History | The Canadian Encyclopedia

Browse "History"

Displaying 1-15 of 21 results
  • Article

    12e Régiment blindé du Canada

    12e Régiment blindé du Canada (12e RBC) is the junior of three regular armoured regiments in the Canadian Army. The regiment was established in 1871 as a militia infantry battalion and was converted to an armoured regiment in 1936. In 1968, the Regular Force regiment was formed, designated 12e RBC. The regiment or detached squadrons have served in peace operations and in Afghanistan. 12e RBC has been based at CFB Valcartier, Quebec, since 1968 and is part of 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, 2nd Canadian Division.

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/12eRBC/12e RBC commem envelope.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/12eRBC/12e RBC commem envelope.jpg 12e Régiment blindé du Canada
  • List

    30 Historic Battles

    To celebrate its 30th anniversary, The Canadian Encyclopedia created 30 lists of 30 things that have helped define our identity, from famous people and historic events, to iconic foods and influential artists.

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/a7c708ef-3e7b-4890-a1ad-f637397985a6.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/a7c708ef-3e7b-4890-a1ad-f637397985a6.jpg 30 Historic Battles
  • Article

    Aid to (or of) the Civil Power

    Aid to (or of) the Civil Power, the calling out of military troops by the civil authorities to help maintain or restore public order.

    "https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Aid to (or of) the Civil Power
  • Article

    Canada and Antisubmarine Warfare during the Cold War

    During the Cold War, the Canadian Navy played a crucial role in antisubmarine warfare (ASW), working closely with its allies to patrol and monitor the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for Soviet submarine activity. Canada invested in new technology and continually modernized its fleet of ships and aircraft to better detect and counter Soviet submarines. It also operated strategic warning systems with its allies, particularly the United States. By the end of the Cold War, Canada had developed a very high reputation in the field.

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/9f869e07-d522-4293-927d-787f3be65104.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/9f869e07-d522-4293-927d-787f3be65104.jpg Canada and Antisubmarine Warfare during the Cold War
  • Article

    Canada and Gas Warfare

    Poison gas was used throughout the First World War by almost all armies. Its widespread use was unique in the history of warfare. The various types of gas, delivered by canisters, projectors, or shell, killed, maimed, and wore down morale. By 1918, soldiers of all armies encountered gas frequently while serving at the Western Front. Canadian soldiers were among the first to face the death clouds, at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915. At least 11,572 Canadian soldiers were casualties of poison gas, yet many were denied pensions after the war. During the Second World War, chemical weapons were not used on the battlefield; however, the Suffield Experimental Station in Alberta developed and tested chemical and biological weapons beginning in 1941. From about the middle of the 20th century, Canadian officials worked on the global stage to ban chemical weapons, and in the 1990s, Canada signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (see Arms Control and Disarmament.)

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/GasWarfare/a002897-v8.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/GasWarfare/a002897-v8.jpg Canada and Gas Warfare
  • Article

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

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

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/8cb80cb6-7ee5-4b1d-b742-922466dbc5f3.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/8cb80cb6-7ee5-4b1d-b742-922466dbc5f3.jpg Canada and the Battle of the Atlantic (Plain-Language Summary)
  • Article

    Canada and the Battle of the Scheldt

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

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/BattleScheldt/Graves_Battle_Scheldt.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/BattleScheldt/Graves_Battle_Scheldt.jpg Canada and the Battle of the Scheldt
  • Article

    Canada and the Dutch Hunger Winter

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

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/f65416f8-4c4e-4571-b46b-702d8051055c.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/f65416f8-4c4e-4571-b46b-702d8051055c.jpg Canada and the Dutch Hunger Winter
  • Article

    Canadian Naval Operations in the South-West Asia Theatre

    From the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in the summer of 1990 (see Persian Gulf War) until the withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan in 2014, the waters of South-West Asia were the operational focus of the Canadian navy. In that quarter-century, practically every major surface ship and the large majority of sailors deployed into the region at some point in their service. In many ways, it was the defining experience for a generation of Canadian sailors.

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/5ec441fc-60aa-4fd9-a568-d53428bda0a1.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/5ec441fc-60aa-4fd9-a568-d53428bda0a1.jpg Canadian Naval Operations in the South-West Asia Theatre
  • Article

    CANLOAN

    CANLOAN was a volunteer program that loaned Canadian officers to the British Army during the Second World War.

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/LiberationNetherlands/Captain_Ashton_Kerr.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/LiberationNetherlands/Captain_Ashton_Kerr.jpg CANLOAN
  • Article

    Exercise Tocsin B

    Exercise Tocsin B was a nationwide nuclear preparedness drill that lasted 24 hours between 13 and 14 November 1961. It was the last of three national survival exercises named Tocsin in 1960–61. It was also the largest and most widely publicized civil defence drill ever held in Canada. This Cold War exercise run by the Canadian Army simulated the impact of thermonuclear warfare in Canada. Its goals were to show how the state would warn Canadians of such an attack and how government would continue during the crisis. By raising popular awareness of the potential for a devastating nuclear attack, Tocsin B showed Canadians what was at stake in the Cold War.

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/ExerciseTocsinB/EMO_excerpt.JPG" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/ExerciseTocsinB/EMO_excerpt.JPG Exercise Tocsin B
  • Article

    First World War (WWI)

    The First World War of 1914–1918 was the bloodiest conflict in Canadian history, taking the lives of nearly 61,000 Canadians. It erased romantic notions of war, introducing slaughter on a massive scale, and instilled a fear of foreign military involvement that would last until the Second World War. The great achievements of Canadian soldiers on battlefields such as Ypres, Vimy and Passchendaele, however, ignited a sense of national pride and a confidence that Canada could stand on its own, apart from the British Empire, on the world stage. The war also deepened the divide between French and English Canada and marked the beginning of widespread state intervention in society and the economy. (This is the full-length entry about the First World War. For a plain-language summary, please see First World War (Plain-Language Summary).)

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/11751af0-ec83-4753-8f2b-bb38ed576b7f.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/11751af0-ec83-4753-8f2b-bb38ed576b7f.jpg First World War (WWI)
  • Article

    History of the Armed Forces in Canada

    The armed forces are the land, naval and air forces commanded by the federal government for the purpose of defending Canada's security, protecting its citizens, and promoting its strategic interests at home or abroad. The armed forces have evolved since colonial times from small, local militia units to the modern professional military forces of today.

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/27bfbefd-a613-47df-bd35-5e01ef6511ae.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/27bfbefd-a613-47df-bd35-5e01ef6511ae.jpg History of the Armed Forces in Canada
  • Article

    Middle Power

    In international relations, the term middle power refers to a state that wields less influence on the world stage than a superpower. As the term suggests, middle powers fall in the middle of the scale measuring a country’s international influence. Where superpowers have great influence over other countries, middle powers have moderate influence over international events. Canada was considered to be a middle power during the postwar period — from 1945 until about 1960. Though Canada was not as powerful or prominent as the United Kingdom or the United States during this time, it was an international player that influenced events through moral leadership, peacekeeping and conflict mediation.

    "https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/a8f651d1-144a-49a7-af14-dc0c180d3168.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/a8f651d1-144a-49a7-af14-dc0c180d3168.jpg Middle Power
  • Article

    Military History

    See Armaments; Armed Forces; Aviation, Military; Korean War; South African War; War of the Austrian Succession; War of the Spanish Succession; War of 1812; World War I, World War II; and individual battle entries.

    "https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.php
    
    https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9 Military History