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This is a rather glaring ommision someone should write about the october crisis, the montreal olympics and the oka standoff, as these are the major uses (that i know of) of canadian force domestically. just putting it out there, i dont really have to to do this right now. another idea is a list of the reasons for canadian intervention as a seperate page, the information is there but it is scattered AND more information about minor peacekeeping missions could be added. Otherwise the page looks good.
The article implied that independence came in 1867. The closest thing to Canadian independence came in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster. So I changed it to read confederation, instead of independence.
Why is there nothing here about the Red River Rebellion, and much more importantly, the North-West Rebellion? Fawcett5 18:59, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Why are "The American Threat", "The War of 1812" and "British Withdrawl" under English-French Conflict? I don't see the Americans as French and by the time of these conflicts Canada couldn't be called French. say1988 13:47, May 15, 2005 (UTC)
I think some info should be added about Canada's role in Haiti, and about how the "peacekeepers" there are systematicaly murdering and inprisoning as many supporters of Aristide and the Lavalas party as they can. The corporate media in Canada is completely silent on the issue, despite mounting evidence of very serious human rights violations commited by both the U.N "peacekeepers" as well as the Haitian police force which got their training from the good ole R.C.M.P.
By the way, the Haiti page itself needs a serious update to deal with what's been happening there since the U.N. began occupying it.
-> Haiti was invaded by a small group of U.S. Marines armed with about fifteen rounds of ammunition each. One resistant group of 300 people was able to take a city of over two-million people. Haiti has a problem in that it is apathetic, unwilling to participate in government processes, and then condemn anyone who does manage to form a government. I've seen the film of the few government leaders on the streets with M-16s acting like regular combat troops instead of leading as officers. Haiti has a serious attitude problem and lots of whining for a nation with millions of people.
As a big fan of commas, I couldn't help but add several. I found this sentence in the Seven Years War section confusing and I'm not sure what it's supposed to say: "The French numbered no more than 3500 and before the British withdrew at the end of the day they had lost about 2000 men, mostly regulars, for a total French loss of about 350." DoubleBlue ( Talk) 05:48, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
The following is inaccurate and biased: "The victorious Americans looked to extend their republic and launched invasions in 1775 and in 1812. On both occasions, the Americans were rebuffed by British and local forces; however, this threat would remain well into the 19th century and partially facilitated Canadian Confederation in 1867." - As the article points out elsewhere, not all residents of the 13 colonies favored separation from Britain. The term "Americans" is misleading and prejudicial. Further, those in the US after the revolution had real fears that Britain would attempt to re-take the colonies. Britain committed what many US residents at the time considered provactive acts against the US and US citizens. This article, seemingly anti-American in its bias, suggest the US was operating out of an imperialist urge. - 1775 was prior to the start of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Indpendence by the 2nd Continental Congress. - The 1812 raid on York was by Kentucky militia. It has not been established they operating under federal command. - "Threat" implies an intent by the US Government to invade Canada. The US and Britain had boundary disputes during the 19th Century. Britain claimed some territory now in the US. These disputes were worked out diplomatically. The wording of the above passage suggests hostile intent on the part of the US against Canada (a nation which did not yet exist). No evidence is given for such alleged intent.
Should we mention funding levels for the military? It seems germaine to a discussion of the Canadian military, but perhaps there is a feeling that we should stick to harder events in this sort of article. I am not sure, but I thought that it is fairly well acknowledged that the Canadian military took a funding cut in the years after the cold war, resulting in a decline in standards throughout the military, personnel cuts, closing of overseas bases in Germany, etc... However, I don't know hard facts on this, so, rather than risk turning it into a National Post editiorial, I leave this for comment before making any substantial edits. Peregrine981 12:54, August 3, 2005 (UTC)
The Military history of Canada article length is now at 51 kilobytes. Should we start breaking the sections up into different articles and work on summaries? Cheers, Madmagic 09:24, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
I noticed that the article included a sentence which read "Since the Second World War, Canada has been committed to multilateralism and has gone to war only within large, UN-sanctioned coalitions such as in the Korean War, the Gulf War, and the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan." I find this interesting because Canada joined Nato during the "Kosovo Conflict" in 1999, which was never sanctioned by the U.N. I also find it odd that there is no mention of the conflict at all in the whole article (as far as I can see). I remain your obedient servant, Wright Andrew 20:05, Novemeber 23, 2005 (UTC)
"For at least 10,000 years, the area that would become Canada was the site of intertribal wars among First Nation groups" - How can that possibly be known? We have no history that dates back to 10,000 years. In fact, it contradicts biblical accounts of the earth being closer to 6,000 years old.
Could someone more knowledgeable than me please 'freeze' or 'lock' this page for a while to stop this rapid vandalism war? -- thirty-seven 00:28, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
I find it highly inappropriate to date the beginning of Canadian military history back 10,000 years ago. I do not dispute that there were wars between native tribes or even with native tribes against Vikings (though there is no definitive proof of this; just strong evidence), but the nation of Canada did not exist until the nineteenth century. I would think it fine to mention any wars starting from European settlement in the sixteenth century because there is a link between then and the modern nation, but combining any engagement beforehand would not fit with the article's title. Consider, it would be equally inappropriate to find mention of pre-Colombian tribal wars in the military history of the United States of America, or Etruscan wars in the Military history of Rome. It can't be denied that former civilizations do leave lasting impressions on later nations' military, but it seems that those histories should be reserved for another article. Perhaps the Military history of North America, which would include wars of Native Americans inhabiting modern day Canada and the northern US, would be more appropriate considering the natives of the land did not see a border distinction between Canada and the US (there was no 45th parallel to them), though there was a difference in cultural identity between them and say- the Great Plains Indians.-- Acefox 19:12, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
I've got to agree with the Acefox here. The intro to the article is somewhat bombastic and overblown. It sets the wrong tone. I'm Canadian and it's all I could do to keep from laughing out loud when I read that. There are enough interesting bits in Canadian history without having to manufacture stuff.
Canada's native peoples did not leave behind written histories and what little we know about them prior to European contact has been inferred from archeological evidence and oral traditions. To describe nascent Canada as a site of 10,000 years of intertribal warfare is, at best, one dimensional and unfair to the native peoples. It diminishes their accomplishments in establishing their cultures on the empty continent.
Evidence for any sort of 'military history' for the natives peoples is thin at best and the article should reflect this. An overwiew of the development of native cultures is available at http://www.civilization.ca/archeo/hnpc/npint00e.html. References to warfare within the document are quite few. The earliest references are to the period beginning 1500 B.C. and coincide with increasingly large populations and the development of more complex cultures. Any sort of 'military history' of Canada might more reasonably begin here and then build on what actually is known about the period. Wiggy!
I am not sure that the following statement is correct:
"A year before the French founded Quebec City [1608, per the text above], the English began their first settlement, at Jamestown, Virginia to the south."
I believe that St. John's, Newfoundland is the oldest continuously-inhabited European settlement in North America. I have in the past seen dates for its founding as ealy as 1528. There are certainly other communities that were established before the implied date of 1607. However until I can remember my sources I will leave the page as-is.
hi, I just wanted to bring your attention to the Canadian Military Task Force at Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history. We're currently looking for the task force so that we can start to develop and organize Canadian Military history content on the 'pedia. Mike McGregor (Can) 18:02, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
Could someone help with the phrase: "fourth strongest military power" (in the section World War II), which doesn't explain much? "Fourth strongest power" in what terms, exactly - does anyone know? I understand from Dali ( commenting on the military section of the Canada article where the same phrase now appears) that Canada was a distant fourth, and to prevent this description from being misleading I think it needs to be rewritten. I don't have any real expertise in this matter, but hopefully someone who does will expand and clarify this section. Pinkville 15:01, 1 February 2006 (UTC)
This article incorrectly claims that the force that partipated in the Burning of Washington was over seventy percent from Canada. This claim is historically incorrect and is nothing but shameful nationalism. In actuality, the force that burnt Washington was led by General Robert Ross and was composed of British reinforcements from the Peninsular War, which was part of the Napoleonic Wars and these troops were freed up by the end of the European conflicts. No Canadian militia participated in the Burning of Washington, and only a fool would believe that a force of over seventy percent militia would be a practical invasion force. Godfather of Naples on 20 March 2006, 21:15 (UTC)
Well, I just love this article fails to mention that the British captured and sacked the White House -- which is known history -- during this war...it seems to only mention the capture and burning of York; I am getting so fed up of Americans writing historical documents and leaving the important parts out!!!
I totally agree. There is an obvious pro-American taint to the entire article ('American victories', 'manifest destiny' etc etc). No wonder it was called the forgotten war, it seems someone is trying to erase/re-write history here on Wiki as well. Why is Gen. Brocks victories glossed over, yet the American generals are glorified? Gen. Hull (of Detroit) was embarrassed (and stripped of his honour and rank) after giving up Ft. Detroit to Brock so easily.
The entirety of the second to last paragraph sounds highly improbable and heavily edited. No "Canadians" whatsoever in the force that took DC? A tornado destroying ALL the British forces? This section needs to be redone. At the moment of this writing, it's simply ridiculous. Dali ( talk) 15:24, 29 September 2010 (UTC)
Well, as no one felt like actually doing anything, I removed the "questionable" (a better word would be idiotic) content from said paragraph. After doing some research, it's evident that, as expected, the tornado bit was made up. Additionally, the part about "no Canadians being there" was in itself a flawed statement. Not only were there people who lived in what would eventually become Canada in the force that took DC, but many of the british soldiers who fought in the war of 1812 would remain in North America. Stating that these people were "British" is very much the equivalent of saying that the American revolutionaries were British and that the Americans owe their independence to the british: Technically true, yet an incredibly flawed statement. Dali ( talk) 15:24, 29 September 2010 (UTC)
This section seems to be a cut and paste from another article. It mentions "Brock" and disobeying someone's orders. Who is Brock and what were the orders and who was the individual who gave them? This explanation is not provided in the beginning of the section. Reading another website, the War of 1812 gives some clues, but this needs to stand alone and it needs to be fleshed out. Pudding30 ( talk) —Preceding undated comment added 04:12, 9 December 2010 (UTC).
"As of May 2006, sixteen Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan; though four died in a friendly fire incident." Why is the Tarnak Farms incident singled out? This article on the Military History of Canada doesn't mention Ortona, or any number of World War 1 or 2 battles where dozens or hundreds of Canadians died and the Battle of the Atlantic shares a line with the Battle of Britain. And truthfully, that's fine, because we have subordinate articles like Military history of Canada during World War II. Canada's role in the invasion of Afghanistan is where mention of Tarnak Farms and other incidents of small historical importance belong. M4-10
e.g. 197th (Vikings of Canada) Battalion, CEF). I suspect specific regimental/battalion articles are too specific for this page's "see also" as would also be specific military bios (see Endre Johannes Cleven). Is there a list of Canadian battalions/regiments? A list of bio'd officers and soldiers? Skookum1 16:44, 26 July 2006 (UTC)
The article claims the American Revolutionary War was fought by colonists to expand their frontier westward and to avoid paying taxes to Great Britain. These are important aspects of that conflict and numerous constituencies promoted these agendas. However, it is biased and myopic to ignore the ideological motivations of the American colonists and their agitation for self-determination. Something mention of democracy might be appropriate.
Additionally, no sources are cited for the author's description of American motivation.
Samwise2021 19:25, 10 August 2006 (UTC) 19:24, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
<ref>Granatstein has a great deal on the often incorrect Canadian perspectives on the War of 1812.</ref>
You removed this as an 'attack on Granatstein'. My question is - how is this an attack on Granatstein? Granted it should include the link or reference to Granatstein's work, but it seems to me like it is advocating Granatstein, not attacking him? Michael Dorosh 22:07, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
I'll grant you that Canada did stay out of the very short Falklands conflict, but was there any realistic expectation that we would participate? In any case, that would be three wars (or two and a scrap) --- "several" seems to me to imply more than that. In fact, Canada has been onside in every major conflict with its allies except Vietnam until the Iraq War in 2002. -- Ggbroad 22:12, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
I'd like to see a citation for the claim that Canada has cumulatively contributed more troops to UN peacekeeping than any other power. I've seen a lot of exaggerated claims about Canada's role in Peacekeeping - including one on Wikipedia that Canada has contributed more troops than all other countries combined. I have Canada as having contributed (very roughly) 125,000 troops over the years - presumably, though, some of these are individual soldiers who served on multiple Peacekeeping deployments. That works out to about 10% of the UN peacekeeping total. Source for the claim that this is the highest?-- Ggbroad 22:37, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
Please take a look at this template and tell me what you think. Obviously it should be expanded with articles on the Korean War, the Gulf War, etc, but that's probably not a bad idea anyway. It wouldn't need to go on this page, just on the pages included in the list. Yay or nay? -- TheMightyQuill 08:07, 6 October 2006 (UTC)
I'm just wondering if that might not have to be a separate article, given the very different context of military activities in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest prior to 1871; even afterwards the continued presence of the Royal Navy at Esquimalt and the importance of Vancouver Island's coaling station for the British fleet in the Pacific are outside the pale of "Canadian" military history, yet are definitely part of British Columbia's military history. Likewise peculiarities of the Voltigeurs, Bluejackets (Royal Marines) and Royal Engineers in the colonial era, as well as the creation of American irregular companies during the Fraser Canyon War and the Chilcotin War (though those in the Chilcotin War were deputized, but still clearly an American "regiment"). Military history here also includes the Spanish fortification at Nootka Sound, events in Russian America (notably the Battle of Sitka, the ongoing shellings and sieges and attacks and counter-attacks of the marine fur trade era, and that's not even getting to "native militaries" like Nicola's alliance or the "fleets" of the Haida and Euclataws and other raiding peoples; then there's also the history of the militia regiments, e.g. the Rocky Mountain Rangers based out of Kamloops (should be redlinked unless there's an American group by that name), which were the mainstay of public defence in British Columbia until World War II. Part of the military history here is also the experience of threats from outside the borders; American invasion (1846, 1859-70 and 1898-1902, excepting feared Fenian Raids during the '90s), Japanese invasion (1907 and 1941-45) and the balloon bomb thing (the Alaska Highway is part of BC's and Canada's military history, BTW, though it's often forgotten to be that nowadays), Russian invasion/attack (from 1853, despite truce between Douglas and his RAC counterpart) through to the Cold War; Vancouver was also a staging point for Russo-Japanese War materiele (locomotive parts destined for Russia rusted away near today's PNE grounds when the Russians lost the war and the parts were not delivered) and also as a transshipment point for 300,000 (or so) Chinese coolies donated by Republican China to France during World War I. I'm not sure, as with so much else, that military history about British Columbia "fits into the Canadian picture". Partly because Canada has never seen "us" that way, or understood our history at all; partly because of the complex and peculiar nature of the details, which are contingent upon factors of geography and multiple-input culture/society; the reason the REs were here, for example, was because (other than engineers being exactly what Douglas wanted) they had been in Kwangtung just beforehand and could be relocated to BC easily, rather than a new round sent out from Cape Horn; likewise the settlement of British/Anglo-Irish officers in BC after the gold rush was meant explicitly to avoid "another Australia" (i.e. a concentration of convicts and underclass in the stock population). Skookum1 05:27, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
The Feb. 15 edits to the 1812 section of this page by IP 68.148.106.90 are a little suspicious, but no one reverted them. Maybe someone could clean that up? - TheMightyQuill 03:14, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Why are they suspicious? The information that is still contained is very highly slanted and opinionated towards the 'American' side of the conflict. There is glaring omissions, and the wording is pro-US and anti-British/Canada in nature. 68.148.106.90 08:53, 18 February 2007 (UTC)68.148.106.90
I believe two changes should be made:
1. The table on the right hand side about 3/4 way down the page needs to have another table below it that lists the different wars that Canada has fought in. This already exists in all the other pages like "Canada and the cold war". Essentially, it would be another link within the page to further read about specific conflicts.
2. This "other" table needs to be altered to include the previous war contributions before 1867 like those included in this article about Canada's military history. A good example of a table is "Dynasties of ancient China" and how they list it on the right hand side.
I hope this makes sense Canking 10:31, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
Eric Lafontaine added this commentary and request for editing to the article, in the Canadian Forces Europe section. I have moved it to here:
(Actually it was a Summer camp/course, called CFE (Canadian Forces in Europe). The first part was with the Canadian Commandos in Petawawa and the second part was in Germany. The cadets were never considered active troops. This information (based on my experience) dates back nineteen years and needs to be updated by a younger former-cadet.)
-- thirty-seven 07:14, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
Thank you for the editing assist.
But what I meant to say, is that as the sentence is phrased in the article it sounds like the cadets were serving in a brigade as active troops. We weren't active troops. Cadets are minors and civilians. Although some military regulations apply to them they are not considered military personel. Unlike Cadet Instructors Cadre officers who are part of the reserve and are full commissioned officers. So if the sentence could be altered a little bit, in the article, I believe it could clarify things. By the way the CFE experience was a great one.
Eric Lafontaine 15:38, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
Sorry, I didn't know for sure where to mention this. I just wanted to point out the link to the UN Website, in reference to Canada having "the second-highest peacekeeping fatility in the world, behind India.", is a dead link. The new link is: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/fatalities/StatsByNationalityMission%202.pdf I couldn't seem to repair it myself :) Wikig39 11:50 5 July 2007
I notice that there is very little mention about Canada's air force in this article. There is mention of Canada's airmen being involved with the Battle of Britain, but little else. Canada's air contribution, of course, has been significant, particularly during the Second World War (e.g. with 6 Group), the Cold War (e.g. No. 1 Air Division) in Europe and post-Cold War period. The section about Canadian Forces in Europe only mentions a mechanized infantry brigade. Canadian Forces involvement in Europe was much more than this. Canada invested a lot of effort and lives in maintaining an air force presence in France and West Germany, particularly during the 50s and 60s. Since there are sections about the formation of the army and a small section about the formation of the navy, why not a section on the formation of the air force? It seems that there is a serious bias toward the land forces/army in this article. Once I have the time, I can work on fleshing out more about the air force, but if anyone is so inclined to start this go right ahead.-- BC 19:02, 5 August 2007 (UTC)
There's a list of Canadian involvement with peacekeeping missions here. Would someone like to wikify it? I think it would be a useful article. - TheMightyQuill ( talk) 18:44, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
I was looking at Military history of Canada and frankly it is no longer of FA quality and should be demoted, likely to GA status. There are images without source or proper licensing, citations are skimp except for the post cold war era and dead links are ever present.Thoughts? Labattblueboy ( talk) 22:47, 4 July 2008 (UTC)
In the War of 1812 subsection, there's a piece at the very end about how both Canadians and Americans claim it as a victory. (Which is accurate.) The part that seems innacurate to me is the line about why Americans claim it as a victory - "due to the battles of Baltimore and New Orleans before the wars end". I'm not sure about the battle of Baltimore, but the battle of New Orleans actually happened after a peace treaty had been signed in Ghent! (Word of the treaty hadn't yet reached North America.) I'm unsure of what changes need to be made, but if anyone else has ideas I'd appreciate it! -- AntarcticPenguin ( talk) 05:13, 11 January 2010 (UTC)
"On August 4, 1914, Britain entered the First World War by declaring war on Germany. The British declaration of war automatically brought Canada into the war, because of Canada's legal status as subservient to Britain. However, the Canadian government had the freedom to determine the country's level of involvement in the war. The Militia was not mobilized and instead an independent Canadian Expeditionary Force was raised, which eventually numbered four divisions which fought on the Western Front."
"In the later stages of the war, the four-division Canadian Corps was regarded as among the most effective and respected formation on the Western Front.[17] Because its component divisions were larger than comparable British formations (who were suffering manpower shortages by 1916)"
- I know there is a certain amount of brevity in this paragraph, but it is also misleading. Canada raised FIVE divisions for the CEF. (I'm sure the editors are aware, but) The Canadian Corps was larger because Currie refused to divide the 5 divisions into 2 formations. Instead the fifth division was divided into the other four divisions of the single Corps, which made it a larger organization in comparison to British formations and also because of British manpower shortages. I believe stating only four division and not mentioning the fifth, undervalues Canada's participation. Thank you.
Plus, it's also outlined here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Canada_during_World_War_I —Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.159.72.2 ( talk) 20:46, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
Canadian soldiers and volunteers did fight in the Crimean war and in the Sudan during the Mahdist war, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.29.239.149 ( talk) 20:57, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
Needs a spelling correction: 'Ordinance' is a legal document; the paragrah list should be spelled 'Ordnance' — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.76.168.242 ( talk) 19:36, 23 August 2011 (UTC)
![]() | This page is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
This is a rather glaring ommision someone should write about the october crisis, the montreal olympics and the oka standoff, as these are the major uses (that i know of) of canadian force domestically. just putting it out there, i dont really have to to do this right now. another idea is a list of the reasons for canadian intervention as a seperate page, the information is there but it is scattered AND more information about minor peacekeeping missions could be added. Otherwise the page looks good.
The article implied that independence came in 1867. The closest thing to Canadian independence came in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster. So I changed it to read confederation, instead of independence.
Why is there nothing here about the Red River Rebellion, and much more importantly, the North-West Rebellion? Fawcett5 18:59, 22 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Why are "The American Threat", "The War of 1812" and "British Withdrawl" under English-French Conflict? I don't see the Americans as French and by the time of these conflicts Canada couldn't be called French. say1988 13:47, May 15, 2005 (UTC)
I think some info should be added about Canada's role in Haiti, and about how the "peacekeepers" there are systematicaly murdering and inprisoning as many supporters of Aristide and the Lavalas party as they can. The corporate media in Canada is completely silent on the issue, despite mounting evidence of very serious human rights violations commited by both the U.N "peacekeepers" as well as the Haitian police force which got their training from the good ole R.C.M.P.
By the way, the Haiti page itself needs a serious update to deal with what's been happening there since the U.N. began occupying it.
-> Haiti was invaded by a small group of U.S. Marines armed with about fifteen rounds of ammunition each. One resistant group of 300 people was able to take a city of over two-million people. Haiti has a problem in that it is apathetic, unwilling to participate in government processes, and then condemn anyone who does manage to form a government. I've seen the film of the few government leaders on the streets with M-16s acting like regular combat troops instead of leading as officers. Haiti has a serious attitude problem and lots of whining for a nation with millions of people.
As a big fan of commas, I couldn't help but add several. I found this sentence in the Seven Years War section confusing and I'm not sure what it's supposed to say: "The French numbered no more than 3500 and before the British withdrew at the end of the day they had lost about 2000 men, mostly regulars, for a total French loss of about 350." DoubleBlue ( Talk) 05:48, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
The following is inaccurate and biased: "The victorious Americans looked to extend their republic and launched invasions in 1775 and in 1812. On both occasions, the Americans were rebuffed by British and local forces; however, this threat would remain well into the 19th century and partially facilitated Canadian Confederation in 1867." - As the article points out elsewhere, not all residents of the 13 colonies favored separation from Britain. The term "Americans" is misleading and prejudicial. Further, those in the US after the revolution had real fears that Britain would attempt to re-take the colonies. Britain committed what many US residents at the time considered provactive acts against the US and US citizens. This article, seemingly anti-American in its bias, suggest the US was operating out of an imperialist urge. - 1775 was prior to the start of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Indpendence by the 2nd Continental Congress. - The 1812 raid on York was by Kentucky militia. It has not been established they operating under federal command. - "Threat" implies an intent by the US Government to invade Canada. The US and Britain had boundary disputes during the 19th Century. Britain claimed some territory now in the US. These disputes were worked out diplomatically. The wording of the above passage suggests hostile intent on the part of the US against Canada (a nation which did not yet exist). No evidence is given for such alleged intent.
Should we mention funding levels for the military? It seems germaine to a discussion of the Canadian military, but perhaps there is a feeling that we should stick to harder events in this sort of article. I am not sure, but I thought that it is fairly well acknowledged that the Canadian military took a funding cut in the years after the cold war, resulting in a decline in standards throughout the military, personnel cuts, closing of overseas bases in Germany, etc... However, I don't know hard facts on this, so, rather than risk turning it into a National Post editiorial, I leave this for comment before making any substantial edits. Peregrine981 12:54, August 3, 2005 (UTC)
The Military history of Canada article length is now at 51 kilobytes. Should we start breaking the sections up into different articles and work on summaries? Cheers, Madmagic 09:24, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
I noticed that the article included a sentence which read "Since the Second World War, Canada has been committed to multilateralism and has gone to war only within large, UN-sanctioned coalitions such as in the Korean War, the Gulf War, and the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan." I find this interesting because Canada joined Nato during the "Kosovo Conflict" in 1999, which was never sanctioned by the U.N. I also find it odd that there is no mention of the conflict at all in the whole article (as far as I can see). I remain your obedient servant, Wright Andrew 20:05, Novemeber 23, 2005 (UTC)
"For at least 10,000 years, the area that would become Canada was the site of intertribal wars among First Nation groups" - How can that possibly be known? We have no history that dates back to 10,000 years. In fact, it contradicts biblical accounts of the earth being closer to 6,000 years old.
Could someone more knowledgeable than me please 'freeze' or 'lock' this page for a while to stop this rapid vandalism war? -- thirty-seven 00:28, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
I find it highly inappropriate to date the beginning of Canadian military history back 10,000 years ago. I do not dispute that there were wars between native tribes or even with native tribes against Vikings (though there is no definitive proof of this; just strong evidence), but the nation of Canada did not exist until the nineteenth century. I would think it fine to mention any wars starting from European settlement in the sixteenth century because there is a link between then and the modern nation, but combining any engagement beforehand would not fit with the article's title. Consider, it would be equally inappropriate to find mention of pre-Colombian tribal wars in the military history of the United States of America, or Etruscan wars in the Military history of Rome. It can't be denied that former civilizations do leave lasting impressions on later nations' military, but it seems that those histories should be reserved for another article. Perhaps the Military history of North America, which would include wars of Native Americans inhabiting modern day Canada and the northern US, would be more appropriate considering the natives of the land did not see a border distinction between Canada and the US (there was no 45th parallel to them), though there was a difference in cultural identity between them and say- the Great Plains Indians.-- Acefox 19:12, 25 November 2005 (UTC)
I've got to agree with the Acefox here. The intro to the article is somewhat bombastic and overblown. It sets the wrong tone. I'm Canadian and it's all I could do to keep from laughing out loud when I read that. There are enough interesting bits in Canadian history without having to manufacture stuff.
Canada's native peoples did not leave behind written histories and what little we know about them prior to European contact has been inferred from archeological evidence and oral traditions. To describe nascent Canada as a site of 10,000 years of intertribal warfare is, at best, one dimensional and unfair to the native peoples. It diminishes their accomplishments in establishing their cultures on the empty continent.
Evidence for any sort of 'military history' for the natives peoples is thin at best and the article should reflect this. An overwiew of the development of native cultures is available at http://www.civilization.ca/archeo/hnpc/npint00e.html. References to warfare within the document are quite few. The earliest references are to the period beginning 1500 B.C. and coincide with increasingly large populations and the development of more complex cultures. Any sort of 'military history' of Canada might more reasonably begin here and then build on what actually is known about the period. Wiggy!
I am not sure that the following statement is correct:
"A year before the French founded Quebec City [1608, per the text above], the English began their first settlement, at Jamestown, Virginia to the south."
I believe that St. John's, Newfoundland is the oldest continuously-inhabited European settlement in North America. I have in the past seen dates for its founding as ealy as 1528. There are certainly other communities that were established before the implied date of 1607. However until I can remember my sources I will leave the page as-is.
hi, I just wanted to bring your attention to the Canadian Military Task Force at Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history. We're currently looking for the task force so that we can start to develop and organize Canadian Military history content on the 'pedia. Mike McGregor (Can) 18:02, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
Could someone help with the phrase: "fourth strongest military power" (in the section World War II), which doesn't explain much? "Fourth strongest power" in what terms, exactly - does anyone know? I understand from Dali ( commenting on the military section of the Canada article where the same phrase now appears) that Canada was a distant fourth, and to prevent this description from being misleading I think it needs to be rewritten. I don't have any real expertise in this matter, but hopefully someone who does will expand and clarify this section. Pinkville 15:01, 1 February 2006 (UTC)
This article incorrectly claims that the force that partipated in the Burning of Washington was over seventy percent from Canada. This claim is historically incorrect and is nothing but shameful nationalism. In actuality, the force that burnt Washington was led by General Robert Ross and was composed of British reinforcements from the Peninsular War, which was part of the Napoleonic Wars and these troops were freed up by the end of the European conflicts. No Canadian militia participated in the Burning of Washington, and only a fool would believe that a force of over seventy percent militia would be a practical invasion force. Godfather of Naples on 20 March 2006, 21:15 (UTC)
Well, I just love this article fails to mention that the British captured and sacked the White House -- which is known history -- during this war...it seems to only mention the capture and burning of York; I am getting so fed up of Americans writing historical documents and leaving the important parts out!!!
I totally agree. There is an obvious pro-American taint to the entire article ('American victories', 'manifest destiny' etc etc). No wonder it was called the forgotten war, it seems someone is trying to erase/re-write history here on Wiki as well. Why is Gen. Brocks victories glossed over, yet the American generals are glorified? Gen. Hull (of Detroit) was embarrassed (and stripped of his honour and rank) after giving up Ft. Detroit to Brock so easily.
The entirety of the second to last paragraph sounds highly improbable and heavily edited. No "Canadians" whatsoever in the force that took DC? A tornado destroying ALL the British forces? This section needs to be redone. At the moment of this writing, it's simply ridiculous. Dali ( talk) 15:24, 29 September 2010 (UTC)
Well, as no one felt like actually doing anything, I removed the "questionable" (a better word would be idiotic) content from said paragraph. After doing some research, it's evident that, as expected, the tornado bit was made up. Additionally, the part about "no Canadians being there" was in itself a flawed statement. Not only were there people who lived in what would eventually become Canada in the force that took DC, but many of the british soldiers who fought in the war of 1812 would remain in North America. Stating that these people were "British" is very much the equivalent of saying that the American revolutionaries were British and that the Americans owe their independence to the british: Technically true, yet an incredibly flawed statement. Dali ( talk) 15:24, 29 September 2010 (UTC)
This section seems to be a cut and paste from another article. It mentions "Brock" and disobeying someone's orders. Who is Brock and what were the orders and who was the individual who gave them? This explanation is not provided in the beginning of the section. Reading another website, the War of 1812 gives some clues, but this needs to stand alone and it needs to be fleshed out. Pudding30 ( talk) —Preceding undated comment added 04:12, 9 December 2010 (UTC).
"As of May 2006, sixteen Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan; though four died in a friendly fire incident." Why is the Tarnak Farms incident singled out? This article on the Military History of Canada doesn't mention Ortona, or any number of World War 1 or 2 battles where dozens or hundreds of Canadians died and the Battle of the Atlantic shares a line with the Battle of Britain. And truthfully, that's fine, because we have subordinate articles like Military history of Canada during World War II. Canada's role in the invasion of Afghanistan is where mention of Tarnak Farms and other incidents of small historical importance belong. M4-10
e.g. 197th (Vikings of Canada) Battalion, CEF). I suspect specific regimental/battalion articles are too specific for this page's "see also" as would also be specific military bios (see Endre Johannes Cleven). Is there a list of Canadian battalions/regiments? A list of bio'd officers and soldiers? Skookum1 16:44, 26 July 2006 (UTC)
The article claims the American Revolutionary War was fought by colonists to expand their frontier westward and to avoid paying taxes to Great Britain. These are important aspects of that conflict and numerous constituencies promoted these agendas. However, it is biased and myopic to ignore the ideological motivations of the American colonists and their agitation for self-determination. Something mention of democracy might be appropriate.
Additionally, no sources are cited for the author's description of American motivation.
Samwise2021 19:25, 10 August 2006 (UTC) 19:24, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
<ref>Granatstein has a great deal on the often incorrect Canadian perspectives on the War of 1812.</ref>
You removed this as an 'attack on Granatstein'. My question is - how is this an attack on Granatstein? Granted it should include the link or reference to Granatstein's work, but it seems to me like it is advocating Granatstein, not attacking him? Michael Dorosh 22:07, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
I'll grant you that Canada did stay out of the very short Falklands conflict, but was there any realistic expectation that we would participate? In any case, that would be three wars (or two and a scrap) --- "several" seems to me to imply more than that. In fact, Canada has been onside in every major conflict with its allies except Vietnam until the Iraq War in 2002. -- Ggbroad 22:12, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
I'd like to see a citation for the claim that Canada has cumulatively contributed more troops to UN peacekeeping than any other power. I've seen a lot of exaggerated claims about Canada's role in Peacekeeping - including one on Wikipedia that Canada has contributed more troops than all other countries combined. I have Canada as having contributed (very roughly) 125,000 troops over the years - presumably, though, some of these are individual soldiers who served on multiple Peacekeeping deployments. That works out to about 10% of the UN peacekeeping total. Source for the claim that this is the highest?-- Ggbroad 22:37, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
Please take a look at this template and tell me what you think. Obviously it should be expanded with articles on the Korean War, the Gulf War, etc, but that's probably not a bad idea anyway. It wouldn't need to go on this page, just on the pages included in the list. Yay or nay? -- TheMightyQuill 08:07, 6 October 2006 (UTC)
I'm just wondering if that might not have to be a separate article, given the very different context of military activities in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest prior to 1871; even afterwards the continued presence of the Royal Navy at Esquimalt and the importance of Vancouver Island's coaling station for the British fleet in the Pacific are outside the pale of "Canadian" military history, yet are definitely part of British Columbia's military history. Likewise peculiarities of the Voltigeurs, Bluejackets (Royal Marines) and Royal Engineers in the colonial era, as well as the creation of American irregular companies during the Fraser Canyon War and the Chilcotin War (though those in the Chilcotin War were deputized, but still clearly an American "regiment"). Military history here also includes the Spanish fortification at Nootka Sound, events in Russian America (notably the Battle of Sitka, the ongoing shellings and sieges and attacks and counter-attacks of the marine fur trade era, and that's not even getting to "native militaries" like Nicola's alliance or the "fleets" of the Haida and Euclataws and other raiding peoples; then there's also the history of the militia regiments, e.g. the Rocky Mountain Rangers based out of Kamloops (should be redlinked unless there's an American group by that name), which were the mainstay of public defence in British Columbia until World War II. Part of the military history here is also the experience of threats from outside the borders; American invasion (1846, 1859-70 and 1898-1902, excepting feared Fenian Raids during the '90s), Japanese invasion (1907 and 1941-45) and the balloon bomb thing (the Alaska Highway is part of BC's and Canada's military history, BTW, though it's often forgotten to be that nowadays), Russian invasion/attack (from 1853, despite truce between Douglas and his RAC counterpart) through to the Cold War; Vancouver was also a staging point for Russo-Japanese War materiele (locomotive parts destined for Russia rusted away near today's PNE grounds when the Russians lost the war and the parts were not delivered) and also as a transshipment point for 300,000 (or so) Chinese coolies donated by Republican China to France during World War I. I'm not sure, as with so much else, that military history about British Columbia "fits into the Canadian picture". Partly because Canada has never seen "us" that way, or understood our history at all; partly because of the complex and peculiar nature of the details, which are contingent upon factors of geography and multiple-input culture/society; the reason the REs were here, for example, was because (other than engineers being exactly what Douglas wanted) they had been in Kwangtung just beforehand and could be relocated to BC easily, rather than a new round sent out from Cape Horn; likewise the settlement of British/Anglo-Irish officers in BC after the gold rush was meant explicitly to avoid "another Australia" (i.e. a concentration of convicts and underclass in the stock population). Skookum1 05:27, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
The Feb. 15 edits to the 1812 section of this page by IP 68.148.106.90 are a little suspicious, but no one reverted them. Maybe someone could clean that up? - TheMightyQuill 03:14, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Why are they suspicious? The information that is still contained is very highly slanted and opinionated towards the 'American' side of the conflict. There is glaring omissions, and the wording is pro-US and anti-British/Canada in nature. 68.148.106.90 08:53, 18 February 2007 (UTC)68.148.106.90
I believe two changes should be made:
1. The table on the right hand side about 3/4 way down the page needs to have another table below it that lists the different wars that Canada has fought in. This already exists in all the other pages like "Canada and the cold war". Essentially, it would be another link within the page to further read about specific conflicts.
2. This "other" table needs to be altered to include the previous war contributions before 1867 like those included in this article about Canada's military history. A good example of a table is "Dynasties of ancient China" and how they list it on the right hand side.
I hope this makes sense Canking 10:31, 9 April 2007 (UTC)
Eric Lafontaine added this commentary and request for editing to the article, in the Canadian Forces Europe section. I have moved it to here:
(Actually it was a Summer camp/course, called CFE (Canadian Forces in Europe). The first part was with the Canadian Commandos in Petawawa and the second part was in Germany. The cadets were never considered active troops. This information (based on my experience) dates back nineteen years and needs to be updated by a younger former-cadet.)
-- thirty-seven 07:14, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
Thank you for the editing assist.
But what I meant to say, is that as the sentence is phrased in the article it sounds like the cadets were serving in a brigade as active troops. We weren't active troops. Cadets are minors and civilians. Although some military regulations apply to them they are not considered military personel. Unlike Cadet Instructors Cadre officers who are part of the reserve and are full commissioned officers. So if the sentence could be altered a little bit, in the article, I believe it could clarify things. By the way the CFE experience was a great one.
Eric Lafontaine 15:38, 26 May 2007 (UTC)
Sorry, I didn't know for sure where to mention this. I just wanted to point out the link to the UN Website, in reference to Canada having "the second-highest peacekeeping fatility in the world, behind India.", is a dead link. The new link is: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/fatalities/StatsByNationalityMission%202.pdf I couldn't seem to repair it myself :) Wikig39 11:50 5 July 2007
I notice that there is very little mention about Canada's air force in this article. There is mention of Canada's airmen being involved with the Battle of Britain, but little else. Canada's air contribution, of course, has been significant, particularly during the Second World War (e.g. with 6 Group), the Cold War (e.g. No. 1 Air Division) in Europe and post-Cold War period. The section about Canadian Forces in Europe only mentions a mechanized infantry brigade. Canadian Forces involvement in Europe was much more than this. Canada invested a lot of effort and lives in maintaining an air force presence in France and West Germany, particularly during the 50s and 60s. Since there are sections about the formation of the army and a small section about the formation of the navy, why not a section on the formation of the air force? It seems that there is a serious bias toward the land forces/army in this article. Once I have the time, I can work on fleshing out more about the air force, but if anyone is so inclined to start this go right ahead.-- BC 19:02, 5 August 2007 (UTC)
There's a list of Canadian involvement with peacekeeping missions here. Would someone like to wikify it? I think it would be a useful article. - TheMightyQuill ( talk) 18:44, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
I was looking at Military history of Canada and frankly it is no longer of FA quality and should be demoted, likely to GA status. There are images without source or proper licensing, citations are skimp except for the post cold war era and dead links are ever present.Thoughts? Labattblueboy ( talk) 22:47, 4 July 2008 (UTC)
In the War of 1812 subsection, there's a piece at the very end about how both Canadians and Americans claim it as a victory. (Which is accurate.) The part that seems innacurate to me is the line about why Americans claim it as a victory - "due to the battles of Baltimore and New Orleans before the wars end". I'm not sure about the battle of Baltimore, but the battle of New Orleans actually happened after a peace treaty had been signed in Ghent! (Word of the treaty hadn't yet reached North America.) I'm unsure of what changes need to be made, but if anyone else has ideas I'd appreciate it! -- AntarcticPenguin ( talk) 05:13, 11 January 2010 (UTC)
"On August 4, 1914, Britain entered the First World War by declaring war on Germany. The British declaration of war automatically brought Canada into the war, because of Canada's legal status as subservient to Britain. However, the Canadian government had the freedom to determine the country's level of involvement in the war. The Militia was not mobilized and instead an independent Canadian Expeditionary Force was raised, which eventually numbered four divisions which fought on the Western Front."
"In the later stages of the war, the four-division Canadian Corps was regarded as among the most effective and respected formation on the Western Front.[17] Because its component divisions were larger than comparable British formations (who were suffering manpower shortages by 1916)"
- I know there is a certain amount of brevity in this paragraph, but it is also misleading. Canada raised FIVE divisions for the CEF. (I'm sure the editors are aware, but) The Canadian Corps was larger because Currie refused to divide the 5 divisions into 2 formations. Instead the fifth division was divided into the other four divisions of the single Corps, which made it a larger organization in comparison to British formations and also because of British manpower shortages. I believe stating only four division and not mentioning the fifth, undervalues Canada's participation. Thank you.
Plus, it's also outlined here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Canada_during_World_War_I —Preceding unsigned comment added by 136.159.72.2 ( talk) 20:46, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
Canadian soldiers and volunteers did fight in the Crimean war and in the Sudan during the Mahdist war, —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.29.239.149 ( talk) 20:57, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
Needs a spelling correction: 'Ordinance' is a legal document; the paragrah list should be spelled 'Ordnance' — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.76.168.242 ( talk) 19:36, 23 August 2011 (UTC)