowman2003">{{cite book|author=John Stewart Bowman|title=Chronology of Wars|url=https://archive.org/details/chronologyofwars00john/page/27|year=2003|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-4941-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/chronologyofwars00john/page/27 27]}}</ref><ref name="History2004">{{cite book|author=Center of Military History|title=American Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aKJ0MXlp_fQC&pg=PA40|year= 2004|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=978-1-4191-0001-7|page=40}}</ref> Although most of the plan had failed, the army sent to Acadia was successful at the [[Battle of Fort Beauséjour]].<ref name=canenseyewa/> After Beauséjour, the British worked to consolidate control over Acadia, neutralizing the Acadians military potency and disrupting supply lines to Louisbourg, starting with the [[Bay of Fundy campaign]] in 1755.<ref name=canenseyewa/><ref>{{cite book|author=Stephen E. Patterson|chapter=Indian-White Relations in Nova Scotia, 1749–61: A Study in Political Interaction |editor=P. Buckner |editor2=G. Campbell |editor3=D. Frank|title=The Acadiensis Reader|volume=1: Atlantic Canada Before Confederation|year=1998|pages=105–106}}</ref> These campaigns resulted in the [[expulsion of the Acadians|forced relocation of over 12,000 Acadians from Acadia]] during the war.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite book|author=Bill Marshall|title=France and the Americas: culture, politics, and history: a multidisciplinary encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfq5Tp0nq98C&pg=PA51|year=2005|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-411-0|page=51}}</ref>
[[File:A View of Miramichi, 1760, oil painting by Francis Swaine after a view by Captain Hervey Smyth. Credit National Gallery of CanadaNo 4976.jpg|thumb|left|A raid on an Acadian village during the [[Gulf of St. Lawrence campaign (1758)|Gulf of St. Lawrence campaign]] in 1758. The conflict saw the [[Expulsion of the Acadians|forced removal of the Acadians]] from Acadia.]]
In 1756, following the formal declaration of war between the British and French, the commander-in-chief of New France, [[Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial]], devised a strategy to keep the British on the defensive and away from the populated areas of New France, like Canada. This resulted in French offensives like the [[Battle of Fort Oswego]] and [[Siege of Fort William Henry]], and raids on British frontier settlements by the Canadian militia and First Nations allies. A small French army, supported by the militia and First Nations allies, effectively pinned down British forces at its frontier, prompting the dispatch of 20,000 additional soldiers to reinforce [[British America]]. Despite early success in tying down British forces, the French were hindered by limited resources, as most of France's army was engaged the Europe, unable to reinforce its colony.<ref name=canenseyewa/>

====British conquest of New France====
{{main|Conquest of New France}}
In July 1758, the British renewed its offensive against New France, although its initial invasion force of 15,000 soldiers were [[Battle of Carillon|defeated by a force of 3,800 soldiers]] near Fort Carillon.<ref name="Riendeau2007">{{cite book|author=Roger E. Riendeau|title=A brief history of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CFWy0EfzlX0C&pg=PA77|year= 2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-6335-2|page=77}}</ref> However, in the following weeks, the French faced significant setbacks. The British [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)|captured Louisbourg after a month-long siege]] in June–July 1758 and [[Battle of Fort Frontenac|destroyed the French supply stock at Fort Frontenac]] in August 1758.<ref name=canenseyewa/><ref name="Black1999">{{cite book|author=Jeremy Black|title=Britain as a military power, 1688–1815|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E5E2yDg4VekC&pg=PA140|year=1999|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-85728-772-1|page=140}}</ref> During that time, the French were compelled to retreat from Fort Duquesne when some of their First Nations allies made a separate peace agreement with the British.<ref name=canenseyewa/>
[[File:Vaisseaux français en feu ou capturés au siège de Louisbourg en 1758.jpg|thumb|The British burn the French warship ''Prudent'' and capture ''[[HMS Bienfaisant (1758)|Bienfaisant]]'' during the 1758 [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)|siege of Louisbourg]]]]
Following these victories, the British launched three campaigns against Canada: the first two targeted Niagara and Lake Champlain, while the third targeted Quebec City. After the French repelled the latter invasion force at the [[Battle of Beauport]], British commander Major-General [[James Wolfe]] opted to besiege Quebec City. The three-month siege culminated in the [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham]] in September 1759, where French general [[Louis-Joseph de Montcalm]] led a numerically inferior force out of the walled city to face the British. The French were defeated, with both Wolfe and Montcalm killed in battle.<ref name="McLeod2010">{{cite book|author=D. Peter McLeod|title=Northern Armageddon: The Battle of the Plains of Abraham|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tTHESU6iI_IC&pg=PP25|year= 2010|publisher=Renouf Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-55365-315-8|page=25}}</ref><ref name="Tucker2010">{{cite book|author=Spencer Tucker|title=Battles That Changed History: An Encyclopedia of World Conflict|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHpVn68GCogC&pg=PA240|year=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-429-0|page=240}}</ref>  
[[File:Capitulation Montreal.jpg|thumb|Surrender of the French Army in 1760, shortly after the [[fall of Montreal]].]]
In April 1760, the French launched a campaign to retake Quebec City, defeating the British at the [[Battle of Sainte-Foy]]. After the battle, the British withdrew into the walls of Quebec City's. The French [[Siege of Quebec (1760)|besieged the city]] until May, when a British naval force defeated a French naval unit supporting the siege at the [[Battle of Pointe-aux-Trembles]].<ref name="Tucker2009">{{cite book|author=Spencer Tucker|title=A global chronology of conflict: from the ancient world to the modern Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC&pg=PA786|year=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-667-1|page=786}}</ref> The arrival of the British [[Royal Navy]] left New France virtually isolated from France.<ref name=canenseyewa/> As a result, the remaining French Army retreated to Montreal and signed the [[Articles of Capitulation of Montreal]] on 8 September, marking the completion of the British conquest of New France.<ref name="Marston2002a">{{cite book|author=Daniel Marston|title=The French-Indian War, 1754–1760|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PBEIRFiAvYkC&pg=PA84|year=2002|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84176-456-6|page=84}}</ref> A week later, the British made peace with the [[Seven Nations of Canada]], followed by France's maritime Algonquian allies in 1761.<ref name=govcaimpwar/>

British naval supremacy was pivotal in the war's outcome, facilitating the capture of Louisbourg and Quebec City and blocking French reinforcements to the colony. This led to significant territorial concessions by France in the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris of 1763]], including New France. However, the war burdened Britain with a massive financial debt. The absence of the French military threat also emboldened residents of the Thirteen Colonies, who no longer needed to rely on the British for military protection against the French.<ref name=canenseyewa/>

===Pontiac's War===
{{main|Pontiac's War}}
After the Seven Years' War in 1763, rumours circulated of a First Nations offensive on the British frontier. An alliance of First Nations led by [[Odawa]] chief [[Pontiac (Odawa leader)|Pontiac]] aimed to expel the British from the Great Lakes and Ohio Country. The alliance was forced to lay [[siege of Fort Detroit|siege to Fort Detroit]] after learning the British were aware of their activities. The siege prompted other First Nations aligned with Odawa to attack British outposts in the region.<ref name=govcadefho>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/defence-homelands.html|title=In Defence of their Homeland|access-date=15 March 2023|date=19 April 2018|publisher=Government of Canada|website=www.canada.ca|archive-date=March 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315205955/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/popular-books/aboriginal-people-canadian-military/defence-homelands.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the conflict, a 300-strong battalion of French Canadians, led by former ''[[Troupes de la Marine]]s'', was raised and sent to Fort Detroit as part of Brigadier-General [[John Bradstreet]]'s expedition.<ref name=canmil1770>{{cite book|title=A Military History of Canada|publisher=McClelland & Stewart|year=2009|first=Desmond|last=Morton|isbn=978-1-5519-9140-5|pages=43–45}}</ref> Despite its early success, the resistance waned when Pontiac failed to capture Fort Detroit.<ref name=canenseyewa/>

Peace was eventually achieved through the distribution of traditional presents and the issuance of the [[Royal Proclamation of 1763]]. This proclamation established the [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]] and the [[Indian Reserve (1763)|Indian Reserve]], while also granting First Nations various land rights.<ref name=canenseyewa/><ref name=govcadefho/> These measures were implemented to protect the First Nations while facilitating the peaceful, "gradual settlement" of the frontier. However, it inadvertently made Britain into an obstacle against the territorial expansion of the Thirteen Colonies, a role previously held by France.<ref name=govcadefho/>

=== American Revolutionary War ===
{{main|American Revolutionary War}}
After the Seven Years' War, the Thirteen Colonies became restive over taxes imposed by the British Parliament, with many questioning its necessity when they no longer needed to pay for a large military force to counter the French.<ref name="Stokesbury1993">{{cite book|author=James L. Stokesbury|title=A short history of the American revolution|url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofam00stok/page/31|year=1993|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-688-12304-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofam00stok/page/31 31]}}</ref> American frustrations intensified following the passage of the [[Quebec Act]], which restored Catholic rights in Quebec, much to the ire of the anti-Catholic Protestant-based Thirteen Colonies. The act also expanded Quebec's territory to include portions of the Indian Reserve, such as the Ohio Country, long desired by British colonies like [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] and [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]].<ref name=canenamreca>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/american-revolution|title=American Revolution and Canada|last1=Sprague|first1=D. N.|first2=Richard|last2=Foot|last3=Filice|first3=Michelle|date=24 January 2023|access-date=4 March 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=May 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531110449/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/american-revolution|url-status=live}}</ref> These tensions led to a [[American Revolution|political revolution]] in the Thirteen Colonies, and eventually, the American Revolutionary War (1775–1776), with American rebels aiming to break free from the British parliament, and assert their claim on the Ohio Country.<ref name="SadriFlammia2011">{{cite book|author1=Houman A. Sadri|author2=Madelyn Flammia|title=Intercultural Communication: A New Approach to International Relations and Global Challenges|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkK0YqB4cfQC&pg=PA19|year=2011|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4411-0309-3|page=19}}</ref>

====Quebec and Nova Scotia====
{{see also|Invasion of Quebec (1775)|Nova Scotia in the American Revolution}}
At the war's start, most people in Quebec and the Maritime colonies remained neutral, hesitant to join either the Americans or the British side.<ref>{{cite book|author=Lester D. Langley|title=America and the Americas: the United States in the Western Hemisphere|year=2010|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-2888-1|edition=2nd|page=8}}</ref> Early in the war, revolutionaries launched a propaganda campaign in Canadian colonies, although it only attracted limited support. British attempts to raise a militia in Quebec also saw limited success, although they were able to rely on the French Canadian clergy, landowners, and other leading citizens for support.<ref name=canenamreca/> The British received support from the Seven Nations of Canada and the Iroquois Confederacy, though the latter attempted to remain neutral due to an internal civil conflict in the confederacy.<ref name=govcadefho/> 
[[File:Canadian militiamen and British soldiers repulse the American assault at Sault-au-Matelot.jpg|thumb|British regulars and Canadian militia shatter the American column in fierce street fighting in the [[Battle of Quebec (1775)|Battle of Quebec]] in 1775.]]
In September 1775, American forces invaded Quebec, beginning with the [[capture of Fort Ticonderoga]] and the [[siege of Fort St. Jean]] near Montreal. The siege prompted Governor [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Guy Carleton]] to abandon Montreal for Quebec City. The [[Continental Army]] advanced towards Quebec City, where they were joined by [[Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec|Benedict Arnold's expedition]]. On New Year's Eve, they [[Battle of Quebec (1775)|attacked the city]] but were repelled.<ref name=canenamreca/><ref name="SavasDameron2010">{{cite book|author1=Theodore P. Savas|author2=J. David Dameron|title=A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KRRSfy7eVoIC&pg=PA36|year= 2010|publisher=Casemate Publishers|isbn=978-1-932714-94-4|page=36}}</ref> After the failed assault, the Americans besieged Quebec until spring 1776, when the Americans were routed by a British naval force sent to relieve Quebec. The Americans subsequently abandoned Montreal, and their remaining forces were defeated at the [[Battle of Trois-Rivières]] in June 1776. British forces, led by General [[John Burgoyne]], pursued the retreating Americans out of Quebec into New York in a counter-invasion.<ref name=canenamreca/> 
[[File:The Departure of S.W. Prentice and Five Others from their Shipwrecked Companions, 1781 (inset).png|thumb|Members of the British [[84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)|84th Regiment of Foot]] in Nova Scotia. The regiment was raised in the Canadian colonies for service during the [[American Revolutionary War]].]]
Although the ''Canadien'' militia formed most of Quebec City's defenders during the invasion, they saw limited action beyond Quebec. British reluctance to deploy them elsewhere stemmed from uncertainty about their loyalty when faced with the French Army.<ref name=canmil1770/> Five [[British Colonial Auxiliary Forces|British provincial corps]], augmented by additional unincorporated units and [[Loyalists (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] [[associators]], were raised in the Canadian colonies to assist in its defence and to harass the American frontier.<ref>{{cite book|title=King's Men: The Soldier Founders of Ontario|year=1980|last=Fryer|first=Mary Beacock|isbn=9780919670518|pages=32–33|publisher=Dundurn}}</ref> British First Nations allies, led by [[Thayendanegea]], also conducted raids against US border settlements from 1778 to war's end.<ref name=govcadefho/>

New Englanders attempted to incite a revolt in Nova Scotia but were defeated at the [[Battle of Fort Cumberland (1776)|battles of Fort Cumberland]] in 1776 and [[St. John River expedition|St. John]] in 1777.<ref name=canenamreca/><ref name="Mays2009po">{{cite book|author=Terry M. Mays|title=Historical dictionary of the American Revolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q3CvVcvmxUQC&pg=PR29|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-6066-7|page=29}}</ref> Although they failed to incite a revolt, Nova Scotia remained a target of American privateering throughout the war, with most coastal outposts being attacked.<ref name=canenamreca/> Attacks like the [[Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1782)|1782 raid on Lunenburg]] had a devastating effect on the colony's maritime economy.<ref name="Leamon1995">{{cite book|author=James S. Leamon|title=Revolution Downeast: The War for American Independence in Maine|url=https://archive.org/details/revolutiondownea0000leam/page/102|year=1995|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|isbn=978-0-87023-959-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/revolutiondownea0000leam/page/102 102]}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite book|author1=Richard Cole Harris|author2=Geoffrey J. Matthews|title=Historical atlas of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itsTLSnw8qgC&pg=PA51|year=1993|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-2495-4|page=51}}</ref><ref name="HorwoodButts1988">{{cite book|author1=Harold Horwood|author2=Ed Butts|title=Bandits and Privateers: Canada in the Age of Gunpowder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KgNtAz4KQhQC&pg=PA39|year=1988|publisher=Formac Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-88780-157-0|page=39}}</ref> American privateers seized 225 vessels departing from or arriving at Nova Scotian ports in total.<ref name="Gwyn2003">{{cite book|author=Julian Gwyn|title=Frigates and foremasts: the North American Squadron in Nova Scotia waters, 1745–1815|page=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzV49UC6mnkC|year=2003|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-0911-5}}</ref> The French Navy also [[Action of 21 July 1781|attacked a British naval convoy]] off Nova Scotia in July 1781.<ref name="Akins2010">{{cite book|author=Thomas B. Akins|title=History of Halifax City|year=2010|publisher=Nabu Press|isbn=978-1-177-66568-1|page=82}}</ref> Conversely, the British captured many American privateers off Nova Scotia's coast, such as in the [[Battle off Halifax (1782)|1782 battle off Halifax]]. They also used the colony as a staging ground to launch attacks against New England, as seen in the [[Battle of Machias]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Julian Gwyn|title=Frigates and foremasts the North American Squadron in Nova Scotia waters, 1745–1815|year=2003|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-0911-5|pages=56–65}}</ref>
[[File:SackofLunenburgByAJWrightNSARMno1979-147no64.jpg|thumb|left|The American [[Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1782)|raid on Lunenburg]] in 1782. Raids by American privateers devastated the maritime Nova Scotian economy.]]

====Consequences====
The revolutionaries' failure to seize the Canadian colonies and the continued loyalty of British colonists led to the fragmentation of Britain's North American empire.<ref name="O'Shaughnessy2000">{{cite book|author=Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy|title=An empire divided: the American Revolution and the British Caribbean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6nBco25gogC&pg=PR12|year=2000|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-1732-2|page=12}}</ref> Despite successfully defending Quebec and Nova Scotia, British military defeats in the Thirteen Colonies led to their [[surrender at Yorktown|surrender in 1781]] and the subsequent recognition of the independent US republic in the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris of 1783]].<ref name="HarrisMatthews1993kk">{{cite book|author1=Richard Cole Harris|author2=Geoffrey J. Matthews|title=Historical atlas of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itsTLSnw8qgC&pg=PA171|year=1993|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-2495-4|page=171}}</ref>

Suspicions against the US persisted in the Canadian colonies for decades. Over 75,000 Loyalists, comprising 15 per cent of residents in the Thirteen Colonies who supported the Crown, migrated north to the remaining parts of [[British North America]].<ref name=canenamreca/><ref name="HarrisMatthews1993kk"/><ref name="Fixico2008m">{{cite book|author=Donald Lee Fixico|title=Treaties with American Indians: an encyclopedia of rights, conflicts, and sovereignty|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALfK7Ag4SXIC&pg=PA212|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-880-8|page=212}}</ref> The British also ceded Indian Reserve south of the Great Lakes to the newly formed United States. As the area included the traditional Iroquois territory, the British offered land in Quebec to the Iroquois, hoping to establish new Iroquois communities that would serve as a barrier against the Americans.<ref name=govcadefho/>

===French Revolutionary Wars===
{{main|Newfoundland expedition}}
In 1796, during the [[War of the First Coalition]], a [[Richery's expedition|naval expedition]] under [[Joseph de Richery]] planned to attack Newfoundland. However, de Richery opted to not attack the island's capital after his forces failed to unite with another naval squadron from Brest and the British mobilized its defences in St. John's.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/exploration/military-aspects.php|title=The Military Aspects of the Wars|website=www.heritage.nf.ca|publisher=Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage|access-date=14 April 2024|year=2024|archive-date=May 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512085631/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/exploration/military-aspects.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Although St. John's was not attacked, de Richery's squadron disrupted the island's fisheries and razed [[Bay Bulls, Newfoundland and Labrador|Bay Bulls]] and [[Petty Harbour]].<ref name=frenchrev>{{cite web|url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/exploration/defence-of-the-fisheries.php|title=The Defence of the Fisheries|publisher=Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage|website=www.heritage.nf.ca|access-date=20 November 2020|year=2020|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414024015/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/exploration/defence-of-the-fisheries.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
A form of compulsory military service was established in [[the Canadas]] during the 19th century, instituted in Lower Canada in 1803 and Upper Canada in 1808.<ref name=mariamil>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/encyclopedia/HistoryoftheCanadianMilitia-TheMilitiaofCanada-Canadianhistory.htm|title=History of the Canadian Militia|website=faculty.marianopolis.edu|access-date=16 July 2023|publisher=Marianopolis College|year=2006|first=Claude|last=Bélanger}}</ref> The compulsory [[Canadian Militia#Sedentary militias|sedentary militia]] comprised male inhabitants aged 16 to 60 and was mobilized solely during emergencies. In peacetime, service involved a one to two-day annual muster parade.<ref name=govcanlinhis/><ref name="Clarke">{{cite book|author=George Sydenham Clarke|title=Imperial Defence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ttdP7GGZ6YC&pg=PA190|publisher=Elibron.com|isbn=978-1-4021-6979-3|page=190}}</ref> 

The role of the militia during the American Revolution and War of 1812 led to the "[[citizen soldier]]" becoming a unique symbol of adulation in 19th-century Canadian military culture. This veneration stands in contrast with the United States and other British settler colonies, and led to the "[[militia myth]]" in the 19th-century Canadian zeitgeist, a belief that it did not need a [[standing army]] for its defence, as it could rely on its inhabitants to mobilize into militias overnight. This belief created a tendency to ignore the need for rigorous militia training during peacetime.<ref>{{cite book|title=Militia Myths Ideas of the Canadian Citizen Soldier, 1896-1921|publisher=UBC Press|page=5|isbn=9780774817653|last=Wood|first=James A.|year=2010}}</ref>

=== War of 1812 ===
{{Main|War of 1812}}
[[File:Reddition de Détroit.jpg|thumb|The surrender of a US garrison at [[Fort Shelby (Michigan)|Fort Detroit]], after British regulars, Canadian militiamen, and First Nation warriors [[siege of Detroit|besieged the fort]] in 1812]]
Animosity and suspicion persisted between the UK and the US decades after the American Revolution.<ref name="Dale2001"/> 
The [[Napoleonic Wars]] exacerbated Anglo-American tensions, as the UK's [[naval blockade]] of France and the [[impressment]] of American sailors the British claimed were deserters, aggravated the US.<ref name=canenwaof18>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-of-1812|title=War of 1812|access-date=6 March 2023|date=31 October 2018|last1=Marsh|first1=James H.|last2=Berton|first2=Pierre|last3=de Bruin|first3=Tabitha|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=March 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306202105/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/war-of-1812|url-status=live}}</ref> As the US lacked a navy capable of challenging the UK, an invasion of Canada was proposed as a feasible method to attack the British.<ref name="Dale2001">{{cite book|author=Ronald J. Dale|title=The invasion of Canada: battles of the War of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bqbeE0N119kC&pg=PA12|year=2001|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|isbn=978-1-55028-738-7|pages=12–17}}</ref> Americans living in the western frontier also hoped an invasion would end British support for Indigenous resistances in the [[Northwest Territory|American Northwest Territory]].<ref name="Dale2001"/> Strong support for war from congressional [[war hawks]] and optimistic assessments over the feasibility of invading Canada from US officers, like Major General [[Henry Dearborn]], led the [[United States declaration of war on the United Kingdom|US to declare war on the UK]] in June 1812.<ref name=canenwaof18/>

US strategy focused on a vulnerable [[Upper Canada]], as the Maritime colonies were well-defended and [[Lower Canada]] deemed too distant and its capital too well-fortified.<ref name=canenwaof18/> At the start of the war, Upper Canada had minimal defences, consisting of only 1,600 regular troops, Britian's Indigenous allies, and several [[Canadian units of the War of 1812|Canadian units raised for the war]], including the [[Provincial Marine]], [[Fencibles]], and militia units like [[Captain Runchey's Company of Coloured Men]].<ref name=canenwaof18/><ref name="Gough2006oiu">{{cite book|author=Barry M. Gough|title=Through water, ice & fire: schooner Nancy of the War of 1812|url=https://archive.org/details/throughwatericef00goug/page/43|year=2006|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-569-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/throughwatericef00goug/page/43 43]}}</ref> 
[[File:Push on, brave York volunteers(large).jpg|thumb|left|Death of General [[Isaac Brock]], as the [[2nd Regiment of York Militia|York Militia]] moves forward during the [[Battle of Queenston Heights]] in 1812.<ref name="Turner2011">{{cite book|author=Wesley B. Turner|title=The Astonishing General: The Life and Legacy of Sir Isaac Brock|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t8vuLBX6XwsC&pg=PA184|year=2011|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55488-777-4|page=184}}</ref>]]
Believing a bold attack was needed to galvanize the local population and First Nations to defend the Upper Canada, Major-General [[Isaac Brock]] quickly ordered a British-First Nations [[Siege of Fort Mackinac|siege on Fort Mackinac]].<ref name=canenwaof18/> In August 1812, Brock's force moved towards [[Amherstburg]] to confront an invading American army in Upper Canada, only to find that they had retreated to Detroit.<ref name="Dale2001"/> The American retreat facilitated Brock's alliance with [[Shawnee]] chief [[Tecumseh]] and provided him with the excuse to abandon his orders to maintain a defensive posture within Upper Canada.<ref name="KaufmannKaufmann2004">{{cite book|author1=J. E. Kaufmann|author2=H. W. Kaufmann|title=Fortress America: the forts that defended America, 1600 to the present|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780306812941/page/157|year=2004|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-81294-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780306812941/page/157 157]}}</ref> A British-First Nations force [[Siege of Detroit|besieged and captured Detroit]], providing them control over the [[Michigan Territory]] and the Upper Mississippi.<ref name="Mahon1991x">{{cite book|author=John K. Mahon|title=The War of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wcp6UTcp8OEC&pg=PA52|year=1991|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-80429-8|page=52}}</ref><ref name="Libertytuy">{{cite book|title=Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBbwXmC9y3oC&pg=PA211|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-495-91038-1|page=211|date=2010-01-01}}</ref><ref name="HeidlerHeidler2004">{{cite book|author1=David Stephen Heidler|author2=Jeanne T. Heidler|title=Encyclopedia of the War of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_c09EJgek50C&pg=PA534|year=2004|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-59114-362-8|page=534}}</ref> 

In October 1812, a British-First Nations force thwarted an American crossing of the Niagara River at the [[Battle of Queenston Heights]]. However, the battle resulted in the death of Brock.<ref name="Malcomson2003">{{cite book|author=Robert Malcomson|title=A very brilliant affair: the battle of Queenston Heights, 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-YGWUWbhAK8C&pg=PA294|year=2003|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-59114-022-1|page=294}}</ref><ref name="Hanna2012">{{cite book|author=David Hanna|title=Knights of the Sea: The True Story of the Boxer and the Enterprise and the War of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cluGfx48L8MC&pg=PT124|year=2012|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-101-55947-5|page=124}}</ref> An American army sent to retake Detroit was defeated in January 1813, ending the threat of an American offensive into Canada that winter.<ref name=canenwaof18/> Despite the success of Brock's offensives, his death prompted the British to adopt a defensive stance. Governor General [[George Prevost]] prioritized conserving his forces, concentrating the strongest garrisons in Lower Canada. Conversely, Upper Canada was only reinforced when additional troops arrived from overseas.<ref name=canenwaof18/>

====1813====
[[File:Laura Secord warns Fitzgibbons, 1813.jpg|thumb|Loyalist [[Laura Secord]] warns the British of an impending American [[Battle of Beaver Dams|attack on Beaver Dams]], 1813.]]
In April 1813, an American naval squadron defeated the British at the [[Battle of York]], briefly occupying and burning parts of the Upper Canadian capital. They then [[Battle of Fort George|captured Fort George]] on May 27. However, the retreating British regrouped and defeated American forces at the [[Battle of Stoney Creek|battles of Stoney Creek]] and [[Battle of Beaver Dams|Beaver Dams]]. The Americans retreated across the Niagara River in December after setting [[Fort George, Ontario|Fort George]] and [[Niagara-on-the-Lake|Niagara]] ablaze. In retaliation, the British razed parts of Buffalo during the [[Battle of Buffalo]] and continued similar reprisals into 1814, most notably [[burning of Washington|in Washington]].<ref name=canenwaof18/><ref name="Pitch2000">{{cite book|author=Anthony S. Pitch|title=The burning of Washington: the British invasion of 1814|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kV2FjjIVTqcC&pg=PA71|year=2000|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-55750-425-8|page=71}}</ref> 
[[File:Outdoor life and Indian stories - making open air life attractive to young Americans by telling them all about woodcraft, signs and signaling, the stars, fishing, camping - also stories of noted (14566564408).jpg|thumb|The death of [[Tecumseh]] by US forces during the [[Battle of Moraviantown]] in October 1813.]]
Although the British successfully defended the Niagara Peninsula in 1813, they faced significant setbacks in the western frontier. The British-First Nations force [[siege of Fort Meigs|failed to capture Fort Meigs]], and the British lost control of the Upper Great Lakes after the [[Battle of Lake Erie]].<ref name=canenwaof18/> After the naval defeat, British-First Nations forces in the American Northwest Territory were forced to retreat, but were pursued and ultimately routed at the [[Battle of Moraviantown]].<ref name="Bradford2003m">{{cite book|author=James C. Bradford|title=Atlas of American military history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9zYgseL_AYC&pg=PA44|year=2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-521661-5|page=44}}</ref> Tecumseh's death at the battle fractured [[Tecumseh's confederacy|his confederacy]] and the alliance with the British.<ref name="Malcomson2006">{{cite book|author=Robert Malcomson|title=Historical dictionary of the War of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRqpoBEEoloC&pg=PA452|year=2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-5499-4|page=452}}</ref>

In late 1813, two American invasion attempts in Lower Canada. One was repelled by a British-First Nations force at the [[Battle of the Chateauguay]] in October, while the other was turned back by a British force at the [[Battle of Crysler's Farm]] in November.<ref name=canenwaof18/><ref name="Hayes2006g">{{cite book|author=Derek Hayes|title=Historical atlas of the United States, with original maps|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yhGVK1SPIJEC&pg=PA132|year=2006|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=978-1-55365-205-2|page=132}}</ref>

====1814====
The final incursions into the Canadas took place in 1814. US forces crossed the Niagara River in July and [[Capture of Fort Erie|captured Fort Erie]]. The American advance led to the [[Battle of Lundy's Lane]]. While the battle ended in a stalemate, the exhausted Americans were compelled to retreat to Fort Erie. The Americans successfully defended Fort Erie against a [[siege of Fort Erie|British siege]], but the exhausted Americans withdrew to the US shortly after.<ref name=canenwaof18/>
[[File:HMS St Lawrence 001.jpg|thumb|left|{{HMS|St Lawrence|1814|6}}, a [[first-rate]] ship of the line launched in September 1814. The ''St Lawrence'' provided the British an advantage in the latter stages for the [[Engagements on Lake Ontario|battle for Lake Ontario]].]]
In 1814, the British regained the initiative, securing control of Lake Huron after [[engagements on Lake Huron|several engagements]] and establishing effective [[Engagements on Lake Ontario|control over Lake Ontario]] with {{HMS|St Lawrence|1814|6}}, a [[first-rate]] warship that deterred American naval actions from its launch in September to war's end.<ref name=canenwaof18/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hms-st-lawrence-british-warship-of-the-war-of-1812|title=HMS St Lawrence (British Warship of the War of 1812)|date=30 October 2014|access-date=6 March 2023|last=Marsh|first=James H.|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|publisher=Historica Canada|archive-date=March 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306202103/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hms-st-lawrence-british-warship-of-the-war-of-1812|url-status=live}}</ref> In the Atlantic, British naval efforts were supported by Nova Scotian privateer ships raiding US shipping.<ref name="Boileau2005">{{cite book|author=John Boileau|title=Half-Hearted Enemies: Nova Scotia, New England and the War of 1812|page=53|year=2005|publisher=Formac Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-88780-657-5}}</ref> The most notable Nova Scotian privateer ship, the ''[[Liverpool Packet]]'', captured 50 ships by war's end.<ref name="Ellis2009ol">{{cite book|author=James H. Ellis|title=A ruinous and unhappy war: New England and the War of 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1rPwtSISAcC&pg=PA97|year=2009|publisher=Algora Publishing|isbn=978-0-87586-691-8|page=97}}</ref>

The end of the [[War of the Sixth Coalition]] led the British to shift their focus to their war with the US, with Lower Canada and Nova Scotia served as staging areas for the British. The British force gathered in Lower Canada invaded northern New York but was repelled at the [[Battle of Plattsburgh]] in September. The force gathered in Halifax had greater success, capturing most of Maine's coastline by mid-September.<ref name=canenwaof18/>

The [[Treaty of Ghent]], signed on 24 December 1814, ended the conflict and restored the territorial status quo. However, fighting persisted into 1815 in areas unaware of the peace. The war fostered a sense of community in Canadian colonies and set the stage for Canada's future nationhood.<ref name=canenwaof18/> No side of the war can claim total victory, as neither fully achieved their war aims.<ref name="Turner2000n">{{cite book|author=Wesley B. Turner|title=The War of 1812: the war that both sides won|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LhBCeh8f7WUC&pg=PA9|year=2000|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-336-7|page=9}}</ref> However, [[War of 1812#Indigenous nations|historians commonly regard the First Nations as the "losers" of the conflict]], given the collapse of the Tecumseh's confederacy in 1813 and the British dropping their proposal for a [[Indian barrier state|First Nations buffer state]] in the [[midwestern US]] during peace negotiations.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert S. Allen|title=His Majesty's Indian Allies: British Indian Policy in the Defence of Canada, 1774–1815|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9T6y_zk5B0C&pg=PA150|year=1992|publisher=Dundurn Press|page=146|isbn=978-1-55002-175-2}}</ref>

===Pemmican War===
{{main|Pemmican War}}
[[File:The Fight at Seven Oaks.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Seven Oaks]] in 1816, fought between Hudson's Bay Company officials and Métis [[voyageurs]] trading with the [[North West Company]]]]
In 1812, the [[Red River Colony]] was established by the HBC despite opposition from the [[North West Company]] (NWC), who already operated the nearby trading post, [[Fort Gibraltar]]. In January 1814, the colony issued the [[Pemmican Proclamation]], banning the export of pemmican and other provisions for a year to secure its growth. The NWC and local [[Métis]] [[voyageurs]] that traded with the NWC opposed the ban, viewing it as a move by the HBC to control NWC traders' food supply.<ref name=canenbaseoa>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/seven-oaks-incident|title=Battle of Seven Oaks|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|date=18 July 2018|access-date=3 March 2023|last=Barkwell|first=Lawrence|archive-date=March 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321200731/https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/seven-oaks-incident|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 1815, Métis leader and NWC clerk [[Cuthbert Grant]] led a group to harass and steal supplies from the Red River settlement. In response, the HBC seized Fort Gibraltar in March 1816 to curb local pemmican trade. This led to the brief [[Battle of Seven Oaks]] in June 1816 when HBC officials confronted Métis and First Nations voyageurs. After the confrontation, Grant briefly controlled the area, prompting the HBC and Red River settlers to retreat to [[Norway House]]. HBC authority was restored in August when [[Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk]], arrived with 90 soldiers.<ref name=canenbaseoa/>

===British forces in Canada in the mid–19th century===
[[File:Quebec from the River - 1827.jpg|thumb|A steam engine moving stones up the [[promontory of Quebec]] for the construction of the [[Citadelle of Quebec]], 1827]]
Fear of an American invasion of the Canadas persisted for at least the next half-century, prompting the retention of a sizable British garrison in the colony.<ref name="RickettsMaitland2004"/> From the 1820s to the 1840s, the British built up several fortifications to serve as strong defensive points against potential invasions, including the [[Citadelle of Quebec|citadel]] and [[Ramparts of Quebec City|ramparts in Quebec City]], [[Fort Henry, Ontario|Fort Henry]] in [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]], and the [[Imperial fortress]] of [[Citadel Hill (Fort George)#Halifax Defence Complex|Halifax]].<ref name="RickettsMaitland2004">{{cite book|author1=Shannon Ricketts|author2=Leslie Maitland|author3=Jacqueline Hucker|title=A guide to Canadian architectural styles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-f2MYzP6IWAC&pg=PA22|year=2004|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-55111-546-7|page=22}}</ref> The [[Rideau Canal]] was built to provide a northern waterway from Montreal to Kingston during wartime,<ref name="Conroy2002">{{cite book|author=Peter Conroy|title=Our canal: the Rideau Canal in Ottawa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=07RL62rkhhkC&pg=PA1|year=2002|publisher=General Store Publishing House|isbn=978-1-894263-63-4|pages=1–2}}</ref> bypassing the St. Lawrence River, a waterway that was also the [[Canada–US border]].<ref name="Conroy2002"/> 

By the 1850s, fears of an American invasion had waned, prompting the British to downsize their garrison. The [[Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty]] of 1854 further alleviated concerns.<ref name="Cotter2008yut">{{cite book|author=Anne-Marie Mooney Cotter|title=Just a number: an international legal analysis on age discrimination|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RECqDmth57oC&pg=PA194|year=2008|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|isbn=978-0-7546-7206-7|page=194}}</ref>

====Local levies and recruitment====
[[File:100th Regiment Prince of Wales Royal Canadian Regiment.JPG|thumb|The [[100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot]] receiving their regimental colours from [[Edward VII|Albert Edward, Prince of Wales]], 1859]]
The [[British Army]] levied and recruited from the local population to form new units or to replace individuals lost to enemy action, sickness, or desertion. Examples of this practice include the War of 1812, the Rebellions of 1837–1838, the Fenian Raids, and the Wolseley expedition.{{sfn|Godefroy|2009|p=136}} British Army units raised in Canadian colonies during this period include the [[40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot|40th Regiment of Foot]], the [[100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot]], and the [[Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment]].

Several Canadians served in the British military during the [[Crimean War]], with the [[Welsford-Parker Monument]] in Halifax the sole Crimean War monument in North America.<ref name="Cornall1998">{{cite book|author=James Cornall|title=Halifax: South End|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iuYhRIn1SB0C&pg=PA53|year= 1998|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-7272-7|page=53}}</ref> [[Alexander Roberts Dunn]], the first Canadian recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]], earned the medal for his actions during the [[Charge of the Light Brigade]].<ref name="Birrell2000">{{cite book|author=Dave Birrell|title=50 Roadside Panoramas in the Canadian Rockies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OaB-yf_MJXMC&pg=PA27|year=2000|publisher=Rocky Mountain Books|isbn=978-0-921102-65-6|page=27}}</ref> During the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], [[William Hall (VC)|William Nelson Hall]] became the first [[Black Nova Scotian]] to receive the medal, having been awarded it for his actions at the [[Siege of Lucknow]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=22225|page=414|date=1 February 1859}}</ref><ref name="MagocsiOntario1999poiujm">{{cite book|author1=Paul R. Magocsi|author2=Multicultural History Society of Ontario|title=Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbUuX0mnvQMC&pg=PA165|year=1999|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-2938-6|page=165}}</ref>

=== Rebellions of 1837–1838 ===
{{Main|Rebellions of 1837–1838}}
[[File:Battle of Saint-Eustache.JPG|thumb|Depiction of the [[Battle of Saint-Eustache]] in 1837, a decisive engagement during the first uprising of the [[Lower Canada Rebellion]].]]
Two armed uprisings broke out from 1837 to 1838 in the Canadas.<ref name="GreenwoodWright2003">{{cite book|author1=Frank Murray Greenwood|author2=Barry Wright|author3=Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History|title=Canadian State Trials: Rebellion and invasion in the Canadas, 1837–1839|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3lZn-hkbjg8C&pg=PA33|year=2003|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-3748-0|page=33}}</ref> Calls for responsible government and an economic depression in [[Lower Canada]] led to protests and, subsequently, an armed insurrection led by the radical [[Patriote movement]]. The uprising, which erupted in November 1837, was the more significant and violent insurgency between the two rebellions.<ref name="Vardalos2009">{{cite book|author=Marianne Vardalos|title=Engaging Terror: A Critical and Interdisciplinary Approach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rq6c2PCK7g0C&pg=PA292|year=2009|publisher=Universal-Publishers|isbn=978-1-59942-453-8|page=292}}</ref> The other armed uprising occurred in Upper Canada shortly thereafter, its leaders inspired by the events in Lower Canada.<ref name=canenreb1837>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rebellions-of-1837|title=Rebellion of 1837–38|last2=McIntosh|first2=Andrew|last1=Foot|first1=Richard|date=4 October 2019|access-date=27 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228022111/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rebellions-of-1837|url-status=live}}</ref>

The inaugural uprising in Lower Canada began in November 1837. British regulars and Canadian militia fought Patriote rebels in a series of skirmishes, including the [[Battle of Saint-Denis (1837)|battles of Saint-Denis]], [[Battle of Saint-Charles|Saint-Charles]], and [[Battle of Saint-Eustache|Saint-Eustache]].<ref name="GrantDoughty2011o">{{cite book|author1=R. G. Grant|author2=Robert Doughty|title=1001 Battles That Changed the Course of World History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s4njwZGrZg4C&pg=PA575|year= 2011|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-0-7893-2233-3|page=575}}</ref> The disorganized rebels were defeated, with their leadership escaping to the US. Following this, anglophone militias pillaged and burned French Canadian settlements. A second uprising in Lower Canada commenced in November 1838 with aid from American volunteers, but it was poorly organized and quickly put down. The [[Lower Canada Rebellion]] resulted in 325 deaths, predominantly among the rebels, while the British recorded 27 fatalities.<ref name=canenreb1837/>
[[File:Montgomery's Tavern.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Battle of Montgomery's Tavern]] on 5 December 1837, the first confrontation of the [[Upper Canada Rebellion]]]]
The [[Upper Canada Rebellion]], led by [[William Lyon Mackenzie]], primarily comprised disaffected American-origin farmers who opposed the preferential treatment of British settlers in the colony's land grant system.<ref name="Dent1885">{{cite book|author=John Charles Dent|title=The story of the Upper Canadian rebellion: largely derived from original sources and documents|url=https://archive.org/details/storyuppercanad04dentgoog|year=1885|publisher=C.B. Robinson|page=[https://archive.org/details/storyuppercanad04dentgoog/page/n310 296]}}</ref> The first confrontation occurred at the [[Battle of Montgomery's Tavern]] in Toronto on 5 December 1837. Most rebels dispersed after the battle, although a small faction remained until Loyalist and [[Black Loyalist]] militias attacked the tavern three days later. Mackenzie later seized [[Navy Island]], declaring it the [[Republic of Canada]], but fled to the US after the [[Caroline affair|rebel ship ''Caroline'' was burned by Canadian volunteers]]. The Upper Canada Rebellion resulted in three deaths—two rebels and one loyalist.<ref name=canenreb1837/> For the rest of 1838, Mackenzie's followers and [[Hunters' Lodges|US sympathizers]] conducted a series of raids against Upper Canada known as the [[Patriot War]].

The rebellions led to the ''[[Durham Report]]'', which recommended uniting the Canadas. The [[Act of Union 1840]] united Upper and Lower Canada into the [[Province of Canada]] and paved the way for the introduction of responsible government in 1848.<ref name=canenreb1837/>

===Conflicts during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush===
The influx of gold [[prospectors]] into the [[Fraser Canyon]] during the [[Fraser Gold Rush]] led to several conflicts between prospectors and local First Nations. The [[Fraser Canyon War]] in 1858 saw the [[Nlaka'pamux]] and prospectors clash at the start of the gold rush. The Nlaka'pamux attacked several newly arrived American prospectors in defence of their territory, prompting the prospectors to form military companies to carry out reprisals. Responding to the violence, the British formed the [[Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)|colony of British Columbia]] on August 2 and sent gunboats to the [[Fraser River]] to reestablish order. However, as British military capabilities in the region were limited, they were unable to quickly assert control, leading to open conflict on August 9. A truce was brokered on 21 August, and the arrival of a British contingent by month's end stabilized the area. Around 36 Nlakaʼpamux, including five chiefs, died during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fraser-canyon-war|title=Fraser Canyon War|last=Wright|first=Eric|date=10 September 2019|access-date=5 March 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=October 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024185751/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fraser-canyon-war|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Chilcotin War]] was another conflict that broke out in the area in April 1864, when the Tsilhqot'in killed 21 prospectors and construction workers who crossed into their territory. The attacks sparked a month-long armed standoff in the [[British Columbia Interior]], after a group predominantly made up of American prospectors marched from the colonial capital of [[New Westminster]] to quell the resistance in the Crown's name. The conflict ended with the mistaken arrest of a Tsilhqot'in peace delegation. Six delegates were convicted and hanged for murder, despite the Tsilhqot'in maintaining its actions were an act of war rather than murder. In 2018, the Canadian government exonerated the six individuals and issued an apology to the Tsilhqot'in, recognizing "that they acted in accordance with their laws and traditions" for war.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/what-really-happened-in-the-chilcotin-war-the-1864-conflict-that-just-prompted-an-exoneration-from-trudeau|title=What really happened in the Chilcotin War, the 1864 conflict that just prompted an exoneration from Trudeau?|publisher=Postmedia Network|website=nationalpost.com|date=27 March 2018|access-date=5 March 2023|last=Hopper|first=Tristan}}</ref>

===American Civil War===
{{main|Canada and the American Civil War}}
[[File:Anderson Ruffin Abbott in army uniform, circa 1863.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Anderson Ruffin Abbott]] in 1863. Abbott was one of many Canadians who volunteered with the [[Union Army]] during the American Civil War.]]
At the start of the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865), the British Empire declared neutrality, although its colonies in British North America sold weapons to both sides of the war. Although some Canadian newspapers sympathized with the [[Confederate States of America]] due to its alignment with colonial "security interests," the vast majority of the 40,000 Canadians who volunteered to fight in the Civil War did so with the [[Union Army]].<ref name="Kaufman2009">{{cite book|author=Jason Andrew Kaufman|title=The origins of Canadian and American political differences|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nC6piY4KaLQC&pg=PA182|year=2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-03136-4|page=182}}</ref><ref name=canenamciwa>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/american-civil-war|title=American Civil War and Canada|date=2 June 2022|access-date=1 March 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=November 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117224409/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/american-civil-war/|url-status=live}}</ref> Most Canadians fought as volunteers, although some were coerced into service by American recruiters or "[[Shanghaiing|crimper]]s". By the war's end, 29 Canadian Union Army officers were awarded the [[Medal of Honor]].<ref name=canenamciwa/>

Incidents like the [[Trent affair|''Trent'']] and the [[Chesapeake Affair|''Chesapeake'']] affairs strained Anglo-American relations.<ref name="KRMS">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=15jLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|title=When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland's Freedom|author=Christopher Klein|date=February 18, 2020|pages=41–42|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=9-7805-2543-4016|access-date=June 7, 2023|archive-date=October 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021014254/https://books.google.com/books?id=15jLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Trent Affair]], the most serious incident of the war, occurred in 1861 when a US gunboat stopped the [[RMS Trent|RMS ''Trent'']] to seize two Confederate officials en route to the UK.<ref name="Bourne1967">{{cite book|author=Kenneth Bourne|title=Britain and the Balance of Power in North America, 1815–1908|url=https://archive.org/details/britainbalanceo00bour|url-access=registration|year=1967|publisher=University of California Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/britainbalanceo00bour/page/206 206], 259|id=GGKEY:3L4SN26UB05}}</ref> The British demanded an apology and the release of the passengers. War appeared imminent in the months after, with the British reinforcing its North American garrison from 4,000 to 18,000 soldiers.<ref name="Bourne1967"/> However, the crisis abated after an apology was issued.<ref name=canenamciwa/> The Empire was also criticized by Americans for allowing its subjects, including those in Canada, to engage in [[Blockade runners of the American Civil War|blockade running]]. According to one historian, these actions undermined the [[Union blockade|Union blockade against the Confederacy]] and prolonged the war by two years.<ref name="KRMS"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/historians-reveal-secrets-of-uk-gunrunning-which-lengthened-the-american-civil-war-by-two-years-9557937.html|title=Historians reveal secrets of UK gun-running which lengthened the American civil war by two years|author=David Keys|date=24 June 2014|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=May 8, 2023|archive-date=April 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408152902/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/historians-reveal-secrets-of-uk-gunrunning-which-lengthened-the-american-civil-war-by-two-years-9557937.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Confederate Blockade Runners|url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1933/april/confederate-blockade-runners|author=Paul Hendren|date=April 1933|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]|access-date=May 8, 2023|archive-date=March 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326231456/https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1933/april/confederate-blockade-runners|url-status=live}}</ref>

When the Union Army regained the initiative in 1863, Confederate agent, [[Jacob Thompson]], was tasked with creating a northern front from Canada. With Confederate activities tolerated by Canadian authorities and citizens,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-confederate-spy-ring-spreading-terror-to-the-union/|title=The Confederate Spy Ring: Spreading Terror to the Union|author=Peter Kross|date=Fall 2015|publisher=Warfare History network|access-date=May 8, 2023|archive-date=April 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415110827/https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-confederate-spy-ring-spreading-terror-to-the-union/|url-status=live}}</ref> Thompson set up bases in Montreal and Toronto. His plans included raiding prison camps to free Confederate prisoners and attacking Union ships in the Great Lakes. In 1864, Confederate raiders from Montreal [[St. Albans Raid|raided St. Albans]] in Vermont, but they were defeated and were subsequently arrested at the border by British soldiers.<ref name=canenamciwa/>

=== Fenian raids ===
{{Main|Fenian raids}}
[[File:Canadian volunteers at Thorold, during the Fenian excursion of June 1866.png|thumb|Volunteers of the Canadian militia who were mobilized during the [[Fenian raids]] in June 1866.]]
In the mid-1860s, [[Irish American]] veterans of the Union Army who were members of the [[Fenian Brotherhood]], supported raiding British North America to force [[Irish Home Rule movement|Irish independence]].<ref name="Senior1991">{{cite book|author=Hereward Senior|title=The last invasion of Canada: the Fenian raids, 1866–1870|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wmwi_6dS-UQC&pg=PA131|year=1991|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-085-4|pages=131–134}}</ref><ref name="Harris2009">{{cite book|author=Cole Harris|title=The Reluctant Land: Society, Space, and Environment in Canada Before Confederation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRInXF4ikhcC&pg=PA450|year=2009|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-1450-8|page=450}}</ref><ref name="SmithSmith2002">{{cite book|author1=Jackie G. Smith|author2=Jackie Smith|author3=Hank Johnston|title=Globalization and resistance: transnational dimensions of social movements|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9UGLVh4JifkC&pg=PA62|year=2002|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-1990-9|page=62}}</ref><ref name="Granatstein2011">{{cite book|author=J. L. Granatstein|title=Canada's Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7E-j1UWuOMC&pg=PA21|year=2011|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-1178-8|page=21}}</ref> The Fenians incorrectly assumed that [[Irish Canadians]] would support their invasion. However, the majority of Irish settlers in [[Canada West]] were Protestant, mainly of [[Anglo-Irish people|Anglo-Irish]] or [[Ulster-Scots people|Ulster-Scot]] descent, and largely loyal to the Crown.<ref name="Senior1991"/> Nonetheless, the threat prompted British and Canadian agents in the US to redirect their focus from Confederate sympathizers to the Fenians in 1865. Upon learning of the Fenians' planned attack, 10,000 volunteers of the Canadian militia were mobilized in 1866, a number that later increased to 14,000, and then to 20,000.<ref name=canenfenrad>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fenian-raids|title=Fenian Raids|last1=Grodzinski|first1=John R.|first2=Peter|last2=Vronsky|first3=Andrew|last3=McIntosh|date=11 March 2021|access-date=28 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=March 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302001205/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fenian-raids|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first raid took place in April 1866, as Fenians landed on [[Campobello Island]] and razed several buildings. The largest raid occurred on June 2 at the [[Battle of Ridgeway]], where 750–800 Fenians repelled nearly 900 Canadian militiamen, largely due to the latter's inexperience. However, the Fenians withdrew to the US shortly after, anticipating additional British and Canadian reinforcements. In the same month, another party of 200 Fenians was defeated near [[Pigeon Hill (St. Armand)|Pigeon Hill]].<ref name=canenfenrad/>
[[File:Battle of Eccles Hill.jpg|thumb|Members of the 50th Canadian Battalion engage the [[Fenians]] at the [[Battle of Eccles Hill]] in 1870]]
The threat of raids in 1870 led the government to mobilize 13,000 volunteers. Fenian raiding parties were defeated at the [[Battle of Eccles Hill|battles of Eccles Hill]] and [[Battle of Trout River|Trout River]] in May 1870. In October 1871, 40 Fenians occupied a customs house near the Manitoba-Minnesota border, hoping to elicit support from [[Louis Riel]] and the Métis, but Riel raised volunteers to repel them. The US Army later intervened and arrested the Fenians, with the US not wanting to risk war with the UK.<ref name=canenfenrad/><ref>{{cite book|author=Brian Jenkins|title=The Fenian problem: insurgency and terrorism in a liberal state, 1858–1874|year=2008|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-7735-3426-1|pages=62–64}}</ref>

While the militia prevented the Fenian from accomplishing its goals, the raids exposed deficiencies in its leadership, structure, and training, prompting subsequent reforms within it.<ref name=canenfenrad/>

===British forces in Canada in the late–19th century===
By the mid-1860s, British North American colonies faced mounting pressure to assume their own defences as the UK sought to alleviate themselves of the cost of defending them and to redeploy troops to more strategic areas. British pressure and the American Civil War prompted various colonies to consider forming a single federation. Although some questioned the need to unite post-American Civil War, subsequent raids by Fenians made more people in British North America favourable to [[Canadian Confederation]], which was eventually realized in 1867.<ref name=canenamciwa/><ref name="Moore2011">{{cite book|author=Christopher Moore|title=1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gmgBsaRJbTQC&pg=PT161|year= 2011|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-1-55199-483-3|page=161|author-link=Christopher Moore (Canadian historian)}}</ref> 
[[File:Depart des troupes de l armee britannique le 11 novembre 1871.jpg|thumb|Departure of British forces from Quebec City in 1871. British forces withdrew from most of Canada in 1871, several years after [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]].]]
In 1869, American grievances over British transgressions during the American Civil War became an issue, as the US [[Alabama Claims|demanded payment for said transgressions]]. A British delegation, including Canadian Prime Minister [[John A. Macdonald]], negotiated the [[Treaty of Washington (1871)|Treaty of Washington]] in 1871 to settle the issue.<ref name=canenamciwa/> By 1871, most British North American colonies joined Canadian Confederation, and US grievances were settled. Consequently, British forces withdrew from Canada, except for Halifax and Esquimalt, where garrisons of the [[Pacific Station|Pacific]] and [[North America and West Indies Station|North America and West Indies]] stations remained for reasons of imperial strategy.<ref name="Borden2005">{{cite book|author=Robert Laird Borden|title=Canadian constitutional studies: the Marfleet lectures, University of Toronto, October 1921|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VQLrnQ8ZV0QC&pg=PA97|year= 2005|publisher=The Lawbook Exchange|isbn=978-1-58477-586-7|page=97}}</ref> The Royal Navy continued to provide for Canada's maritime defence, with the understanding that they would provide additional aid in emergencies.<ref name="FidellSullivan2002">{{cite book|author1=Eugene R. Fidell|author2=Dwight Hall Sullivan|title=Evolving military justice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G3tYljWV_zEC&pg=PA234|year=2002|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-55750-292-6|page=234}}</ref>

====Canadian enlistment in British forces after 1871====
Canadian enlistment in the British military continued after Confederation and the British Army's withdrawal in 1871. Several Canadians opted for British service over the Canadian militia, as the latter showed little interest in [[expeditionary warfare|expeditionary combat]].{{sfn|Godefroy|2009|p=137}} The British Army specifically targeted Canadians for recruitment to replenish certain units, like the 100th Regiment of Foot.{{sfn|Godefroy|2009|p=136}} Canadians continued joining the British Army's [[enlisted rank]]s into the First World War, with several thousand Canadians serving in British units during the conflict.{{sfn|Godefroy|2009|p=144}}
[[File:Old 18, first cadets @ Royal Military College of Canada 1878.jpg|thumb|left|The first graduating class of the [[Royal Military College of Canada]] in 1878. Cadets were recruited into the British military and the Canadian militia in the 19th century.]]
The British [[War Office]] also reserved officer commissions for Canadian "gentlemen and journeymen" to fill vacancies and bolster the British officer corps.<ref name=warmusrmc>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispatches/the-royal-military-college-of-canada-1876-to-the-present/#tabs|title=The Royal Military College of Canada: 1876 to the Present|publisher=Canadian War Museum|website=www.warmuseum.ca|access-date=17 February 2023|archive-date=February 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217203253/https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispatches/the-royal-military-college-of-canada-1876-to-the-present/#tabs|url-status=live}}</ref> The recruitment of Canadians into the British officer corps was encouraged by the War Office as a way to promote military interoperability between Canada and the UK, and to make the Canadian government more amicable to the idea of its military participating in British overseas campaigns.{{sfn|Godefroy|2009|p=138}} By 1892, about two-thirds of [[Royal Military College of Canada]] (RMC) graduates who received commissions opted to join the British military rather than the Canadian militia.{{sfn|Godefroy|2009|p=139}}

By 1900, RMC graduates in the British military had participated in 27 campaigns across Africa, Burma, India, and China.{{sfn|Godefroy|2009|p=141}} From 1880 and 1918, around a quarter of RMC graduates accepted commissions in the British military.{{sfn|Godefroy|2009|p=144}} Recruitment of RMC officer cadets into the British military declined in the early 20th century due to efforts by [[Frederick William Borden]], the Canadian [[minister of militia and defence]]. As a result, from 1911 to 1914, over half of all graduates pursuing military careers joined the Canadian militia rather than the British military.<ref name=warmusrmc/>

===Canadian militia in the late–19th century===
{{Further|History of the Canadian Army}}
[[File:The Canadian Militia, 1898.jpg|thumb|Uniforms used by the Canadian Militia in the late 19th century.]]
By the mid-19th century, the militia system in the Province of Canada was organized into two classes, sedentary and [[Canadian militia#Active militias|Active]].<ref name=cananmilact>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/militia-acts|title=Militia Acts|date=22 January 2015|access-date=16 July 2023|last=Preston|first=Richard A.|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=September 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929012852/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/militia-acts|url-status=live}}</ref> The sedentary militia, later called the "Reserve Militia," was the traditional compulsory militia mobilized solely during emergencies.<ref name=govcanlinhis/><ref name="Clarke"/> The Active Militia consisted initially of volunteer service battalions tasked with transport and operational duties.<ref name=cananmilact/> 

The Active Militia began as an unpaid voluntary service but evolved into a paid part-time service under the [[Militia Act of 1855]], comprising the Volunteer Militia, the Regular Militia, and the Marine Militia. The Volunteer Militia included artillery, cavalry, and infantry units. The Regular Militia comprised former serving men eligible for emergency service through balloting. The Marine Militia consisted of individuals employed to navigate Canada's waterways.<ref name=govcanlinhis/> In 1862, proposed legislation to enhance the sedentary militia ignited a debate over whether the colony should rely on a compulsory or voluntary service. Following the 1863 general election, a new Militia Act was passed, shifting the burden of defence to the Active Militia while also preserving the sedentary militia.<ref name=cananmilact/><ref name=mariamil/> The militia system was adopted into the Canadian federation through the 1868 Militia Act.<ref name=mariamil/> After the British Army's departure in 1871, the Canadian militia shouldered the main responsibility for its defence.<ref name=govcanlinhis>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/official-military-history-lineages/lineages/regiments.html#ori|website=www.canada.ca|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=19 March 2023|date=7 March 2018|title=Official Lineages, Volume 3: Armour, Artillery, Field Engineer and Infantry Regiments|archive-date=March 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319043229/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/military-history/history-heritage/official-military-history-lineages/lineages/regiments.html#ori|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Yukon Field Force in Vancouver.jpg|thumb|Members of the [[Yukon Field Force]] in Vancouver in 1898. The Yukon Field Force was a garrison of the Active Militia's [[Permanent Active Militia|Permanent Force]].]]

The Active Militia underwent professionalization in the 1870s and 1880s, with the establishment of two professional artillery batteries in 1871.<ref name="Granatstein2011mnk">{{cite book|author=J. L. Granatstein|title=Canada's Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7E-j1UWuOMC&pg=PA26|year= 2011|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-1178-8|page=26}}</ref> The Active Militia expanded under the 1883 Militia Act, authorizing a new cavalry troop, an additional artillery battery, and three infantry companies.<ref name=govcanlinhis/> These were intended to provide the professional backbone of the [[Permanent Active Militia|Permanent Force]], a full-time "continuous service" component of the Active Militia.<ref name=govcanlinhis/><ref name="Granatstein2011mnk"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Stanley Barracks: Toronto's Military Legacy |first=Aldona |last=Sendzikas |year=2011 |publisher=Natural Heritage Books |location=Toronto, Ontario |isbn=9781554887880 |pages=70–71}}</ref> While the Active Militia's professional elements grew in the 1870s and 1880s, its marine component dwindled, with the last marine militia unit disbanded in 1878.<ref name=govcanlinhis/> The sedentary militia also fell into disuse during this period as annual musters became less frequent. By 1883, the sedentary militia was nearly non-existent, with the requirement for annual musters stricken from legislation.<ref name=mariamil/>

===Nile Expedition===
{{main|Nile Expedition}}
During the [[Mahdist War]] in 1884, the British requested aid from Canada for skilled boatmen to assist Major-General [[Charles George Gordon|Charles Gordon's]] [[siege of Khartoum|besieged forces]] in Khartoum.<ref name="MacLaren1978">{{cite book|author=Roy MacLaren|title=Canadians on the Nile, 1882–1898: being the adventures of the voyageurs on the Khartoum Relief Expedition and other exploits|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MmCXB-9XLlEC&pg=PA62|year=1978|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-0094-5|page=62}}</ref> The government's reluctance led [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] [[Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne|Lord Lansdowne]] to dispatch only 386 voyageurs, commanded by Canadian militia officers.<ref name="Morton2007i">{{cite book|author=Desmond Morton|title=A Military History of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O769_p5E05sC&pg=PT118|year=2007|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-0-7710-6481-4|page=118}}</ref> This force, known as the Nile Voyageurs, served in Sudan and became the first Canadian force to serve outside North America.<ref name="MacLaren1978x">{{cite book|author=Roy MacLaren|title=Canadians on the Nile, 1882–1898: being the adventures of the voyageurs on the Khartoum Relief Expedition and other exploits|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MmCXB-9XLlEC&pg=PA125|year=1978|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-0094-5|page=125}}</ref> 
[[File:The Nile Expedition for the Relief of General Gordon, from The Graphic, 29 November 1894.png|thumb|The [[Nile Expedition]] travelling by boat to relieve the [[siege of Khartoum]]]]
Arriving in Asyut in October 1884, the voyageurs transported 5,000 British troops upstream to Khartoum using wooden whaling boats. They arrived two days after the city's capture by Mahdist forces. Canadian militia officers overseeing the voyageurs took part in the [[Battle of Kirbekan]] weeks later, although the voyageurs themselves did not partake. After Kirbekan, the expedition withdrew to Egypt, departing in April 1885.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nile-expedition|title=Nile Expedition|date=12 July 2023|last=Boyko|first=John|access-date=28 August 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=July 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230710233529/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nile-expedition|url-status=live}}</ref> Sixteen members of the Canadian contingent died during the campaign.<ref name="MacLaren1978x"/>

===Late–19th century conflicts in western Canada===
In October 1870, near present-day [[Lethbridge]], one of the last major battles occurred between the [[Blackfoot Confederacy]] and the [[Cree]] known as the [[Battle of the Belly River]]. In the battle, Cree war party engaged a [[Piikani Nation]] camp but was defeated, unaware that members of the [[Kainai Nation]] and [[Piegan Blackfeet]] were also there. The Blackfoot's use of [[revolving rifle]]s likely aided in their victory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2022/10/26/battle-of-the-belly-river-examined-through-virtual-reality-lens/|website=lethbridgeherald.com|title=Battle of the Belly River examined through virtual reality lens|publisher=The Lethbridge Herald|date=26 October 2022|access-date=12 March 2023|last=Clarke|first=Ry|archive-date=March 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312065100/https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2022/10/26/battle-of-the-belly-river-examined-through-virtual-reality-lens/|url-status=live}}</ref> However their victory was [[Pyrrhic victory|pyrrhic]], as their losses made them vulnerable to attack. Both sides lost as many as 300 warriors during the battle.<ref>{{cite book|title=Histories of Indigenous Peoples and Canada|last1=Belshaw|first1=John|last2=Nickel|first2=Sarah|last3=Horton|first3=Chelsea|year=2020|publisher=Thompson Rivers University|page=111}}</ref>

====Riel Rebellions====
{{main|Red River Rebellion|North-West Rebellion}}
[[File:FAH Red River Expedition.jpg|thumb|The [[Wolseley expedition]] near [[Kakabeka Falls]]. The British-Canadian military expedition was undertaken in 1870 to retake [[Upper Fort Garry]].]]
In the late 19th century, Louis Riel spearheaded two [[resistance movements|resistances]] against the Canadian government amid its efforts to settle [[western Canada]] and negotiate [[Numbered Treaties|land transfer treaties]] with multiple First Nations.

The first resistance led by Riel, the Red River Rebellion (1869–1870), occurred before the [[Deed of Surrender|transfer of Rupert's Land]] from the HBC to Canada. In December 1869, Riel and Métis settlers of the Red River Colony seized [[Upper Fort Garry]] to negotiate favourable terms for the colony's entry into Canadian confederation.<ref name=canenrerire>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/red-river-rebellion|title=Red River Resistance|last1=Bumsted|first1=J. M.|first2=Richard|last2=Foot|last3=Yarhi|first3=Eli|last4=McIntosh|first4=Andrew|date=8 July 2021|access-date=3 March 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=March 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303071849/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/red-river-rebellion|url-status=live}}</ref> After an English-speaking settler was executed, a [[Wolseley expedition|military expedition]] made up of 400 British regulars and 800 Canadian militiamen was organized to retake the fort.<ref name=canenrerire/><ref>{{cite journal|author=C. P. Stacey|title=The Military Aspect of Canada's Winning of the West 1870–1885|journal=Canadian Historical Review|year=1940|volume=21|issue=1|pages=1–24|doi=10.3138/CHR-021-01-01|doi-access=free}}</ref> Riel and his followers fled to the US before the arrival of the expedition in August 1870. Although they fled, the resistance achieved its major objectives, with the federal government recognizing the rights of the Red River settlers through the establishment of the province of [[Manitoba]].<ref name=canenrerire/>
[[File:Battle of Batoche Print by Seargent Grundy.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Battle of Batoche]] in 1885 was a decisive engagement during the [[North-West Rebellion]] where Canadian soldiers defeated a force of indigenous and [[Métis people (Canada)|Métis people]].]]
In 1884, Riel returned from the US and rallied local Métis in the [[Northwest Territories|North-West Territories]] to press their grievances against the Canadian government. By March 1885, a Métis armed force established the [[Provisional Government of Saskatchewan]], with Riel as president. A three-month insurgency, known as the North-West Rebellion, began later that month after Métis forces defeated a contingent of the [[North-West Mounted Police]] (NWMP) at the [[Battle of Duck Lake]]. The battle emboldened the [[Plains Cree people|Plains Cree]] under [[Big Bear]], leading to attacks on [[looting of Battleford|Battleford]], [[Frog Lake Massacre|Frog Lake]], and [[Battle of Fort Pitt|Fort Pitt]].<ref name="McMillan2004">{{cite book|author1=Alan Daniel McMillan|author2=Eldon Yellowhorn|title=First peoples in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tvSrEUFH3vkC&pg=PA309|year=2004|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=978-1-55365-053-9|page=309}}</ref><ref name=canennowere>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/north-west-rebellion|title=Red River Resistance|last1=Beal|first1=Bob|first2=Rod|last2=Macleod|last3=Foot|first3=Richard|last4=Yarhi|first4=Eli|date=8 July 2021|access-date=3 March 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=September 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901073157/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/north-west-rebellion|url-status=live}}</ref>

In response, the Canadian government mobilized 3,000 militiamen to quell the resistance.<ref name="Wishart2004">{{cite book|author1-link=David J. Wishart|author=David J. Wishart|title=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rtRFyFO4hpEC&pg=PA557|year=2004|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-4787-1|page=557}}</ref> General [[Frederick Dobson Middleton|Frederick Middleton]] initially planned for the 3,000-person force to travel together by rail, but attacks at Battleford and Frog Lake forced him to send a 900-person force ahead of the main contingent. However, after the forward force was repelled at the [[Battle of Fish Creek]], Middleton chose to wait for the rest of the contingent before successfully besieging Riel's outnumbered forces at the [[Battle of Batoche]].<ref name=canennowere/><ref name="GrantDoughty2011j">{{cite book|author1=R. G. Grant|author2=Robert Doughty|title=1001 Battles That Changed the Course of World History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s4njwZGrZg4C&pg=PA670|year=2011|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-0-7893-2233-3|page=670}}</ref> Although Riel was captured at Batoche in May, resistance from Big Bear's followers persisted until 3 June at the [[Battle of Loon Lake]].<ref name=canennowere/> Canadian militia and NWMP casualties during the conflict include 58 killed and 93 wounded.<ref name="Howard1994">{{cite book|author=Joseph Kinsey Howard|title=Strange empire: a narrative of the Northwest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6pae2d_28GYC&pg=PA500|year= 1994|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press|isbn=978-0-87351-298-5|page=500}}</ref>

== 20th century ==
=== Boer War ===
{{main|Second Boer War}}
[[File:Royal Canadian Troops at the Battle of Paardeberg.jpg|thumb|Troops from the [[Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry]] prepare to attack Boer position during the [[Battle of Paardeberg]] in 1900.]]
The issue of Canadian military participation in British imperial campaigns arose again when the British requested Canadian assistance in the Second Boer War (1899–1902).<ref name="Vandervort1998ahu">{{cite book|author=Bruce Vandervort|title=Wars of imperial conquest in Africa, 1830–1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0eNgUeSBTi0C&pg=PA39|year=1998|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-85728-487-4|page=39}}</ref><ref name="Horn2006">{{cite book|author=Bernd Horn|title=The Canadian way of war: serving the national interest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LqI4r3-PX5sC&pg=PA137|year= 2006|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-612-2|page=137}}</ref> Most of [[English Canada]] supported participation, while near-universal opposition came from French Canadians and other groups.<ref name="Miller1998">{{cite book|author=Carman Miller|title=Painting the map red: Canada and the South African War, 1899–1902|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6E1qI16qa1MC&pg=PA27|year=1998|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-7735-1750-9|page=27}}</ref> This split the governing [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] led by Prime Minister [[Wilfrid Laurier]], who's political base comprised both pro-imperial Anglo-Canadians and anti-imperial Franco-Canadians.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Bothwell|first=Robert|date=2004|title=Back to the Future: Canada and Empires|journal=International Journal|volume=52|issue=2|pages=407–418, page 411}}</ref> 

Laurier aimed for a compromise to preserve Anglo-French relations,<ref name=":0"/> but faced pressure from his imperial-minded cabinet to send a token force of 1,000 soldiers from the [[Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="LaxerLaxer1977">{{cite book|author1=James Laxer|author2=Robert M. Laxer|title=The Liberal idea of Canada: Pierre Trudeau and the question of Canada's survival|url=https://archive.org/details/liberalideaofcan0000laxe|url-access=registration|year=1977|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|isbn=978-0-88862-124-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/liberalideaofcan0000laxe/page/158 158]}}</ref> Two additional contingents followed, one comprising 6,000 volunteers from the [[Royal Canadian Dragoons]] and [[Canadian Mounted Rifles]], and the third, [[Strathcona's Horse]], was financed by [[Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal|The Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal]].<ref name="Badsey2008iz">{{cite book|author=Stephen Badsey|title=Doctrine and reform in the British cavalry 1880–1918|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bdvBgUlO2qgC&pg=PA96|year= 2008|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|isbn=978-0-7546-6467-3|page=96}}</ref> Many Canadians also served in the British Army's [[South African Constabulary]].<ref name=canencasabw>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/south-african-war|title=Canada and the South African War (Boer War)|last=de Bruin|first=Tabitha|date=2 July 2020|access-date=1 March 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=March 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301070956/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/south-african-war|url-status=live}}</ref>

Canadian forces arrived in South Africa after the initial phase of the conflict, which included British setbacks during [[Black Week]]. They earned praise for leading the final night attack that led to the Boers suddender at the [[Battle of Paardeberg]].<ref name=canencasabw/><ref name="Buckner2008m">{{cite book|author=Phillip Alfred Buckner|title=Canada and the British Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KmXnLGX7FvEC&pg=PA85|year= 2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-927164-1|page=85}}</ref> At the [[Battle of Leliefontein]] in November 1900, three members of the Royal Canadian Dragoons were awarded the Victoria Cross for protecting the rear of a retreating force,<ref name="Lennox2009">{{cite book|author=Doug Lennox|title=Now You Know Canada's Heroes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-hcSnYut8wQC&pg=PA20|year=2009|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55488-444-5|page=20}}</ref> marking the only occasion when a Canadian unit received three Victoria Crosses in a single action.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cmfmag.ca/history/royal-canadian-dragoons-mark-117th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-leliefontein/|date=6 November 2017|title=Royal Canadian Dragoons mark 117th anniversary of the Battle of Leliefontein|website=www.cmfmag.ca|access-date=20 February 2023|archive-date=February 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220185318/https://www.cmfmag.ca/history/royal-canadian-dragoons-mark-117th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-leliefontein/|url-status=live}}</ref> One of the last major battles involving Canadian units was the [[Battle of Hart's River]] in March 1902.<ref name=canencasabw/> During the conflict, Canadian forces played a role in maintaining [[Second Boer War concentration camps|British-run concentration camps]].<ref name="LouisPorter2001">{{cite book|author1=William Roger Louis|author2=Andrew Porter|author3=Alaine Low|title=The Oxford History of the British Empire: The nineteenth century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oo3F2X8IDeEC&pg=PA618|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-924678-6|page=618}}</ref>
[[File:Miss Minnie Affleck, Nursing Sister, 1st Canadian Contingent, So. African, 1899-1902 War.jpg|thumb|Injured Canadian soldiers and a nursing sister in South Africa during the [[Second Boer War]], 1901.]]
Around 8,600 Canadians volunteered for service during the Boer War.<ref name="civilization.ca">{{cite web|author=Canadian War Museum|year=2008|title=Canada and The South African War, 1899–1902|url=http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/boer/boerwarhistory_e.shtml|publisher=[[Canadian War Museum]]|access-date=May 10, 2008|archive-date=November 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081118071205/http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/boer/boerwarhistory_e.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> About 7,400 Canadians,<ref name="Perry1988">{{cite book|author=Frederick William Perry|title=The Commonwealth armies: manpower and organisation in two world wars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7yENAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA126|year=1988|publisher=Manchester University Press ND|isbn=978-0-7190-2595-2|page=126}}</ref> including 12 [[military nurse|nursing sister]]s, served in South Africa.<ref name=canencasabw/><ref name="BatesDodd2005">{{cite book|author1=Christina Bates|author2=Dianne Elizabeth Dodd|author3=Nicole Rousseau|author4=Canadian Museum of Civilization|title=On all frontiers: four centuries of Canadian nursing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJ6dtAMcgeAC&pg=PA156|year=2005|publisher=University of Ottawa Press|isbn=978-0-7766-0591-3|page=156}}</ref> Of these, 224 died, 252 were wounded, and five were awarded the Victoria Cross.<ref name=canencasabw/><ref name="Horn2008z">{{cite book|author=Bernd Horn|title=Establishing a Legacy: The History of the Royal Canadian Regiment 1883–1953|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ofOU4wq-_wsC&pg=PA338|year=2008|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-817-1|page=338}}</ref> A wave of celebrations swept the country after the war, marked by many towns erecting their first [[Canadian war memorials|war memorials]]. However, the public debate over Canada's role in the conflict strained relations between English and French Canada.<ref name=canencasabw/>

=== Early 20th century military developments ===
[[File:417 - War Museum.JPG|thumb|An exhibit of infantry equipment used by the [[Canadian Militia]], {{circa|1900s}}]]
Discussions about reforming the Canadian Militia into a fully professional army arose during the Second Boer War.<ref name="Godefroy"/> [[Douglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald|Lord Dundonald]], the final British Army [[General Officer Commanding the Canadian Militia]], implemented reforms that granted Canada its own technical and support branches.<ref name="Preston1991g">{{cite book|author=Richard Arthur Preston|title=To serve Canada: a history of the Royal Military College since the Second World War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=953E0vPpvOEC&pg=PA19|year=1991|publisher=University of Ottawa Press|isbn=978-0-7766-0327-8|page=19}}</ref> This included the [[Canadian Military Engineers|Engineer Corps]] (1903), [[Royal Canadian Corps of Signals|Signalling Corps]] (1903), [[Royal Canadian Army Service Corps|Service Corps]] (1903), [[Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps|Ordnance Stores Corps]] (1903), [[Corps of Guides (Canada)|Corps of Guides]] (1903), [[Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps|Medical Corps]] (1904), [[Corps of Military Staff Clerks|Staff Clerks]] (1905), and [[Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps|Army Pay Corps]] (1906).<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/gh-hg/detail-eng.asp?BfBookLang=1&BfId=16|page=64|title=French Canadians and Bilingualism in the Canadian Forces|publisher=Department of National Defence, Directorate of History|isbn=978-0-660-13616-5|author1=Bernier Serge|author2=Jean Pariseau|year=1988|access-date=January 10, 2012|archive-date=May 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515084110/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/gh-hg/detail-eng.asp?BfBookLang=1&BfId=16|url-status=dead}}</ref> Additional corps would be created in the years before and during the First World War, including the first separate [[Royal Canadian Dental Corps|military dental corps]].<ref name="Singh2004">{{cite book|author=Paramjit Singh|title=Military Dentistary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJV9faMuBPoC&pg=PA31|year=2004|publisher=Jaypee Brothers Publishers|isbn=978-81-8061-418-7|page=31}}</ref>

At the turn of the century, Canada asserted greater control over its defences with the passage of a new Militia Act in 1904, appointing a Canadian [[Commander of the Canadian Army|Chief of the General Staff]].<ref name=govcanlinhis/> Additionally, control of the Imperial fortress of Halifax and [[Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard]] was transferred to Canada by the British military in 1906.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/themes/defence/caf/militaryhistory/dhh/reports/militia-reports/militia-council-dominion-canada-report-1906-12-31.pdf|title=Annual Report of the Militia Council for the Year Ending December 31, 1906|publisher=King's Printer for Canada|year=1907|access-date=20 March 2023}}</ref> The Militia Act of 1904 also formally acknowledged the obsolescence of the sedentary Reserve Militia by removing the provision that designated male inhabitants of military age as members, replacing it with a provision theoretically making them "liable to serve in the militia".<ref name=mariamil/>

==== Creation of a Canadian navy ====
{{further|History of the Royal Canadian Navy}}
[[File:HMCS Rainbow at Vancouver 1910.jpg|thumb|[[HMCS Rainbow (1891)|HMCS ''Rainbow'']] in Vancouver, shortly after its recommissioning with the Canadian Naval Service in 1910.]]
Canada initially maintained a small fishing protection force under the [[Department of Marine and Fisheries]] but depended on the UK for maritime defence. However, as the British engaged in a [[Anglo-German naval arms race|naval arms race with Germany]], it looked to its dominions to assist with Imperial naval strategy in 1908.<ref name="Milner2010">{{cite book|author=Marc Milner|title=Canada's Navy: The First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=afOEdO8mh1gC&pg=PA14|year= 2010|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-9604-3|pages=14–16}}</ref> The Conservative Party advocated for Canada to contribute funds solely for the purchase and maintenance of Royal Navy vessels.<ref name="Milner2010"/> Some French Canadian nationalists opposed sending any aid, while others proposed establishing an independent Canadian navy capable of assisting the British when necessary.<ref name="Milner2010"/>

Prime Minister Laurier adopted a compromised position, leading to the creation of the Canadian Naval Service in 1910, later designated as the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] (RCN) in August 1911.<ref name="Cox2011">{{cite book|author=Ken Cox|title=A Call to the Colours: Tracing Your Canadian Military Ancestors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTdNo_2NzIQC&pg=PA286|year=2011|publisher=Dundurn Press|page=286|id=GGKEY:SZEF160DUZ8}}</ref> To appease imperialists, the [[Naval Service Act]] included a provision allowing the RCN to be transferred to the British in emergency cases.<ref name="Milner2010q">{{cite book|author=Marc Milner|title=Canada's Navy: The First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=afOEdO8mh1gC&pg=PA22|year=2010|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-9604-3|page=22}}</ref> The bill aimed to build a fleet of five [[cruiser]]s and six [[destroyer]]s.<ref name="FrancisFrancs2009">{{cite book|author1=R. D. Francis|author2=Donald B. Smith|author3=Richard Jones|title=Journeys: A History of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbbZRIOKclsC&pg=PA320|year= 2009|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-17-644244-6|page=320}}</ref> The first two ships, ''[[HMCS Niobe|Niobe]]'' and {{HMCS|Rainbow|1891|2}}, were somewhat outdated vessels purchased from the British.<ref name="Buckner2005sss">{{cite book|author=Phillip Alfred Buckner|title=Canada and the end of empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=27IggObUC9kC&pg=PA273|year=2005|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-0916-0|page=273}}</ref> However, the [[1911 Canadian federal election|election of a Conservative government in 1911]] led to a reduction in funding, although later increased during the First World War.<ref name="Lavery2006">{{cite book|author=Brian Lavery|title=Churchill's navy: the ships, men and organisation, 1939–1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJmVNzXqKucC&pg=PA55|year=2006|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-84486-035-7|page=55}}</ref>

=== First World War ===
{{Main|Military history of Canada during World War I}}
[[File:Buy Victory Bonds, Canada 1918.jpg|thumb|A Canadian postcard from 1918 encouraging the purchase of [[War bonds|Victory Bonds]]. It depicts a soldier standing in a poppy field and includes a line from the [[war poem]] "[[In Flanders Fields]]".]]
On August 5, 1914, the British Empire, including Canada, entered the [[First World War]] (1914–1918) as a part of the [[Entente powers]].<ref name="CimentRussell2007">{{cite book|author1=James Ciment|author2=Thaddeus Russell|title=The home front encyclopedia: United States, Britain, and Canada in World Wars I and II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n0P04JuMSM8C&pg=PA423|year=2007|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-849-5|page=423}}</ref><ref name=canenfiwowa>{{cite web|title=First World War (WWI)|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/first-world-war-wwi|last1=Morton|first1=Desmond|last2=de Bruin|first2=Tabitha|last3=Foot|first3=Richard|last4=Gallant|first4=David|date=August 24, 2021|access-date=March 8, 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308102604/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/first-world-war-wwi|url-status=live}}</ref> As a dominion of the Empire, Canada had control over its contributions to the war effort.<ref name="CimentRussell2007"/> During the war, Canadian military spending rose considerably, with its financing being supported by the introduction of income taxes and [[Victory Loan]] campaigns. Canada also sold munitions to Britain after it [[Shell Crisis of 1915|experienced a shell shortage]], prompting the establishment of the [[Imperial Munitions Board]].<ref name=canenfiwowa/>

A total of 619,636 people served in the Canadian military during the war. Of those, 59,544 were killed and 154,361 were wounded.<ref name=canenfiwowa/><ref name="Godefroy"/> The conflict provided Canada with a greater degree of autonomy within the British Empire and a modest diplomatic presence at the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]].<ref name=canenfiwowa/>

====Canadian Expeditionary Force====
{{main|Canadian Expeditionary Force}}
The Canadian Militia was not mobilized. Instead, an separate [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]] (CEF) was raised for the conflict.<ref name="Hart2001">{{cite book|author=Russell Hart|title=Clash of arms: how the allies won in Normandy|url=https://archive.org/details/clashofarmshowal00hart_1/page/39|year=2001|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|isbn=978-1-55587-947-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/clashofarmshowal00hart_1/page/39 39]}}</ref> The CEF comprised infantry battalions and the [[Canadian Cavalry Brigade]], with recruitment handled by the militia. Canada also established the [[Canadian Forestry Corps]] to harvest wood from France and Scotland for the war effort.<ref name=canenfiwowa/>
[[File:Kitcheners' Wood.jpg|thumb|Canadian forces repelling a German attack during the [[Battle of Kitcheners' Wood]], an engagement during the [[Second Battle of Ypres]] in April 1915.]]
The first Canadian contingent departed for Europe on October 3, 1914.<ref name=canenfiwowa/> The CEF's first large engagement was the [[Second Battle of Ypres]] from April–May 1915. At Ypres, Canadian soldiers withstood the first large-scale use of [[chemical weapon|poison gas]] in history.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canada and the Second Battle of Ypres|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-ypres|last1=Roy|first1=R. H.|last2=Foot|first2=Richard|date=December 8, 2018|access-date=March 8, 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308102605/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-ypres|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 1915, after Ypres, the [[Canadian Corps]] was formed with the arrival of the [[2nd Canadian Division]] in France, consolidating the CEF.<ref name=Nicholson>{{cite book|author=G. W. L. Nicholson|author-link=G. W. L. Nicholson|year=1964|url=http://www.cobwfa.ca/images/CEF_e.pdf|title=Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914–1919: Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War|publisher=Queen's Printer|pages=101–111, 165, 207–210|access-date=January 5, 2012|archive-date=March 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320192439/http://www.cobwfa.ca/images/CEF_e.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The corps expanded with the [[3rd Canadian Division]] joining in December 1915, followed by the [[4th Canadian Division]] in August 1916.<ref name=Nicholson/> The [[5th Canadian Division]], formed in February 1917, never fully formed and was disbanded in February 1918.<ref name=Nicholson/>

In early 1916, Canadian divisions participated in local actions like the [[Actions of St Eloi Craters]] and the [[Battle of Mont Sorrel]]. The British [[Somme Offensive]] began on July 1, where [[first day on the Somme|on its first day]], the [[Royal Newfoundland Regiment]] was annihilated. Canadian divisions were deployed to the Somme in August 1916.<ref name=canenfiwowa/> After the Somme Offensive, Canadian leaders advocated for the corps to operate as a unified force rather than being dispersed among different British units.<ref name=Nicholson/> The Canadian Corps, comprising four divisions, was consolidated for the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]], a crucial phase of the [[Battle of Arras (1917)|Battle of Arras]].<ref name=canenfiwowa/>
  
[[File:Canadian troops on Arras- Cambrai road-1918.jpg|thumb|Canadian troops advance up a road during the [[Battle of Cambrai (1918)|Battle of Cambrai]] in 1918]]
After Vimy Ridge, Canadian Lieutenant-General [[Arthur Currie]] assumed command of the corps. Under his leadership, the corps fought in the [[Battle of Hill 70]] and the [[Battle of Passchendaele]] in 1917.<ref name=canenfiwowa/> In 1918, the corps was sent to [[Amiens]] to bolster the lines during the [[Hundred Days Offensive]]. Throughout the war's later stages, the corps earned a reputation as one of the most capable and esteemed formations on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].<ref name = Godefroy>{{cite book|author=Andrew Godefroy|year=2006|chapter=Canadian Military Effectiveness in the First World War|title=The Canadian Way of War: Serving the National Interest|editor=Bernd Horn |publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-612-2|pages=169–194}}</ref> Throughout this period, the Canadian Corps participated in key battles such as [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Amiens]] and the [[Battle of Cambrai (1918)|Cambrai]].<ref name=canenfiwowa/> The Canadian Corps' rapid advance from Amiens in August to [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]] by the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|armistice on November 11th]], is known as [[Canada's Hundred Days]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Canada's Hundred Days|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/collection/canadas-hundred-days|year=2023|access-date=March 8, 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308102604/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/collection/canadas-hundred-days|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=cook>{{cite journal|author=Tim Cook |title='A Proper Slaughter': The March 1917 Gas Raid at Vimy |journal=Canadian Military History |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=7–24 |year=1999 |url=http://www.wlu.ca/lcmsds/cmh/back%20issues/CMH/volume%208/Issue%202/Cook%20-%20A%20Proper%20Slaughter%20-%20The%20March%201917%20Gas%20Attack%20at%20Vimy%20Ridge.pdf |access-date=April 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327164336/http://www.wlu.ca/lcmsds/cmh/back%20issues/CMH/volume%208/Issue%202/Cook%20-%20A%20Proper%20Slaughter%20-%20The%20March%201917%20Gas%20Attack%20at%20Vimy%20Ridge.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2009 }}</ref>

====Air and sea operations====
During the war, the RCN primarily conducted coastal submarine patrols as part of the [[Atlantic U-boat campaign of World War I|Atlantic U-boat campaign]].<ref name=canenfiwowa/> Canada suffered from several maritime disasters during the war. The [[Halifax Explosion]] occurred on December 6, 1917, when a [[ship collision]] involving a munition ship loaded with explosives caused one of the largest human-made explosions before the [[Trinity (nuclear test)|detonation of the first atomic bomb]]. The disaster saw 11,000 casualties, including 2,000 dead, and the entire north end of the city destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Halifax Explosion|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halifax-explosion|last1=Kernaghan|first1=Lois|last2=Foot|first2=Richard|date=May 25, 2022|access-date=March 8, 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308102609/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halifax-explosion|url-status=live}}</ref> The sinking of {{HMHS|Llandovery Castle}} by a U-boat in June 1918 marks the deadliest Canadian [[List of maritime disasters in World War I|naval disaster of the war]].<ref name="Tennyson2013h">{{cite book|author=Brian Tennyson|title=The Canadian Experience of the Great War: A Guide to Memoirs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b458joZ7F8wC&pg=PA481|year=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-8680-3|page=481}}</ref>
[[File:BillyBishop.jpg|thumb|left|[[Billy Bishop]] in a [[Nieuport 17]]. Bishop was the [[List of World War I aces from Canada|war's top flying ace from Canada]] and the British Empire.]]
Besides the Canadian military, Canadians served in British forces such as the Royal Navy and the [[Royal Flying Corps]]. By war's end, nearly a quarter of all Royal Flying Corps pilots were Canadian, including the Empire's leading [[flying ace]], [[Billy Bishop]].<ref name=canenfiwowa/>

====Conscription====
Although enthusiasm to enlist was strong in 1914, by 1916, enthusiasm had waned.<ref name=canenfiwowa/> At the 1917 [[Imperial War Cabinet]], Britain urged its dominions to alleviate manpower shortages caused by the [[dissolution of the Russian Empire|collapse of the Russian Empire]] and the [[1917 French Army mutinies|French Army mutinies]].<ref name=canenfiwowa/> To maintain Canada's contributions, Prime Minister [[Robert Borden]] advocated for [[conscription in Canada|conscription]] in the [[1917 Canadian federal election|1917 federal election]], sparking a [[Conscription Crisis of 1917|national debate and crisis]].<ref name="KelleyTrebilcock2010">{{cite book|author1=Ninette Kelley|author2=Michael J. Trebilcock|title=The making of the mosaic: a history of Canadian immigration policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3IHyRvsCiKMC&pg=PA176|year= 2010|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-9536-7|page=176}}</ref><ref name="Morton1994">{{cite book|author=Desmond Morton|title=When Your Number's Up: The Canadian Soldier in the First World War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MW_SE8qsBkQC&pg=PA64|year=1994|publisher=Random House of Canada|isbn=978-0-394-22388-9|page=64}}</ref> The debate highlighted divisions between English and French Canada,<ref name="Armstrong1974">{{cite book|author=Elizabeth Armstrong|title=The Crisis of Quebec, 1914–1918|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNbybmjraNoC&pg=PA152|year=1974|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-7710-9774-4|page=152}}</ref> with English Canada largely supporting it, while French Canadians, some English-speaking farmers, trade union leaders, pacifists, and Indigenous leaders opposing it.<ref name=canenfiwowa/><ref name="Grenville2005hh">{{cite book|author=John Ashley Soames Grenville|title=A history of the world from the 20th to the 21st century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xsmhdpARfGoC&pg=PA375|year=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-28954-2|page=375}}</ref> 

Borden's [[Unionist Party (Canada)|Unionist Party]], a coalition of pro-conscription Conservatives and Liberals, won the election and passed the [[Military Service Act, 1917]], although it included various exemption provisions.<ref name=canenfiwowa/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Recruitment and Conscription - Conscription, 1917 |url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/recruitment-and-conscription/conscription-1917/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=Canada and the First World War |archive-date=April 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411155157/https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-home-during-the-war/recruitment-and-conscription/conscription-1917/ |url-status=live }}</ref> After conscription was implemented in 1918, over 400,000 were called up, but 380,510 appealed for exemption. Ultimately, only 24,132 conscripts were sent to Europe.<ref name=canenfiwowa/>

====Commemoration====
{{further|World War I memorials}}
[[File:Edward VIII unveils the figure of Canada on the Vimy Ridge Memorial.jpg|thumb|[[Edward VIII]] unveiling the ''Mother of Canada'' on the [[Vimy Memorial]] in 1936. The memorial was dedicated to [[Canadian Expeditionary Force|CEF]] personnel killed during World War I.]]
The war's impact led to the construction of war memorials in Canada. The [[National War Memorial (Canada)|Canadian National War Memorial]] was unveiled in 1939 and has since been used to honour Canadian war dead for other conflicts.<ref name=natmemor>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/national-war-memorial|title=National war Memorial|publisher=Historica Canada|access-date=20 November 2020|date=4 March 2015|last1=Marsh|last2=Thomas|first1=James H.|first2=Nicki|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030174312/https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/national-war-memorial|url-status=live}}</ref> The monument has since been used to honour Canadian war dead for other conflicts.<ref name=natmemor/> There are also eight memorials in France and Belgium to honour Canada's war dead from the war, like the [[Canadian National Vimy Memorial]].<ref name="HayesBechthold2007hh">{{cite book|author1=Geoffrey Hayes|author2=Michael Bechthold|author3=Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies|title=Vimy Ridge: a Canadian reassessment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pf5y7sehRwAC&pg=PA280|year=2007|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|isbn=978-0-88920-508-6|page=280}}</ref>

Distinct memorials honour the contributions of Newfoundland soldiers, then a [[Dominion of Newfoundland|separate British dominion]]. The largest Newfoundland memorials include the [[Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial]] in France and the [[Newfoundland National War Memorial]] in St. John's.<ref name="BuschAssociation2003">{{cite book|author1=Briton Cooper Busch|author2=Western Front Association|title=Canada and the Great War: Western Front Association papers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLKqAyUl6TAC&pg=PA150|year=2003|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-7735-2570-2|page=150}}</ref>

===Interwar period===
After the First World War, the Canadian Expeditionary Force dissolved, and its lineage perpetuated through the Canadian militia. In 1921, the Active Militia was restructured, forming the Permanent Active Militia from Permanent Force, and the [[Non-Permanent Active Militia]] from its [[military reserve force|reserve component]]. The National Defence Act of 1922 consolidated the [[Department of Militia and Defence]] with Air and Naval Services under the [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]].<ref name=govcanlinhis/>

The greater degree of autonomy Canada saw after the First World War, coupled with public reluctance to participate in further imperial conflicts, led the Canadian government to refuse a British request for military aid during the 1922 [[Chanak Crisis]].<ref name=canenfiwowa/><ref>{{cite web|title=Chanak Affair|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chanak-affair|date=February 20, 2021|access-date=March 8, 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|last1=Hillmer|first1=Norman|last2=Foot|first2=Richard|first3=Andrew|last3=McIntosh|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308102605/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chanak-affair|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Intervention in Russia====
{{main|Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War}}
[[File:Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force in Vladivostok 1919.jpg|thumb|Troops of the [[Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force]] with a truck, 1919]]
The Canadian government sent around 6,000 soldiers to aid the Allied intervention in the [[Russian Civil War]] in mid-1918 in response to a British request for assistance.<ref name=canenrcw>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-intervention-in-the-russian-civil-war|title=Canadian Intervention in the Russian Civil War|last=Maclaren|first=Roy|date=25 February 2007|publisher=Historica Canada|access-date=20 February 2023|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220094919/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-intervention-in-the-russian-civil-war|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kinvig2007">{{cite book|author=Clifford Kinvig|title=Churchill's Crusade: The British Invasion of Russia, 1918–1920|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uKGspZ8XmNYC&pg=PA63|year=2007|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-84725-021-6|page=63}}</ref> Around 4,200 soldiers were deployed to the [[Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force]] (CSEF) stationed in [[Vladivostok]], while another Canadian contingent joined the Allied [[North Russian Expeditionary Force]] in [[northwest Russia]].<ref name=canencsef>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-siberian-expeditionary-force|title=Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force|last=Boileau|first=John|date=19 August 2021|access-date=20 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220094920/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-siberian-expeditionary-force|url-status=live}}</ref> Canadian soldiers were deployed to northwest Russia in May 1918,{{sfn|Strakhovsky|1958|p=126}} while CSEF was deployed to Vladivastok in October.{{sfn|Strakhovsky|1958|p=129}}<ref name=canencsef/> 

Shortly after the end of the First World War, the [[King's Privy Council for Canada]] debated the continued military presence in Russia. A decision was made to extend the commitment until spring 1919, although they limited the use of its forces, requiring their explicit consent for their use.<ref name=canencsef/> 

While some Canadians participated in combat in northwest Russia and as pilots over the Black Sea,<ref name=canenrcw/> the majority of Canadian soldiers stationed in Russia, attached to the CSEF in Vladivostok, experienced minimal combat before their withdrawal.<ref>{{cite web|author=Benjamin Isitt|url=http://www.siberianexpedition.ca/learning_resources/resources/Siberian_Expedition_slides.pdf|title=From Victoria to Vladivostok: Canada's Siberian Expedition, 1917–19|publisher=UBC Press|year=2010|access-date=January 7, 2012|archive-date=August 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828084500/http://www.siberianexpedition.ca/learning_resources/resources/Siberian_Expedition_slides.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> CSEF soldiers began their withdrawal from Russia in April 1919.<ref name=canencsef/> The 16th Canadian Field Artillery Brigade withdrew from northwest Russia in June 1919.{{sfn|Strakhovsky|1958|p=146}} In total, 21 Canadians died in the Russia intervention, the majority from disease or accidents.<ref name=canencsef/>

====Establishing an air force====
{{further|History of the Royal Canadian Air Force}}
[[File:Dolphin (Canadian Air Force).jpg|thumb| The [[Canadian Air Force (1918–1920)|Canadian Air Force of 1918]] at [[RAF Upper Heyford]], with [[Sopwith Dolphin]]s as part of the No. 1 Fighter Squadron]]
The First World War spurred the formation of Canada's air force. Initially, Canada lacked an independent air force, although many Canadians served with the British Royal Flying Corps and the [[Royal Naval Air Service]].<ref name="Grey2008">{{cite book|author=Jeffrey Grey|title=A military history of Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RF4a1rm0an8C&pg=PA118|year=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-87523-3|page=118}}</ref> 

In 1914, the Canadian government authorized the formation of the [[Canadian Aviation Corps]],<ref name="Boyne2002">{{cite book|author=Walter J. Boyne|title=Air Warfare: an International Encyclopedia: M–Z|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FW_50wm8VnMC&pg=PA116|year=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-345-2|page=116}}</ref> tasked to accompany the Canadian Expeditionary Force to Europe with one aircraft, a [[Burgess-Dunne]].<ref name="McCaffery2000">{{cite book|author=Dan McCaffery|title=Canada's Warplanes: Unique Aircraft in Canada's Aviation Museums|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LwZkh0HBC7YC&pg=PA7|year=2000|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|isbn=978-1-55028-699-1|page=7}}</ref> However, the corps was disbanded in 1915.<ref name="Gray2000">{{cite book|author=Larry Gray|title=We are the Dead|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BP270v66H_UC&pg=PA198|year=2000|publisher=General Store Publishing House|isbn=978-1-894263-24-5|page=198}}</ref> In 1918, the British Air Ministry established a Canadian bomber and fighter squadron in Europe, marking a second attempt at forming a Canadian air force. The Canadian government later assumed control of these two squadrons, forming the [[Canadian Air Force (1918–1920)|Canadian Air Force]].<ref name="World War I: A - D.">{{cite book|title=World War I: A–D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2YqjfHLyyj8C&pg=PA255|year=2005|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-85109-420-2|page=255}}</ref> This air force, however, never saw service and was completely disbanded by 1921.<ref name="World War I: A - D."/>

During the 1920s, the British government urged Canada to establish a peacetime air force, offering surplus aircraft. In 1920, the Canadian Air Force (CAF) was created under the [[Air Board (Canada)|Air Board]], serving as a part-time or militia service for flying refresher training.<ref name="DouglasGreenhous1995">{{cite book|author1=William Alexander Binny Douglas|author2=Brereton Greenhous|title=Out of the shadows: Canada in the Second World War|url=https://archive.org/details/outofshadowscana0000doug_u2z6|url-access=registration|year=1995|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-151-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/outofshadowscana0000doug_u2z6/page/34 34]}}</ref> After a reorganization the CAF became responsible for all flying operations in Canada, including civil aviation. The [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] (RCAF) took over civil flying responsibilities from the Air Board and CAF after its creation in April 1924.<ref name="Boyne2002"/> The Second World War saw the RCAF become a true military service.<ref name="Boyne2002"/>

====Spanish Civil War====
[[File:Ilkka Company.jpg|thumb|The Ikka Machine Gun Company of the [[Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion]], {{circa|1937–38}}]]
Canada was a [[non-belligerent]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–1939). However, over 1,500 Canadians volunteered to fight for the Spanish [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republican faction]]. Most volunteers were recent immigrants, [[Communist Party of Canada]] members, and individuals forced into [[Relief Camp Workers' Union|relief camp]].<ref name=canenmacpap>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mackenzie-papineau-battalion|title=Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion|last1=Howard|first1=Victor|first2=Tabitha|last2=de Bruin|date=12 November 2021|access-date=26 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226114843/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mackenzie-papineau-battalion|url-status=live}}</ref> Canadian volunteers initially joined the [[British Battalion]], although 40 Canadians also joined the [[Lincoln Battalion]] or the [[George Washington Battalion]].<ref name=canenmacpap/><ref name="Virtue2008">{{cite book|author=John Virtue|title=Fred Taylor: brother in the shadows|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gtXLtAGbZBgC&pg=PA70|year= 2008|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-7735-3359-2|page=70}}</ref> In July 1937, the primarily Canadian [[Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion]] was mustered into the [[XV International Brigade]].<ref name=canenmacpap/><ref name="Petrou2008">{{cite book|author=Michael Petrou|title=Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War|url=https://archive.org/details/renegadescanadia0000petr|url-access=registration|year=2008|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-1418-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/renegadescanadia0000petr/page/12 12]}}</ref> The Canadian unit fought in five major campaigns, including the [[Battle of Teruel]], the [[Aragon Offensive]], and the [[Battle of the Ebro]].<ref name=canenmacpap/><ref name="Rayner2011">{{cite book|author=William Rayner|title=Canada on the Doorstep: 1939|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s91HjbxUaGYC&pg=PA44|year= 2011|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55488-993-8|page=44}}</ref> Around 400 to 721 Canadian volunteers died during the war.<ref name=canenmacpap/><ref name="Gough2010">{{cite book|author=Barry M. Gough|title=Historical Dictionary of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4xK6CasigkC&pg=PA261|year=2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-5496-3|page=261}}</ref>

===Second World War===
{{Main|Canada during World War II}}
{{see also|Military history of Newfoundland during World War II}}
[[File:British Columbia Regiment 1940.jpg|thumb|''[[Wait for Me, Daddy]]'', taken by [[Claude P. Dettloff]], in October 1940. The photo depicts the [[British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles)]], marching to embark onto SS ''Princess Joan''.]]
The [[Second World War]] (1939–1945) began on September 1, 1939, with [[Nazi Germany]]'s [[invasion of Poland]]. Canada issued a [[Canadian declaration of war on Germany|declaration of war against Germany]] on September 10.<ref name="Kipp2005">{{cite book|author=Charles D. Kipp|title=Because We Are Canadians: A Battlefield Memoir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XBdy3AjuACoC&pg=PA9|year=2005|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=978-1-55365-112-3|page=9}}</ref> Although Canada was a significant contributor to the war, it played no major role in its strategic planning, as Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] refrained from involvement. 

The [[German invasion of Belgium (1940)|fall of Belgium]] and [[Battle of France|France]] to Germany in June 1940 led Canada to drastically expand its military spending and armed forces, and implement conscription for home defence.<ref name=canensewowa>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/second-world-war-wwii|title=Second World War (WWII)|last1=Stacey|first1=C. P.|last2=Foot|first2=Richard|date=August 23, 2021|access-date=March 8, 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=October 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025153715/https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/second-world-war-wwii|url-status=live}}</ref> Like the First World War, conscription for overseas service was a divisive issue, with some English Canadians supporting it and French Canadians opposing it.<ref name="FrancisFrancis2009fh">{{cite book|author1=R. D. Francis|author2=Donald B. Smith|author3=Richard Jones|author4=Donald B. Smith|title=Journeys: A History of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbbZRIOKclsC&pg=PA428|year=2009|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-17-644244-6|page=428}}</ref> The [[Conscription Crisis of 1944]] saw Mackenzie King pressured to accept conscription for overseas service.<ref name=canensewowa/>

Hostilities ceased in September 1945. Canada participated in the [[Paris Peace Treaties, 1947|Paris Peace Treaties of 1947]], and signed peace treaties with Finland, Italy, Hungary, and Romania. In 1951, Canada issued a [[royal proclamation]] to end the state of war with Germany, and signed the [[Treaty of San Francisco]] to end hostilities with Japan.<ref name=canensewowa/> Around 1.1 million Canadians served in the military during the war, with over 45,000 casualties and 55,000 wounded.<ref name="Sandler2002">{{cite book|author=Stanley Sandler|title=Ground warfare: an international encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L_xxOM85bD8C&pg=PA159|year=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-344-5|page=159}}</ref>

====Canadian Army operations====
The Canadian Militia (renamed the [[Canadian Army]] in November 1940)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/themes/defence/caf/militaryhistory/dhh/official/book-1955-army-ww2-1-en.pdf|page=89|work=Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War Volume I: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific|publisher=Ministry of National Defence (Canada)|last=Stacey|first=Charles Perry|year=1955|title=The Army Programme for 1941|access-date=March 9, 2023|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629194056/https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/themes/defence/caf/militaryhistory/dhh/official/book-1955-army-ww2-1-en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> saw minimal action early in the war, with the [[1st Canadian Division]] only briefly deploying alongside the [[Second British Expeditionary Force]] during the fall of France in June 1940.<ref>{{cite book|title=Canada in the Great Power Game: 1914-2014|page=194|last=Dyer|first=Gwynne|year=2015|isbn=9780307361691|publisher=Random House of Canada}}</ref> After the British [[Battle of Dunkirk|withdrawal from Dunkirk]], the 1st Canadian Division was one of few fully intact formations left in the UK in terms of equipment and manpower. By late 1940, multiple Canadian units were stationed in the UK to defend against a [[German invasion of Britain|potential German invasion]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/d_day/joining.aspx|title=Joining Up|website=www.archives.gov.on.ca|year=2022|publisher=King's Printer for Ontario|access-date=8 March 2023|archive-date=March 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309010923/http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/d_day/joining.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=vetbatbr>{{cite web|url=https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/second-world-war/canada-and-the-second-world-war/battle-of-britain|title=The Battle of Britain|date=November 16, 2021|access-date=March 8, 2023|publisher=Government of Canada|website=www.veterans.gc.ca|archive-date=March 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309010924/https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/wars-and-conflicts/second-world-war/canada-and-the-second-world-war/battle-of-britain|url-status=live}}</ref> 
[[File:Canadian soldiers training in the hills on Hong Kong Island.jpg|thumb|Canadian soldiers on exercise in Hong Kong prior to the [[Battle of Hong Kong|Japanese invasion of the colony]] in 1941]]
In December 1941, [[C Force|two Canadian battalions]] participated in the [[Battle of Hong Kong]],<ref name="BercusonWise1994">{{cite book|author1=David Jay Bercuson|author2=Sydney F. Wise|author-link2=Sydney F. Wise|title=The Valour and the horror revisited|url=https://archive.org/details/valourhorrorrevi0000unse/page/110|year=1994|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-7735-1271-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/valourhorrorrevi0000unse/page/110 110]}}</ref> while the 2nd Canadian Division led the [[Dieppe Raid]] in August 1942.<ref name="English1991kk">{{cite book|author=John Alan English|title=The Canadian Army and the Normandy campaign: a study of failure in high command|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j7YFRkIQ8H0C&pg=PA75|year=1991|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-93019-6|page=75}}</ref> The [[First Canadian Army]] was also formed in 1942, to prepare for the invasion of northwest Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/first-canadian-army|title=First Canadian Army|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|access-date=March 8, 2023|date=January 3, 2021|last1=Harris|first1=Stephen|last2=Marshall|first2=Tabitha|archive-date=April 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401151221/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/first-canadian-army|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 1943, the 1st and 5th Canadian Divisions took part in the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] as part of the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]].<ref name="Goddard2007">{{cite book|author=Lance Goddard|title=Hell & high water: Canada and the Italian campaign|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SK61lK1JplIC&pg=PA61|year= 2007|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-728-0|page=61}}</ref> They also participated in the [[Allied invasion of Italy]], facing intense combat in the [[Battle of Ortona]] and the [[Moro River Campaign]].<ref name="Zuehlke2004">{{cite book|author=Mark Zuehlke|title=Ortona: Canada's Epic World War II Battle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pzL7VE3o24wC&pg=PA4|year= 2004|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=978-1-55054-557-9|page=4}}</ref> In spring 1944, Canadian units under Lieutenant-General [[E. L. M. Burns]] played a leading role in breaking through the [[Hitler Line]], and later breached the [[Gothic Line]] after the [[Battle of Rimini (1944)|Battle of Rimini]]. In total, 92,757 Canadian soldiers served in the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]], with 5,764 casualties.<ref name=canensewowa/>
[[File:Canadian landings at Juno Beach.jpg|thumb|A landing craft with the [[Royal Winnipeg Rifles]] heads for [[Juno Beach]] during the [[Normandy landings]] in June 1944]]

On June 6, 1944, during the [[Normandy landings]], the 3rd Canadian Division and the [[2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade]] secured [[Juno Beach]],<ref name="Saunders2004">{{cite book|author=Tim Saunders|title=Juno Beach: 3rd Canadian & 79th armoured divisions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Am6a3NnzKY4C&pg=PA8|year=2004|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-7735-2792-8|page=8}}</ref> supported by earlier landings of [[1st Canadian Parachute Battalion|Canadian airborne troops]] behind the beaches.<ref name="HallHall2004">{{cite book|author1=Anthony Hall|author2=Tony Hall|title=D-Day: Operation Overlord Day by Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFZ8G-SmVk0C&pg=PA126|year= 2004|publisher=Zenith Imprint|isbn=978-0-7603-1607-8|page=126}}</ref> The Canadians led the breakout from the Normandy bridgehead, notably at the [[Falaise pocket]]. Afterwards, the First Canadian Army conducted campaigns to clear coastal fortress, like [[Operation Astonia]].<ref name=canensewowa/> From October to November, the Canadians [[Battle of the Scheldt|fought a series of battles]] to secure the [[Scheldt]] and open [[Antwerp]] to Allied shipping.<ref name="Goddard2005">{{cite book|author=Lance Goddard|title=Canada and the liberation of the Netherlands, May 1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjVaApRR1g0C&pg=PA105|year=2005|publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-1-55002-547-7|page=105}}</ref> 

In early 1945, Canadian units fought in the [[Siegfried Line campaign]], clearing a path to the [[Rhine]] and enabling Allied offensives further beyond the river.<ref name="Delaney2012ii">{{cite book|author=Douglas E. Delaney|title=Corps Commanders: Five British and Canadian Generals at War, 1939–45|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S3xSRrY2kYgC&pg=PA167|year= 2012|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-2090-5|page=167}}</ref> After the campaign, the First Canadian Army participated in the [[liberation of the Netherlands]] and the [[Western Allied invasion of Germany]].<ref name=autogenerated8>{{cite book|author=Lance Goddard|title=Canada and the liberation of the Netherlands, May 1945|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjVaApRR1g0C&pg=PA130|year=2005|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-547-7|pages=130–131}}</ref> Around 237,000 Canadian soldiers served in [[North West Europe campaign]] in 1944 and 1945, among whom 11,336 died.<ref name=canensewowa/>

====Naval operations====
[[File:QF 2 pounder HMCS Assiniboine a104057-v6.jpg|thumb|Royal Canadian Navy sailors man a gun aboard [[HMS Kempenfelt (I18)|HMCS ''Assiniboine'']], while escorting an [[HX convoys|HX convoy]] to the UK]]
The RCN expanded significantly during the war, with 99,688 servicemen, around 6,500 servicewomen, and 471 combat ships by war's end.<ref name=canensewowa/> The navy protected supply and troop convoys from [[U-boat]] [[Wolfpack (naval tactic)|wolfpacks]] during the [[Battle of the Atlantic]].<ref name="BellElleman2003">{{cite book|author1=Christopher M. Bell|author2=Bruce A. Elleman|title=Naval mutinies of the twentieth century: an international perspective|url=https://archive.org/details/navalmutiniesoft00cbel/page/246|year=2003|publisher=Frank Cass|isbn=978-0-7146-5460-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/navalmutiniesoft00cbel/page/246 246]}}</ref> After the Atlantic Convoy Conference in 1943, all Allied convoys north of New York City were coordinated through the [[Canadian Northwest Atlantic|Canadian Northwest Atlantic Command]]. RCN warships sank 33 enemy U-boats during the war.<ref name=canensewowa/> 

In addition to the Atlantic campaign, the RCN participated in the [[Dunkirk evacuation]], the [[Operation Torch|Allied landing in North Africa]], and the Normandy landings.<ref name=canensewowa/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://macleans.ca/culture/dunkirk-the-canadian-heritage-minute-that-wasnt/|title=How Dunkirk's Canadian hero 'fell through the cracks' of history|date=August 3, 2017|access-date=March 20, 2023|publisher=St. Joseph Communications|website=macleans.ca|last=McIntyre|first=Catherine|archive-date=March 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320173555/https://macleans.ca/culture/dunkirk-the-canadian-heritage-minute-that-wasnt/|url-status=live}}</ref> The light cruiser {{HMCS|Uganda|66|6}} also participated in the [[Pacific War]] as a part of the [[British Pacific Fleet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://legionmagazine.com/en/hmcs-uganda-the-ship-that-voted-its-way-home/|title=HMCS Uganda: the ship that voted its way home|website=legionmagazine.com|publisher=Canvet Publications|last=Adams|first=Sharon|date=May 3, 2022|access-date=March 20, 2023|archive-date=March 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320173556/https://legionmagazine.com/en/hmcs-uganda-the-ship-that-voted-its-way-home/|url-status=live}}</ref> The navy lost 24 warships during the war, the largest being the destroyer {{HMCS|Athabaskan|G07|6}}.<ref name=canensewowa/> In addition to the RCN, Canadians also served with the [[Canadian Merchant Navy]].<ref name="Johnston2008oik">{{cite book|author=Mac Johnston|title=Corvettes Canada: convoy veterans of WWII tell their true stories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ig-A36yZ4rMC&pg=PT24|year= 2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-15429-8|page=24}}</ref>

====Air operations====
[[File:Pilots of No. 1 Squadron RCAF with one of their Hawker Hurricanes at Prestwick, Scotland, 30 October 1940. CH1733.jpg|thumb|left|Pilots of [[401 Tactical Fighter Squadron|No. 1 Squadron RCAF]] in the UK, October 1940. The squadron was deployed to the UK in June 1940, shortly before the [[Battle of Britain]].]]
The RCAF also contributed to the war effort, although its manpower was initially hindered by the [[British Commonwealth Air Training Plan]] (BCATP), which trained aircrews for the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.<ref name=canensewowa/> While Canada hosted most BCATP facilities and funded three-quarters of the costs, the British expected graduates to join the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF). However, intervention from Mackenzie King allowed some Canadian graduates to join the RCAF instead.<ref name=canenbrcoatp>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/british-commonwealth-air-training-plan|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|publisher=Historica Canada|date=September 28, 2021|last1=Hillmer|first1=Norman|last2=Hatch|first2=Fred J.|last3=Myers|first3=Patricia|last4=Panneton|first4=Daniel|last5=Marshall|first5=Tabitha|title=British Commonwealth Air Training Plan|access-date=March 8, 2023|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308222548/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/british-commonwealth-air-training-plan|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result of the earlier arrangement, many Canadian BCATP graduates served in RAF units like [[No. 242 Squadron RAF|No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron RAF]], instead of RCAF units.<ref name=vetbatbr/><ref name=canensewowa/> At its peak, BCATP included 107 schools and 184 ancillary units across Canada. By the end of 1945, 131,553 pilots graduated from BCATP in Canada, serving with the RAF, RCAF, or other Allied air forces.<ref name=canenbrcoatp/>

Although the BCATP initially delayed the RCAF's deployment overseas, by war's end, 48 RCAF squadrons were stationed abroad. They participated in campaigns like the [[Battle of Britain]] and the [[Combined Bomber Offensive]].<ref name="CosgroveBilling2003">{{cite book|author1=Edmund Cosgrove|author2=Brick Billing|title=Canada's Fighting Pilots|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-8J9twhBtuwC&pg=PA21|year=2003|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-0-919614-97-0|page=21}}</ref><ref name=canensewowa/> By the war's end, Canadian airmen served in every major theatre, including [[North African campaign|North Africa]], Italy, northwest Europe, and the Pacific.<ref name="CoppNielsen1996ee">{{cite book|author1=J. T. Copp|author2=Richard Nielsen|title=No price too high: Canadians and the Second World War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGps_LOKRVIC&pg=PA103|year=1996|publisher=McGraw-Hill Ryerson|isbn=978-0-07-552713-8|page=103}}</ref> Caadian airmen in Canada participated in the [[Aleutian Islands campaign]] and conducted anti-submarine operations in the Atlantic. Throughout the war, 232,632 men and 17,030 women served in the RCAF, with 17,101 dead.<ref name=canensewowa/> By the end of the war, the RCAF was the fourth-largest Allied air force.<ref name="McCreery2007pws">{{cite book|author=Christopher McCreery|title=The Maple Leaf and the White Cross: A History of St. John Ambulance and the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M-4fTjgteikC&pg=PA109|year=2007|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-740-2|page=109|author-link=Christopher McCreery}}</ref>

====Industry and research====
[[File:News. Girls of the Air Force BAnQ P48S1P07085.jpg|thumb|Members of the [[Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division]]. During the Second World War, women were recruited into the military to fill non-combat roles.]]
Canadian industries produced 815,729 units of war materials during the conflict, including small arms, warships, aircraft, and vehicles. Over half of Canada's output was sent to the UK, facilitated by the [[Billion Dollar Gift and Mutual Aid|Billion Dollar Gift]] package. Labour shortages prompted many women to enter the workforce for the first time, filling roles left by enlisted men.<ref name=canensewowa/> The [[Canadian Women's Army Corps]] and the [[Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division|RCAF Women's Division]] were created to relieve servicemen for frontline duties.<ref name="Wadge1946">{{cite book|author=D. Collett Wadge|title=Women in uniform|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_5I4ENEHOIC&pg=PA257|year=1946|publisher=[[Imperial War Museum]]|isbn=978-1-901623-61-1|page=257}}</ref>

Canada also supported British and American efforts to develop an [[atomic bomb]]. In 1942, the Canadian government aquired the [[Eldorado Mine (Northwest Territories)|Eldorado Mine]] to mine uranium,<ref name=canensewowa/> and formed a nuclear research partnership with the UK, establishing the [[Montreal Laboratory]] to house the British [[Tube Alloys]] nuclear program.<ref name=canencamapr>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-and-the-manhattan-project|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|publisher=Historica Canada|access-date=March 8, 2023|date=August 21, 2020|last=Noakes|first=Taylor C.|title=Canada and the Manhattan Project|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308222546/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-and-the-manhattan-project|url-status=live}}</ref> The British and Americans agreed to cooperate on nuclear weapons development during the [[First Quebec Conference]] in 1943, and the Montreal Laboratory was absorbed into the [[Manhattan Project]].<ref name=canencamapr/>

=== Cold War ===
{{main|Canada in the Cold War}}
{{Further|Outline of the Canadian Armed Forces at the end of the Cold War}}
[[File:Continental Defense Warning Systems.png|thumb|A map depicting the early warning systems for North America. Three [[early-warning radar]] lines in Canada were built during the 1950s to detect incoming Soviet bombers heading for the continent.]]

The [[Gouzenko Affair|defection of a Soviet cipher clerk in Ottawa]] in September 1945 and subsequent allegations of a Soviet spy ring marked the beginning of the [[Cold War]] in Canada.<ref name="Knight2007i">{{cite book|author=Amy Knight|title=How the Cold War Began|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=msaESCg9lgAC&pg=PA15|year= 2007|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-7867-1938-9|page=15}}</ref> As a founding [[NATO]] member and [[NORAD]] signatory, Canada was aligned with the [[Western Bloc]] against the [[Communist bloc]].<ref name="Bothwell2007">{{cite book|author=Robert Bothwell|title=Alliance and illusion: Canada and the world, 1945–1984|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PXdDze0yxwwC&pg=PA214|year=2007|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-1368-6|page=214}}</ref> In the 1950s, Canada partnered with the U.S. to establish [[early-warning radar]] systems, including the [[Pinetree Line]], [[Mid-Canada Line]], and the [[DEW Line]], to defend against Soviet attacks.<ref name="Bercuson2002">{{cite book|author=David J. Bercuson|title=Blood on the Hills: The Canadian Army in the Korean War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCizi80V1M0C&pg=PA48|year= 2002|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8516-0|page=48}}</ref>

As a [[middle power]], Canada recognized its military constraints and embraced [[multilateralism]], making its military contributions dependent upon being part of a larger multilateral coalition.<ref name="JamesKasoff2008">{{cite book|author1=Patrick James|author2=Mark J. Kasoff|title=Canadian studies in the new millennium|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7_LHcv89nW4C&pg=PA265|year=2008|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-9468-1|page=265}}</ref> As a result, it refrained from direct involvement in conflicts like the [[Vietnam War]], despite the involvement of close allies.<ref name="Gaffen1995azu">{{cite book|author=Fred Gaffen|title=Cross-border warriors: Canadians in American forces, Americans in Canadian forces: from the Civil War to the Gulf|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sXDba-2TaNIC&pg=PR8|year=1995|publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-1-55002-225-4|page=8}}</ref>

==== Korean War ====
{{main|Canada in the Korean War}}
At the start of the [[Korean War]] (1950–1953), Canada quickly backed the establishment of a [[United Nations]] military force to liberate South Korea.<ref name=canenkorwar>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/korean-war|title=Korean War|last=Herd|first=Alex|date=18 January 2021|access-date=28 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|archive-date=February 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228085915/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/korean-war|url-status=live}}</ref> Canadian units in Korea were integrated into the larger [[British Commonwealth Forces Korea]].<ref name="Cohen2011a">{{cite book|author=Andrew Cohen|title=While Canada Slept: How We Lost Our Place in the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U916ZPBzengC&pg=PT31|year=2011|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-1-55199-587-8|page=31}}</ref> Canada initially contributed three RCN destroyers and the [[No. 426 Squadron RCAF|No. 426 Squadron]], a RCAF military transport squadron, to support the war effort.<ref name=canenkorwar/><ref name="IssermanBowman2003unq">{{cite book|author1=Maurice Isserman|author2=John Stewart Bowman|title=Korean War|url=https://archive.org/details/koreanwarupdated0000isse/page/52|year=2003|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-4939-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/koreanwarupdated0000isse/page/52 52]}}</ref> Eight RCN ships rotated duties in Korean waters during the war, protecting the UN fleet and supporting onshore operations.<ref name=canenkorwar/> In Korea, 22 RCAF fighter pilots also flew jets on exchange duty with the [[United States Air Force]] (USAF).<ref name=canenkorwar/><ref name="Melady2012fhj">{{cite book|author=John Melady|title=Korea: Canada's Forgotten War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qo0dZa9Y6nQC&pg=PA178|year=2012|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-4597-0132-8|page=178}}</ref> 
[[File:Two snipers in Korea Deux tireurs d’élite en Corée (8682608811).jpg|thumb|Two snipers of [[Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry]] in Korea during the [[Korean War]].]]
Having undergone rapid demilitarization after the Second World War, the Canadian Army required several months to mobilize back to wartime strength.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite book|author=Stanley Sandler|title=Ground warfare: an international encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L_xxOM85bD8C&pg=PA149|year= 2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-344-5|page=149}}</ref> Domestic pressure for a larger commitment led the Canadian Army to form Special Force (later renamed the [[25th Canadian Infantry Brigade]]) for deployment in Korea.<ref name=canenkorwar/> The first Canadian Army units arrived in Korea in December 1950, joining the conflict after its early campaigns and when the attrition phase began.<ref name=canenkorwar/><ref name="Jessup1998">{{cite book|author=John E. Jessup|title=An encyclopedic dictionary of conflict and conflict resolution, 1945–1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hP7jJAkTd9MC&pg=PA405|year=1998|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-28112-9|page=405}}</ref> For army units, the war was characterized as a "war of patrols" in mountainous terrain. Battles the Canadian Army fought in include the battles of [[Battle of Kapyong|Kapyong]] and [[Battle of Kowang-san|Kowang-san]].<ref name=canenkorwar/>

Canada sent 26,791 troops to fight in Korea.<ref name="Rottman2002">{{cite book|author=Gordon L. Rottman|title=Korean War order of battle: United States, United Nations, and Communist Ground, Naval, and Air Forces, 1950–1953|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpOp2OO1-DAC&pg=PA126|year=2002|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-97835-8|page=126}}</ref> There were 1,558 Canadian casualties, including 516 dead.<ref name="Cohen2008">{{cite book|author=Andrew Cohen|title=Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B. Pearson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JyBrNgMJELIC&pg=PT99|year= 2008|publisher=Penguin Canada|isbn=978-0-14-317269-7|page=99}}</ref> Hostilities ceased with the 1953 [[Korean Armistice Agreement]].<ref name=autogenerated7>{{cite book|author=David J. Bercuson|title=Blood on the Hills: The Canadian Army in the Korean War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCizi80V1M0C&pg=PA221|year=2002|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8516-0|page=221}}</ref> Following the armistice, Canada stationed a garrison in the region to patrol the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone]] until 1955. The last Canadian soldiers under [[United Nations Command]] departed the region in 1957.<ref name=canenkorwar/>

==== Forces in Europe ====
{{main|Canadian Forces Europe}}
[[File:Canadese landtroepen van de 27e Infanterie-brigade voor het Atlantische leger va, Bestanddeelnr 904-8328.jpg|thumb|Members of the [[27th Canadian Infantry Brigade]], a brigade created for service in [[West Germany]], disembark in [[Rotterdam]], 1951]]
During the Cold War, Canada deployed its military abroad for the first time during peacetime, maintaining units in Western Europe from the early 1950s to 1993. Around 100,000 Canadian military personnel served in France and West Germany as part of [[Canadian Forces Europe]].<ref name=canencafeurcw>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-forces-in-europe-during-the-cold-war|title=Canadian Forces in Europe During the Cold War|last=Boileau|first=John|date=11 February 2022|access-date=26 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref>

In adherence to NATO obligations, Canada formed the [[27th Canadian Infantry Brigade]] (27CIBG), later designated as 4 Combat Group and 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade, for service in West Germany.<ref name="HornBalasevicius2007">{{cite book|author1=Bernd Horn|author2=Tony Balasevicius|title=Casting light on the shadows: Canadian perspectives on special operations forces|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2ReYRiHmMQC&pg=PA190|year=2007|publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-1-55002-694-8|page=190}}</ref> It initially comprised 6,700 soldiers organized into several units, including three infantry battalions, an armoured regiment, and [[MGR-1 Honest John]] nuclear missile batteries. The brigade was reorganized following a 1970 defence review, losing its nuclear capability and reducing its size. By 1977, it transitioned from a frontline role as a part of the British commitment in northern Germany to a rear area reserve force in the south.<ref name=canencafeurcw/>

In addition to the 27CIBG, Canada contributed two infantry battalion groups to NATO's [[quick reaction force]], [[Allied Command Europe Mobile Force]], in 1964. However by the late 1960s, the commitment was reduced to one battalion.<ref name=canencafeurcw/> The [[Canadian Air-Sea Transportable Brigade Group]] (CAST), comprising 5,000 personnel, was another unit formed in 1968 to support Canada's European commitments. Though stationed in Canada, CAST was able to deploy to Norway within 30 days. CAST only deployed once for a military exercise in 1986 before disbandment in 1989.<ref name=canencafeurcw/>
[[File:CF-100s 423 Sqn.jpg|thumb|left|Two [[Royal Canadian Air Force|RCAF]] [[Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck|CF-100 Canuck]]s from [[RCAF Station Grostenquin]] fly over [[Sardinia]] in 1962]]
In 1951, Canada formed the [[1 Canadian Air Division|1 Air Division]] to fulfil NATO air defence obligations.<ref name="Pigott2002">{{cite book|author=Peter Pigott|title=Wings across Canada: an illustrated history of Canadian aviation|url=https://archive.org/details/wingsacrosscanad00pigo_0/page/126|year=2002|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-412-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/wingsacrosscanad00pigo_0/page/126 126]}}</ref> Initially a [[day fighter|day]]/[[night fighter|all-weather]] interception squadron, its role shifted to nuclear strike and reconnaissance in 1962, and then solely to reconnaissance in 1966. The 1 Air Division initially comprised two wings in France and two in Germany, although RCAF assets in France were relocated to Germany after the [[French withdrawal from NATO]] in 1966.<ref name=canencafeurcw/>

==== Unification of Canada's military ====
{{Main|Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces}}
Canada began exploring military unification as early as the 1930s, with some elements, such as military colleges and administrative aspects, unified by the 1940s and 1950s.<ref name=canenuncaf>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/unification-of-the-canadian-armed-forces|title=Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces|last=Boileau|first=John|date=11 November 2021|access-date=9 March 2023}}</ref> In the 1960s, under [[Minister of National Defence (Canada)|national defence minister]] [[Paul Hellyer]], Canada pursued full military unification to eliminate duplication of services and reduce costs.<ref name="MurrayViotti1994pl">{{cite book|author1=Douglas J. Murray|author2=Paul R. Viotti|title=The defense policies of nations: a comparative study|url=https://archive.org/details/defensepolicieso00doug|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-4794-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/defensepolicieso00doug/page/84 84]}}</ref><ref name="Milberry1984">{{cite book|author=Larry Milberry|title=Sixty years: the RCAF and CF Air Command 1924–1984|year=1984|publisher=CANAV Books|page=367|isbn=978-0-9690703-4-4}}</ref> In 1964, the National Defence Act was amended to establish a unified command structure, consolidating the three service chiefs into one [[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]]. The Canadian Forces Reorganization Act 1968 merged the Army, RCN, and RCAF into branches of the [[Canadian Armed Forces]] (CAF), with the three services ceasing to exist as separate entities.<ref name=canenuncaf/>

Hellyer's efforts to unify Canada's military were partly successful, with support services and headquarters commands being successfully unified, and some cost-cutting service consolidations praised. However, changes such as a unified ranking structure and service uniforms faced public and CAF personnel. Due to ongoing resistance from the army, air force, and navy, many of Hellyer's changes were reversed by 2014.<ref name=canenuncaf/>

====October Crisis====
{{main|October Crisis}}
[[File:Soldier-and-child-octcri.jpg|upright|thumb|A soldier in Montreal during the [[October Crisis]] in 1970]]
The October Crisis was instigated by the Montreal-based [[Front de libération du Québec]]'s (FLQ) kidnapping of two government officials.<ref name=canenoctcri>{{cite web|title=October Crisis|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/october-crisis|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|last1=McIntosh|first1=Andrew|last2=Cooper|first2=Celine|date=1 October 2020|access-date=2 April 2023|publisher=Historica Canada}}</ref> On October 15, 1970, five days after the second kidnapping, the Quebec government requested military aid under the National Defence Act, with soldiers deployed to strategic locations in Montreal hours later.<ref name=canenoctcri/><ref name=octcrihumri>{{cite journal|title=The October Crisis of 1970: Human Rights Abuses Under the War Measures Act|last=Clément|first=Dominique|volume=42|issue=2|year=2008|journal=Journal of Canadian Studies|doi=10.3138/jcs.42.2.160|page=178|s2cid=142290392 }}</ref> The following day, the federal government invoked the [[War Measures Act]] to confront the "apprehended insurrection," marking its only peacetime use.<ref name=canenoctcri/><ref name="Nischik2008">{{cite book|author=Reingard M. Nischik|title=History of literature in Canada: English-Canadian and French-Canadian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYgTaGwa4nsC&pg=PA287|year=2008|publisher=Camden House|isbn=978-1-57113-359-5|page=287}}</ref> 

Under the War Measures Act, the FLQ was banned and civil liberties were suspended. Troops were deployed to Quebec until January 1971. Ultimately, 12,500 Canadian Forces troops were stationed in Quebec, with 7,500 in Montreal.<ref name="Cohen2011b">{{cite book|author=Andrew Cohen|title=While Canada Slept: How We Lost Our Place in the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U916ZPBzengC&pg=PT32|year=2011|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-1-55199-587-8|page=32}}</ref><ref name="Granatstein2011cdgh">{{cite book|author=J. L. Granatstein|title=Canada's Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7E-j1UWuOMC&pg=PA366|year= 2011|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-1178-8|page=366}}</ref> The federal government's use of the War Measures Act sparked controversy due to the unjust detention of the majority of those arrested. This played a role in its replacement with the more restrained [[Emergencies Act]] in 1988.<ref name=canenoctcri/><ref name=octcrihumri/>

==== Vietnam War ====
{{main|Canada and the Vietnam War}}
[[File:ICCS members interview repatriation refusal, Loc Ninh, 13 March 1973.jpg|thumb|A [[prisoner of war|POW]] is interviewed by a Canadian officer with the [[International Commission of Control and Supervision|ICCS]] and a [[Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam|Provisional Revolutionary Government]] official in 1973.]]
Canada was a non-belligerent during the Vietnam War (1955–1975), and took part in two international truce commissions, the [[International Control Commission]] and the [[International Commission of Control and Supervision]].<ref name="SmithSmith2010">{{cite book|author1=Sydney Percival Smith|author2=David Scott Smith|title=Lifting the Silence: A World War II RCAF Bomber Pilot Reunites with His Past|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTVd35BZRb4C&pg=PA208|year= 2010|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55488-774-3|page=208}}</ref> Canada's military involvement in the conflict was minimal, with a small contingent deployed in 1973 to enforce the [[Paris Peace Accords]].<ref name="harvardcitizen">{{cite news|url=http://harvardcitizen.com/2007/03/21/why-canada-must-go-to-iraq/ |title=Why Canada Must Go To Iraq |author=Thomas Park |newspaper=The Harvard Citizen |access-date=November 18, 2009 |date=March 21, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828054005/http://harvardcitizen.com/2007/03/21/why-canada-must-go-to-iraq/ |archive-date=August 28, 2008 }}</ref> 

Throughout the conflict, [[Vietnam War resisters in Canada|Canada became a haven for American Vietnam War resisters]], with around 20,000 [[Draft evasion in the Vietnam War|Vietnam draft dodgers]] and 12,000 [[military deserter]]s seeking refuge in the country.<ref name=canenviewar>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vietnam-war|title=Vietnam War|last1=Levant|first1=Victor|first2=Jon|last2=Tattrie|date=8 September 2016|access-date=26 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> However, in a countercurrent to the movement of American draft dodgers and deserters to Canada, around 12,000 Canadians and Canadian-American [[dual citizens]] enlisted with the [[United States Armed Forces]] and served in combat roles in Vietnam.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lost-to-history-the-canadians-who-fought-in-vietnam-1.3304440|title=Lost to history: the Canadians who fought in Vietnam|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|website=www.cbc.ca|access-date=26 February 2023|date=10 November 2015|last=Corday|first=Chris}}</ref> Between 110 and 134 Canadians died during the conflict.<ref name=canenviewar/><ref name="Malley-Morrison2009">{{cite book|author=Kathleen Malley-Morrison|title=State Violence and the Right to Peace: Western Europe and North America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hV-y4BNWTt0C&pg=PA167|year=2009|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-275-99651-2|page=167}}</ref> In 2009, seven remained listed as [[missing in action]].<ref name="Malley-Morrison2009"/>

=== Post-Cold War ===
In the 1990s, the CAF participated in multinational missions responding to international crises. The CAF also provided aid within Canada after several [[natural disasters]], deploying over 8,500 military personnel to Manitoba after the [[1997 Red River flood]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/environment/extreme-weather/red-river-rising-manitoba-floods/canadian-military-to-the-rescue.html|access-date=August 2, 2012|title=Canadian military rush to Manitoba flood zone|publisher=CBC}}</ref> over 16,000 to aid in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec after the [[North American ice storm of 1998]]. The 1998 ice storm marked the largest-ever Canadian military response to a domestic natural disaster and the largest operational deployment since the Korean War.<ref name="B.)Head2009">{{cite book|author1=Michael Head|author2=Scott Mann|title=Domestic deployment of the armed forces: military powers, law and human rights|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OcaQ341m4PEC&pg=PA72|year=2009|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|isbn=978-0-7546-7346-0|page=72}}</ref><ref name="Miskel2008">{{cite book|author=James F. Miskel|title=Disaster Response and Homeland Security: What Works, What Doesn't|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yISaAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA39|year=2008|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-5972-4|page=39}}</ref><ref name=Peregrine>{{cite web|url=http://www.army.gc.ca/lfwa/Op_Peregrine-eng.asp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130101015133/http://www.army.gc.ca/lfwa/Op_Peregrine-eng.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 1, 2013 |title=Operation Peregrine: Canadian Forces Personnel Fighting B.C. Forest Fires |year=2009 |publisher=Land Force Western Area |access-date=February 19, 2011 }}</ref>

==== Oka Crisis ====
{{main| Oka Crisis}}
[[File:Crise d'Oka - SQ et forces canadiennes.jpg|thumb|Canadian Forces personnel pictured behind two civilians of the [[Sûreté du Québec]] during the [[Oka Crisis]] in 1990.]]
The Oka Crisis was a [[land rights|land dispute]] between a group of Mohawk and [[Oka, Quebec]], from July 11 to September 26, 1990. Quebec Premier [[Robert Bourassa]] invoked Section 275 of the National Defence Act on August 8, requesting military support in "aid of the civil power",<ref name="Zellen2009pol">{{cite book|author=Barry Scott Zellen|title=On thin ice: the Inuit, the state, and the challenge of Arctic sovereignty|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jnRGYpNuI18C&pg=PA197|year= 2009|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7391-3278-4|page=197}}</ref> after one police officer and two Mohawk were killed.<ref name="Riordon2005"/> 

Around 4,000 regular and reserve troops from Quebec were mobilized to support provincial authorities.<ref name=canenoka>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oka-crisis|last=de Bruin|first=Tabitha|date=10 November 2023|access-date=5 May 2024|title=Kanesatake Resistance (Oka Crisis)|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|publisher=Historica Canada}}</ref><ref name="Swain2011">{{cite book|author=Harry Swain|title=Oka: a political crisis and its legacy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQIBdJxrJeUC&pg=PA134|year=2011|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=978-1-55365-429-2|page=134}}</ref> Troops and equipment were mobilized at staging areas around [[Kanesatake]] and [[Kahnawake]], while reconnaissance aircraft conducted missions over Mohawk territory to gather intelligence.<ref name=canenoka/><ref name="Riordon2005">{{cite book|author=Michael Riordon|title=An unauthorized biography of the world: oral history on the front lines|url=https://archive.org/details/unauthorizedbiog2004rior|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=Between The Lines|isbn=978-1-896357-93-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/unauthorizedbiog2004rior/page/10 10]}}</ref> A month after the military's deployment, the crisis ended with the departure of land defenders from the disputed grounds.<ref name=canenoka/>

==== Gulf War ====
{{main|Operation Friction}}
[[File:HMCS Protecteur during Operation Friction.jpg|thumb|{{HMCS|Protecteur|AOR 509|6}} supporting coalition forces during the Gulf War]]
Canada quickly joined the [[Coalition of the Gulf War|US-led UN coalition]] after the [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait]].<ref name="HadleyHuebert1996">{{cite book|author1=Michael L. Hadley|author2=Robert Neil Huebert|author3=Fred W. Crickard|title=A nation's navy: in quest of Canadian naval identity|url=https://archive.org/details/nationsnavyinque0000unse/page/13|year=1996|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press (MQUP)|isbn=978-0-7735-1506-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/nationsnavyinque0000unse/page/13 13]}}</ref> Over 5,100 CAF personnel served, with 2,700 in theatre at its peak. Operations were coordinated under [[Operation Friction]]. The [[Gulf War]] marked the first time female CAF members served in combat roles.<ref name=canenpeguwa/>

A Canadian naval task force was sent to support the coalition, comprising destroyers {{HMCS|Terra Nova|DDE 259|6}} and {{HMCS|Athabaskan|DDG 282|6}}, and the supply ship {{HMCS|Protecteur|AOR 509|6}}.<ref name="HadleyHuebert1996"/> The Canadian Task Group led the coalition maritime logistics forces in the Persian Gulf.<ref name="MorinGimblett1997plq">{{cite book|author1=Jean H. Morin|author2=Richard Howard Gimblett|title=Operation Friction, 1990–1991: the Canadian forces in the Persian Gulf|url=https://archive.org/details/operationfrictio0000mori|url-access=registration|year= 1997|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-257-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/operationfrictio0000mori/page/253 253]}}</ref> Canadian warships conducted about a quarter of all inspections of vessels suspected of breaching the coalition blockade.<ref name=canenpeguwa>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/persian-gulf-war-1990-91|title=Persian Gulf War, 1990-91|last1=Gimblett|first1=Richard|last2=Marshall|first2=Tabitha|date=17 June 2020|access-date=28 February 2023|publisher=Historica Canada|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> Another destroyer, {{HMCS|Huron|DDG 281|6}}, arrived after hostilities ceased and was the first allied ship to visit Kuwait.<ref name="MorinGimblett1997plq"/> 
[[File:United States Armed Forces in the Gulf War 1991 GLF1058.jpg|thumb|A formation of coalition aircraft flying over Saudi Arabia during the [[Gulf War]], 1991. A Canadian [[CF-18 Hornet]] is visible in the right foreground.]]

The CAF also deployed a [[CF-18 Hornet]] and [[CH-124 Sea King]] squadron.<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Canada and Multilateral Operations in Support of Peace and Stability
 |url=http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/news-nouvelles-eng.asp?cat=00&id=914
 |publisher=National Defence
 |year=2010
 |access-date=April 15, 2010
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429095700/http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/news-nouvelles-eng.asp?cat=00&id=914
 |archive-date=April 29, 2011
}}</ref> When the [[Gulf War air campaign|air campaign]] began, 24 Canadian CF-18s joined coalition forces in providing air cover and targeting ground assets, including assisting in the destruction of the [[Iraqi Navy]] during the [[Battle of Bubiyan]].<ref name="MorinGimblett1997xc"/><ref>{{cite book|page=266|title=Conduct of the Persian Gulf War: Chapters I through VIII|publisher=United States Department of Defense|year=1991}}</ref> The air war in Iraq was the first offensive combat operation Canadian military personnel took part in since the Korean War.<ref name=canenpeguwa/><ref name="MorinGimblett1997xc">{{cite book|author1=Jean H. Morin|author2=Richard Howard Gimblett|title=Operation Friction, 1990–1991: the Canadian forces in the Persian Gulf|url=https://archive.org/details/operationfrictio0000mori|url-access=registration|year=1997|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-257-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/operationfrictio0000mori/page/168 168]–170}}</ref>

A 530-person military field hospital was also deployed by the CAF, attached to a larger British unit.<ref name=canenpeguwa/> In 1991, photographs of [[Canadian Military Engineers]] posing with dismembered bodies in a Kuwaiti minefield led to the unit being investigated.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal]] |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AT&p_theme=at&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADA2B89B27F8F7&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=War photos being probed in Canada|date= October 11, 1996|access-date=July 31, 2012|page=A8}}</ref>

==== Somali Civil War ====
[[File:Left-side-profile-of-a-canadian-forces-soldier-manning-a-m60-machine-gun-in-1cf1de (1).jpg|thumb|A security checkpoint operated by Canadian soldiers at Belet Huen Field in Somalia, 1993]]
The CAF supported [[UNOSOM I]] in the [[Somali Civil War]],<ref name="Nossal2002um">{{cite book|author=Kim Richard Nossal|title=Diplomatic Departures: Conservative Era in Canadian Foreign Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Il8uF1FX7J4C&pg=PA120|year=2002|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-0865-1|page=120}}</ref> aiding in security, humanitarian relief, and ceasefire monitoring.<ref name="Serafino2005plm">{{cite book|author=Nina M. Serafino|title=Peacekeeping and related stability operations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wwb3rCcnvpUC&pg=PA68|year=2005|publisher=Nova Publishers|isbn=978-1-59454-231-2|page=68}}</ref> In December 1992, the first US-led, UN-sanctioned force, [[UNITAF]], arrived in Somalia. UNITAF involved 23 countries, including Canada, which contributed around 1,400 soldiers from the [[Canadian Airborne Regiment]] and the naval support ship {{HMCS|Preserver|AOR 510|6}}.<ref name=canencsompck>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-peacekeepers-in-somalia|title=Canadian Peacekeepers in Somalia|date=2 August 2019|last=Foot|first=Richard|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|publisher=Historica Canada}}</ref> In May 1993 the operation came under UN command and was renamed [[UNOSOM II]].<ref name="Rutherford2008f">{{cite book|author=Ken Rutherford|title=Humanitarianism under fire: the US and UN intervention in Somalia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Tnoj2QxT4oC&pg=PA109|year=2008|publisher=Kumarian Press|isbn=978-1-56549-260-8|page=109}}</ref> Due to resistance from certain local factions, UNOSOM II struggled to end the conflict, enforce a ceasefire, or secure cooperation from local warlords. Consequently, it focused on protecting food and medical aid distribution sites rather than restoring order.<ref name=canencsompck/> 
[[File:Canadian paratroopers from the 2nd Commando Canadian Airborne Regiment, Canadian Forces Base, Petawawa, Ontario, fly their battle flag over their foxholes after seizing the airstrip - DPLA - 3c1d5306a96d1a8fdba4c3825cd729a9.jpeg|thumb|A [[Canadian Airborne Regiment]] member in a [[defensive fighting position|foxhole]] in Somalia. The conduct of the regiment in the country became a [[Somalia affair|national scandal in Canada]].]]
Based primarily in Beledweyne, Canadian forces rebuilt infrastructure, cleared landmines, and guarded aid convoys.<ref name=canencsompck/> However, the mission became a political disaster for Canada.<ref name="Dawson2007asd">{{cite book|author=Grant Dawson|title="Here is hell": Canada's engagement in Somalia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eHe9h45lyQoC&pg=PA170|year=2007|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-1297-9|page=170}}</ref> Canadian soldiers were frequently harassed and their base often targeted by looters. In response, their commander authorized looters to be shot in the leg if they ran. Another officer later allowed thieves to be "captured and abused."<ref name=canensomaff>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/somalia-affair|title=Somalia Affair|last=Foot|first=Richard|date=6 September 2019|publisher=Historica Canada|website=thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|access-date=23 February 2023}}</ref> In March 1993, members of the airborne unit were involved in two [[extrajudicial killing]]s. The first involved a civilian who was shot while fleeing after breaking into their base for supplies, and the second involved a youth who was tortured and killed after breaking into the encampment.<ref name=canencsompck/><ref name="Razack2004">{{cite book|author=Sherene Razack|title=Dark threats and white knights: the Somalia Affair, peacekeeping, and the new imperialism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kc6K0T58yMsC&pg=PA4|year=2004|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8663-1|page=4}}</ref> Cover-up attempts by senior officials at the [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]] sparked a [[Somalia Affair|national scandal in Canada]]. A federal inquiry into the matter saw the end of several officers' careers, court-martials, and the airborne regiment's disbandment.<ref name="canencsompck" /><ref name="Coombs2008">{{cite book|author=Howard Coombs|title=The Insubordinate and the Noncompliant: Case Studies of Canadian Mutiny and Disobedience, 1920 to Present|url=https://archive.org/details/insubordinatenon0000unse/page/397|year=2008|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-764-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/insubordinatenon0000unse/page/397 397]}}</ref> The scandal damaged Canada's international reputation and was heralded as "the darkest era in the history of the Canadian military" since the Second World War.<ref name="canensomaff" />

The UN mission itself failed to restore order, with mounting casualties prompting the US to withdraw its forces after the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu]]. This experience largely halted the use of robust multinational military forces from [[western world|western countries]] for humanitarian aid during civil conflicts.<ref name=canencsompck/>

==== Yugoslav Wars ====
{{main|Yugoslav Wars}}
[[File:CF-18 Aviano Italy.jpg|thumb|Two CF-18s with [[Operation Echo]] depart [[Aviano Air Base]] in Italy in 2000, in support of the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]].]]
Since 1991, about 40,000 CAF personnel and civilian police, including the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]], participated in Balkans [[peacekeeping]] missions, beginning with the [[European Union Monitoring Mission in the former Yugoslavia|European Community Monitoring Mission in the Former Yugoslavia]] in 1991. This involvement spanned UN missions like [[UNCRO]] in Croatia, [[UNMIBH]] in Bosnia and Herzegovina, [[UNMIK]] in Kosovo, and [[UNPREDEP]] in North Macedonia. Additionally, they contributed to NATO missions such as [[IFOR]] and [[SFOR]] in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the [[Kosovo Force]], and task forces [[Operation Essential Harvest|Harvest]] and [[Operation Amber Fox|Fox]] in North Macedonia, as well as EU missions like [[EUFOR Concordia]] and [[Operation Althea]].<ref name=canencpb>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-peacekeepers-in-the-balkans|title=Canadian Peacekeepers in the Balkans|publisher=Historica Canada|date=9 August 2019|last=Boileau|first=John|access-date=23 February 2023|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> 

In September 1993, the largest battle involving Canadian military personnel since the Korean War occurred when Canadian and French peacekeepers under [[UNPROFOR]] fought Croat forces for 15 hours.<ref name=canenopmap>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-medak-pocket|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|access-date=23 February 2023|date=12 January 2017|last=Wood|first=James|title=Battle of Medak Pocket|publisher=Historica Canada}}</ref><ref name="WindsorCharters2010">{{cite book|author1=Lee Windsor|author2=David Charters|author3=Brent Wilson|title=Kandahar tour: the turning point in Canada's Afghan mission|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jwFiRmdPzBIC&pg=PA14|year= 2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-15761-9|page=14}}</ref><ref name="Horn2009ul">{{cite book|author=Bernd Horn|title=Fortune favours the brave: tales of courage and tenacity in Canadian military history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0GIfhwQ00gYC&pg=PA339|year=2009|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-841-6|page=339}}</ref> The Canadian-French contingent was tasked with securing the Medak pocket, a strategic salient between Croat and Serb forces when [[Operation Medak Pocket]] was launched by Croat forces.<ref name=canenopmap/> Initially targetting Serb positions, on September 15, Croat forces besieged the Canadian-French position at Medak pocket, prompting them to respond.<ref name=canenopmap/><ref name="WindsorCharters2010">{{cite book|author1=Lee Windsor|author2=David Charters|author3=Brent Wilson|title=Kandahar tour: the turning point in Canada's Afghan mission|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jwFiRmdPzBIC&pg=PA14|year= 2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-15761-9|page=14}}</ref> The Canadian government reported 27 Croatian soldiers killed and four Canadians wounded during the exchange.<ref name=canenopmap/><ref name=".forces.gc.ca">{{cite web|publisher=National Defence|url=http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=/content/testimonies/wctu/wctu01.incl|title= SCONDVA – Transcripts – Monday, April 27, 1998|access-date=August 1, 2012}}</ref>

The CAF also contributed warships to NATO's [[Operation Sharp Guard|maritime blockade of the region]], and 18 CF-18 Hornets to support the [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]] in 1999.<ref name=canencpb/> During the bombing campaign, Canadian CF-18s flew 678 sorties, about 10 per cent of all NATO strike missions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadian-planes-heavily-involved-in-yugoslav-campaign-1.179828|date=June 16, 1999|access-date=May 19, 2024|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporaton|website=www.cbc.ca|title=Canadian planes heavily involved in Yugoslav campaign}}</ref>

== 21st century ==
[[File:Canadian Naval Officer Smooths Transition From American to Pakistani Led Task Force DVIDS76824.jpg|thumb|{{HMCS|Charlottetown|FFH 339|6}} after it conducted a boarding of a vessel in the [[Arabian Sea]] in 2008. ''Charlottetown'' was deployed in support of [[Operation Altair]], a naval anti-terrorism operation]]
During the early 21st century, Canada participated in multiple missions in support of the [[global war on terror]], including the US-led [[Operation Enduring Freedom]]. This included security operations conducted in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman from 2001 to 2012. This deployment marked the Canadian navy's largest since World War II, with 15 warships dispatched. At its peak in January 2002, six Canadian warships and 1,500 personnel were in the region, conducting patrols and intercepting suspected terrorists and illegal drug shipments.<ref name=canencawaaf>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/international-campaign-against-terrorism-in-afghanistan|title=Canada and the War in Afghanistan|date=5 February 2021|last1=Azzi|first1=Stephen|last2=Foot|first2=Richard|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|publisher=Historica Canada}}</ref>

While Canada participated in several multinational missions in the early 2000s, it abstained from joining the US-led [[Coalition of the willing (Iraq war)|coalition of the willing]] during the [[Iraq War]].<ref name="Lennox2009uy">{{cite book|author=Patrick Lennox|title=At home and abroad: the Canada-US relationship and Canada's place in the world|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EiHkgmCcxicC&pg=PA108|year= 2009|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-1705-9|page=108}}</ref> Although [[Canada and the Iraq War|Canada was not directly involved in the Iraq War]], its forces did help to relieve US naval assets during that conflict by expanding the CAF's role in [[Combined Task Force 151]], a multinational task force combating [[piracy off the coast of Somalia]].<ref name="Harvey2004iumh">{{cite book|author=Frank P. Harvey|title=Smoke and mirrors: globalized terrorism and the illusion of multilateral security|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-5_UiZzeEcC&pg=PA235|year=2004|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8948-9|page=235}}</ref> Several Canadians, serving as [[exchange officer]]s with British and US units, also participated in the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]].<ref name="Gollom">{{cite news| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canadavotes/realitycheck/2008/10/our_own_voice_on_iraq.html | title = Our own voice on Iraq? | author = Mark Gollom | publisher = CBC | date = October 9, 2008 | access-date = January 12, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Carlisle2007hgp">{{cite book|author=Rodney P. Carlisle|title=Iraq War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkQE6rJl5sEC&pg=PA74|year= 2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-7129-6|page=74}}</ref> Conversely, some [[Iraq War resisters in Canada|US military personnel who opposed the Iraq War sought refuge in Canada]] after deserting to avoid deployment.<ref name="LauferSolomon2006">{{cite book|author1=Peter Laufer|author2=Norman Solomon|title=Mission Rejected: U.S. Soldiers Who Say No to Iraq|url=https://archive.org/details/missionrejectedu00lauf/page/16|year=2006|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|isbn=978-1-933392-04-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/missionrejectedu00lauf/page/16 16]}}</ref>

=== War in Afghanistan ===
{{Main|Canada's role in the Afghanistan War}}
[[File:Princess Patricia Light Infantry in Kandahar.jpg|thumb|Canadian soldiers on their way to provide security for a site in northeast [[Kandahar]] in April 2002]]
Weeks after the [[September 11th attacks]], Canada committed to joining the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|US-led war in Afghanistan]] (2001–2021). Canadian special forces participated in the initial [[United States invasion of Afghanistan|invasion of Afghanistan]] in 2001, with an additional Canadian infantry battle group of 1,200 soldiers deployed to Kandahar in February 2002 to combat [[al-Qaeda]] and [[Taliban]] forces and support humanitarian efforts.<ref name=canencawaaf/>

Following the invasion, Canadian units operated within NATO's [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISAF). The CAF contributed a 2,000-strong infantry battle group, alongside armoured, artillery, and aerial support, to ISAF. The battle group was stationed in Kabul from 2003 to 2005, tasked with providing security and disarming Afghan militias.<ref name=canencawaaf/> In November 2005, the CAF launched [[Operation Archer]], shifting its focus from Kabul to Kandahar.<ref name="Innovation2007">{{cite book|author=Centre for International Governance Innovation|title=Exporting good governance: temptations and challenges in Canada's aid program|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XgaJjjT4sUoC&pg=PA152|year= 2007|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|isbn=978-1-55458-029-3|page=152}}</ref> After its relocation to Kandahar, the battle group oversaw counter-insurgency operations and the province's [[Provincial Reconstruction Team]]. In Kandahar, the battle group achieved a series of victories including [[Operation Medusa]] and the [[Battle of Panjwaii]].<ref name="HornHillier2010ik">{{cite book|author1=Bernd Horn|author2=R. J. Hillier|title=No Lack of Courage: Operation Medusa, Afghanistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2NrAGG5_loC&pg=PA11|year=2010|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55488-766-8|page=11}}</ref> However, they were unable to root out all insurgents in the region, who took refuge on the Pakistani side of the [[Afghanistan-Pakistan border]].<ref name=canencawaaf/> 
[[File:LAV3patrol.jpg|thumb|left|Canadian soldiers of the Kandahar [[Provincial Reconstruction Team]] on patrol in 2008.]]
Public support for the war in Canada waned as casualties mounted in late 2006.<ref name=canencawaaf/> This contributed to the selection of "the Canadian soldier" as the [[Canadian Press]]' [[Canadian Newsmaker of the Year]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Bill Graveland|url=http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20061225/cp_newsmaker_061225/|title=Canadian Soldier chosen as Newsmaker of 2006|agency=[[Canadian Press]]|publisher=CTV|date=December 25, 2006|access-date=January 2, 2007}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Support for the war dropped further after [[Joint Task Force 2]] members were photographed [[Canadian Afghan detainee issue|handing over detainees to Afghan security forces, who were subsequently tortured]].<ref>{{cite news |title=MP says U.S. treatment of Afghan prisoners coming back to haunt it |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mp-says-u-s-treatment-of-afghan-prisoners-coming-back-to-haunt-it-1.373507 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123053319/http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2003/03/24/godfrey030324.html |url-status=live |archive-date=November 23, 2007 |publisher=CBC |date=March 24, 2003|access-date=July 23, 2008}}</ref> Despite mounting public opposition, the government remained committed to the war until 2011, partly due to the CAF's portrayal of the war as a success. In 2011, Canada ended its combat operations in Afghanistan.<ref name=canencawaaf/> However, some Canadian soldiers remained until March 2014 to train the [[Afghan National Army]] and [[Afghan National Police|National Police]] under [[NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/land-terre/news-nouvelles/story-reportage-eng.asp?id=4889 |title=Canada announces new role in Afghanistan |publisher=Canadian Forces |year=2009 |access-date=February 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905042700/http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/land-terre/news-nouvelles/story-reportage-eng.asp?id=4889 |archive-date=September 5, 2012 }}</ref> [[Canadian Special Operations Forces Command]] personnel were briefly redeployed to Afghanistan during the [[2021 Taliban offensive]] to evacuate Canadian citizens, close its embassy, and assist with the [[2021 Kabul airlift|Kabul airlift]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/13/canada-to-send-special-forces-to-afghanistan-to-close-kabul-embassy.html|title=Canada to send special forces to Afghanistan to close embassy in Kabul, official says|publisher=CNBC|website=www.cnbc.com|date=12 August 2021|access-date=28 February 2023}}</ref>

Over 40,000 Canadian soldiers served in Afghanistan. The 12-year mission marked Canada's longest military campaign, with 165 Canadians killed, including 158 soldiers and seven civilians.<ref name=canencawaaf/> The conflict marked the first instance a female CAF member was killed in combat, Captain [[Nichola Goddard]] of the [[Royal Canadian Horse Artillery]].<ref name="Collective">{{cite book|author=Saskatoon Women's Calendar Collective|title=Her story: the Canadian women's calendar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wwjgergxUB8C&pg=PA41|publisher=Coteau Books|isbn=978-1-55050-427-9|page=41}}</ref>

=== Libyan Civil War ===
{{main|Operation Mobile}}
[[File:Canadian F-18 aircraft awaiting refuelling from a Royal Air Force VC10 K3 tanker of 101 Squadron RAF during Op Ellamy, 2011 MOD 45155224.jpg|thumb|RCAF CF-18 Hornets waiting to refuel from a British tanker, during the [[First Libyan Civil War]] in 2011.]]
On 25 February 2011, the CAF launched Operation Mobile, an evacuation mission in response to the [[First Libyan Civil War]].<ref name=govcanopmo>{{cite web|url=http://forces.gc.ca/sites/FORCES_Internet/operations-abroad-past/op-mobile.page|title=Operation Mobile|website=forces.gc.ca|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=5 March 2023}}</ref> On March 19, the operation expanded to include air and maritime combat missions to support the [[2011 military intervention in Libya]] to enforce [[UN Security Council Resolution 1973]].<ref name="unscres1973">{{cite web|title=Resolution 1973 (2011)|url=http://www.jfcnaples.nato.int/resources/24/Documents/UNSCR_1973.pdf|publisher=United Nations Security Council Resolution|year=1973|access-date=January 1, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319203548/http://www.jfcnaples.nato.int/resources/24/Documents/UNSCR_1973.pdf|archive-date=March 19, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="PollackAl-Turk2011">{{cite book|author1=Kenneth M. Pollack|author2=Akram Al-Turk|author3=Michael S. Doran |author4=Daniel L. Byman |author5=Pavel Baev|title=The Arab Awakening: America and the Transformation of the Middle East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_9H4Jo-JvcC&pg=PA121|year=2011|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|isbn=978-0-8157-2226-7|page=121}}</ref> NATO assumed command of the multinational coalition through [[Operation Unified Protector]], with Lieutenant General [[Charles Bouchard]] of the RCAF appointed as operational commander.<ref name="cbc.ca">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canadian-to-lead-nato-s-libya-mission-1.1046678|title=NATO's Libya mission to be led by Canadian|work=CBCNews|publisher=CBC|date= March 25, 2011|access-date=March 25, 2011}}</ref> The coalition enforced a [[no-fly zone]] to prevent pro-[[Gaddafi]] forces from conducting air attacks on [[anti-Gaddafi forces]] and civilian areas.<ref name="PollackAl-Turk2011"/><ref name="unscres1973"/><ref name="NATOPressRelease">{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_03/20110325_110325-unified-protector-no-fly-zone.pdf|title=NATO No-Fly Zone over Libya Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR|publisher=NATO|date= March 25, 2011|access-date=January 1, 2012}}</ref>

At its peak, 655 Canadians were deployed on Operation Mobile, including seven CF-18 fighter jets stationed in Italy. The frigate {{HMCS|Charlottetown|FFH 339|6}}, already deployed in the Mediterranean as part of [[Standing NATO Maritime Group 1]], also patrolled Libya's coast. In May 2011, ''Charlottetown'' came under hostile fire from a shore battery, marking the first attack on a Canadian warship since the Korean War.<ref name=govcanopmo/> In October 28, Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]] declared the successful end of the mission.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada On the End of NATO-led Libyan Mission|publisher=Canada News Centre (Government of Canada)|date=October 28, 2011|url=http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?nid=634139|access-date=January 1, 2012|archive-date=January 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120080241/http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?nid=634139|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Mali War ===
{{further|Mali War}}
In 2012, insurgent groups took control of parts of Mali, prompting the Malian government to request military aid from France in January 2013. France sought assistance from NATO allies to support its [[Operation Serval|operation in Mali]], including Canada, which initially provided a [[C-17 Globemaster III]] transport aircraft.<ref name="CBC News">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-sending-c-17-transport-plane-to-help-allies-in-mali-1.1308310 |title=Canada sending C-17 transport plane to help allies in Mali |publisher=www.cbcnews.ca|date=14 January 2013 |access-date=14 January 2013}}</ref> From 2015 to 2022, the CAF supported [[Operation Barkhane|French counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/operation-frequence.html|title=Operation FREQUENCE|publisher=Government of Canada|website=www.canada,ca|date=14 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/recently-completed/support-french-operations-west-africa.html|title=Support to French operations in West Africa|publisher=Government of Canada|website=www.canada,ca|date=14 February 2023}}</ref> deploying over 1,250 personnel for helicopter medical evacuations from 2018 to 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/mali-mission-1.5272076|website=www.cbc.ca|last=Cox|first=Brian|date=6 September 2019|access-date=5 March 2023|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|title=Was Canada's Mali mission worth it? Absolutely}}</ref> 

The CAF started a phased withdrawal from Mali in 2019 as the [[Romanian Armed Forces]] assumed responsibility of helicopter medevacs for the operation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-canada-will-keep-its-small-peacekeeping-unit-in-mali-as-many-others/|website=www.theglobeandmail.com|publisher=The Globe and Mail|last=York|first=Geoffrey|date=25 November 2022|access-date=5 March 2023|title=Canada keeping small peacekeeping unit in Mali as many others pull out}}</ref> All CAF personnel were withdrawan from Mali in November 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/op-presence.html|title=Operation PRESENCE|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=1 September 2024|date=1 August 2024|website=www.canada.ca}}</ref>

===War against the Islamic State===
{{main|Operation Impact}}
[[File:Operation Inherent Resolve 150304-F-MG591-297.jpg|thumb|A RCAF CF-18 Hornet breaks away from a [[United States Air Force|USAF]] [[KC-135 Stratotanker]], while on mission in support of [[Operation Impact]].]]
In September 2014, Canada joined a global [[war against the Islamic State|coalition against the Islamic State]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/operation-impact.html|title=Operation IMPACT|first=National|last=Defence|date=August 19, 2014|website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> From November 2014 to February 2016, Canadian CF-18s conducted 251 airstrikes in Iraq and five in Syria.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/operation-impact/airstrike-history.html|title=Operation IMPACT – Airstrike History|date=21 July 2017|access-date=25 March 2023|publisher=Government of Canada|website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> In February 2016, the CAF reoriented its mission from combat operations to training,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-position-fighter-jets-1.3338186 |title=Justin Trudeau to pull fighter jets, keep other military planes in ISIS fight |work=CBC News |last=Barton |first=Rosemary |date=26 November 2015 |access-date=27 November 2015}}</ref><ref name=opimptrain>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-canada-isis-fight-announcement-1.3438279|website=www.cbc.ca|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=25 March 2023|date=8 February 2016|title=ISIS airstrikes by Canada to end by Feb. 22, training forces to triple}}</ref> reducing the size of its mission.<ref name=ctvopimp>{{cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadian-military-shrinking-footprint-in-middle-east-to-free-up-troops-for-other-missions-1.6237606|title=Canadian military shrinking footprint in Middle East to free up troops for other missions|website=www.ctvnews.ca|publisher=Bell Media|last=Berthiaume|first=Lee|date=19 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/operation-impact.html|title=Operation IMPACT|date=7 November 2022|access-date=25 March 2023|publisher=Government of Canada|website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> The mission deployments are based at a logistics hub in Kuwait and include training missions in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon.<ref name=ctvopimp/>

Canadian special forces were deployed to support the training mission.<ref name=opimptrain/> In 2021, they participated in two [[Iraqi Armed Forces]] operations in non-combat roles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-canadian-special-forces-supported-major-iraqi-military-assault-on-isil-2/|website=www.theglobeandmail.com|publisher=The Globe and Mail|date=13 August 2021|access-date=25 March 2023|title=Canada's special forces involved in major assault on Islamic State in Iraq last month|last=Berthiaume|first=Lee}}</ref><ref name=macspecfo>{{cite web|url=https://macleans.ca/opinion/why-canadas-special-forces-shadow-army-is-still-fighting-isis/|title=Why Canada's special forces 'shadow army' is still fighting ISIS|date=11 May 2021|access-date=25 March 2023|last=Khan|first=Adnan R.|website=macleans.ca|publisher=St. Joseph Communications Media}}</ref> Another Canadian special forces operator was involved in [[Talon Anvil]], a 20-person USAF special operations group criticized for bypassing rules intended to safeguard civilians, resulting in hundreds of non-combatant deaths.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-special-forces-involved-in-u-s-military-team-accused-of-killing-scores-of-innocent-people-in-iraq-syria|title=Canadian special forces involved in U.S. military team accused of killing scores of innocent people in Iraq, Syria|publisher=Postmedia Network|website=ottawacitizen.com|access-date=25 March 2023|date=3 January 2023|last=Pugliese|first=David}}</ref> The CAF's increased use of special forces reflects a shift in military thinking, increasingly relying on these units over conventional forces to address [[asymmetric warfare|asymmetric threats]] in [[Grey-zone (international relations)|grey-zone]] operations. A 2017 defense policy review acknowledged this trend and anticipated it would continue in the foreseeable future.<ref name=macspecfo/>

== Peacekeeping efforts ==
{{main|Canadian peacekeeping}}
[[File:UN-Marty.jpg|thumb|alt=a person in a military uniform wearing a United Nations blue helmet |Canadian peacekeeper in 1976 wearing the distinctive [[flag of Canada]] and [[Blue beret|UN blue helmet]]]]
Canada has participated in over 50 peacekeeping missions, including every UN effort from its inception to 1989.<ref name="Rudderham 2008 pp. 359–384">{{cite journal | last=Rudderham | first=M. A. | title=Canada and United Nations Peace Operations: Challenges, Opportunities, and Canada's Response | journal=International Journal | publisher=[Sage Publications, Ltd., Canadian International Council] | volume=63 | issue=2 | year=2008 | issn=0020-7020 | jstor=40204368 | pages=359–384 | doi=10.1177/002070200806300210 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40204368}}</ref> Over 125,000 Canadians served as peacekeepers, with around 130 Canadians having died during these operations.<ref name="The Canadian Encyclopedia 2013 y796">{{cite web | title=Canada and Peacekeeping | website=The Canadian Encyclopedia | date=Jun 30, 2023 | url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/peacekeeping | access-date=Mar 14, 2024 | archive-date=February 26, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226043915/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/peacekeeping | url-status=live }}</ref> Canada's support for multilateralism and [[Internationalism (politics)|internationalism]] are closely tied to its peacekeeping efforts.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sens |first1=Allen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLc8BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |title=Global Politics |last2=Stoett |first2=Peter |publisher=Nelson Education |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-17-648249-7 |edition=5th |page=6 |access-date=2024-02-26 |archive-date=2023-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130233508/https://books.google.com/books?id=LLc8BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Plans at a glance and operating context |url=https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/priorities-priorites.aspx?lang=eng |access-date=August 4, 2020 |publisher=Global Affairs Canada |archive-date=September 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925025404/https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/priorities-priorites.aspx?lang=eng}}</ref><ref name="Munton Keating 2001 pp. 517–549">{{cite journal | last1=Munton | first1=Don | last2=Keating | first2=Tom | title=Internationalism and the Canadian Public | journal=Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue canadienne de science politique | publisher=Canadian Political Science Association | volume=34 | issue=3 | year=2001 | issn=0008-4239 | jstor=3233002 | pages=517–549 | doi=10.1017/S0008423901777992 | s2cid=154625162 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3233002 | access-date=March 5, 2024 | archive-date=September 22, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922070235/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3233002 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Canada's role in the development of and participation in [[History of United Nations peacekeeping|peacekeeping during the 20th century]] shaped its reputation as a positive middle power.<ref name="Chapnick2011a">{{Cite book |last=Chapnick |first=Adam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S2DPElbLK5sC&pg=PA2 |title=The Middle Power Project: Canada and the Founding of the United Nations |publisher=UBC Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7748-4049-1 |pages=2–5 |access-date=2024-02-26 |archive-date=2023-11-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130233503/https://books.google.com/books?id=S2DPElbLK5sC&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gabryś Soroka 2017 p. 39">{{cite book | last1=Gabryś | first1=M. | last2=Soroka | first2=T. | title=Canada as a selective power: Canada's Role and International Position after 1989 | publisher=Neriton, Wydawnictwo | series=Societas | year=2017 | isbn=978-83-7638-792-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTpyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 | page=39 | access-date=2024-02-26 | archive-date=2024-02-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226190900/https://books.google.com/books?id=FTpyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 | url-status=live }}</ref> Canada's successful mediation of the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]] gave it credibility as a country committed to the common good.<ref name="Donaghy 2016 pp. 313–327">{{cite journal | last=Donaghy | first=Greg | title=The politics of accommodation: Canada, the Middle East, and the Suez Crisis, 1950–1956 | journal=International Journal: Canada's Journal of Global Policy Analysis | volume=71 | issue=2 | date=2016 | issn=0020-7020 | doi=10.1177/0020702016643261 | pages=313–327}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gaffen|first=Fred|title=In The Eye of The Storm: A History of Canadian Peacekeeping|year=1987|publisher=Deneau & Wayne Publishers |page=43}}</ref> The Canadian public increasingly identified peacekeeping as the country's foremost contribution to international affairs.<ref name="Anker 2005 j845">{{cite web | last=Anker | first=Lane | title=Peacekeeping and Public Opinion | publisher=Government of Canada, National Defence, Canadian Defence Academy | date=June 20, 2005 | url=http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo6/no2/public-eng.asp | access-date=February 26, 2024 | archive-date=February 10, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240210170912/http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo6/no2/public-eng.asp | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Carroll 2016 pp. 167–176">{{cite journal | last=Carroll | first=Michael K | title=Peacekeeping: Canada's past, but not its present and future? | journal=International Journal | publisher=[Sage Publications, Ltd., Canadian International Council] | volume=71 | issue=1 | year=2016 | issn=0020-7020 | jstor=44631172 | pages=167–176 | doi=10.1177/0020702015619857 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44631172 | access-date=February 28, 2024 | archive-date=February 28, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228173148/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44631172 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Murray Gecelovsky 2021 p. 187">{{cite book | last1=Murray | first1=R.W. | last2=Gecelovsky | first2=P. | title=The Palgrave Handbook of Canada in International Affairs | publisher=Springer International Publishing | series=Canada and International Affairs | year=2021 | isbn=978-3-030-67770-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBcsEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 |pages=187–189}}</ref>

Canada faced controversy over its involvement in some peacekeeping missions, prompting a military reassessment in the late 1990s.<ref name="United Nations 2008 v869">{{cite web | title=Honouring 60 Years of United Nations Peacekeeping | publisher=United Nations | date=May 29, 2008 | url=https://www.un.org/en/events/peacekeepersday/2008/60years.shtml | access-date=March 25, 2024}}</ref> By the 21st century, Canadian involvement in UN peacekeeping greatly declined, with its peacekeeping efforts reallocated to UN-sanctioned [[List of NATO operations|operations through NATO]].<ref name="McQuaig2010bt">{{cite book|author=Linda McQuaig|title=Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9g4Xd12rIGYC&pg=PT50|year=2010|publisher=Random House Digital|isbn=978-0-385-67297-9|page=50}}</ref> This shift resulted in more militarized and lethal peacekeeping operations, rather than traditional peacekeeping duties.<ref name="James Michaud OReilly 2006 p. 177">{{cite book | last1=James | first1=P. | last2=Michaud | first2=N. | last3=O'Reilly | first3=M. | title=Handbook of Canadian Foreign Policy | publisher=Lexington Books | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-7391-5580-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTk2AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA177 |  page=177}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|border=no|Canada}}
* [[Conscription in Canada]]
* [[History of Canadian foreign policy]]
* [[List of Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay]]
* [[List of Canadian military operations]]
* [[List of Canadian Victoria Cross recipients]]
* [[List of French forts in North America]]
* [[List of wars involving Canada]]
* [[Military history of the Acadians]]
* [[Military history of the Mi'kmaq]]
* [[Military history of Nova Scotia]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{Main|Bibliography of Canadian military history}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|author=Black, Jeremy | author-link = Jeremy Black (historian) |title=Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519–1871|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIst_CSWOqIC|year=2011|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-35660-4}}
* Cook, Tim. ''Warlords: Borden, Mackenzie King and Canada's World Wars'' (2012) 472pp [https://archive.org/details/warlordsbordenma0000cook online], on the prime ministers in the world wars
* [[Douglas, W. A. B.]] ''The RCN in Transition, 1910–1985'' (1988), Navy
* {{cite journal|title=For Queen, King and Empire: Canadians recruited into the British Army, 1858–1944|last=Godefroy|first=Andrew B.|journal=Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research|volume=87|issue=350|year=2009|pages=135–149|jstor=44232821|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44232821}}
*  Granatstein, J. L., and Dean F. Oliver. ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Military History,'' (2011) [https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=34352 online review].
* {{cite book|author= Horn, Bernd|title=Show No Fear: Daring Actions in Canadian Military History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fnqUG2Hv960C|year= 2008|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-816-4}}
* {{cite book|author=Morton, Desmond | author-link = Desmond Morton (historian)|title=Canada and war: a military and political history|url=https://archive.org/details/canadawarmilitar0000mort |url-access=registration |year=1981|publisher=Butterworths|isbn=978-0-409-85240-0}}
* Shaw, Susan Evans, and Jean Crankshaw. ''Canadians at War Vol. 1: A Guide to the Battlefields and Memorials of World War I''; Vol. 2: ''A Guide to the Battlefields and Memorials of World War II'' (2014)
* {{cite journal|last=Strakhovsky|first=Leonid I.|title=The Canadian Artillery Brigade in North Russia, 1918–1919|journal=Canadian Historical Review|volume=39|issue=2|year=1958|pages=125–146|doi=10.3138/chr-039-02-02 |s2cid=162335176 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite book |author =Zuehlke, Mark |year =2006 |title =Canadian Military Atlas: Four Centuries of Conflict from New France to Kosovo |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=KyNlm8SuplEC |publisher= Douglas & McIntyre|isbn= 978-1-55365-209-0 }}
{{refend}}

;Historiography
{{Further|Historiography of Canada}}
{{Refbegin}}
* Douglas, W.A.B. "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1985798 Marching to Different Drums: Canadian Military History]", ''[[The Journal of Military History]]'' (1992) 56#2 pp 245–260.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Military history of Canada}}
* [http://www.cmhg.gc.ca/cmh-pmc/page-1-eng.aspx Canadian Military History Gateway] – Government of Canada
* [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/military/025002-1010-e.html Canadian Military History] – [[Library and Archives Canada]]
* [http://www.canadianmilitaryhistory.ca Canadian Military History] – Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, [[Wilfrid Laurier University]]
** [http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/ ''Canadian Military History'']
* [http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/chrono/1000firstpeople_e.shtml War and the Foundation of Canada], [[Canadian War Museum]]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/  War & Conflict] at [[CBC Archives]]

{{Canadian military history}}
{{Evolution of the Military of Canada}}
{{Canadian Forces}}
{{North America in topic|Military history of}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Military History Of Canada}}
[[Category:Military history of Canada| ]]
[[Category:Conflicts in Canada]]