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Create AccountBilly Bishop Goes to War is a musical written by John MacLachlan Gray with Eric Peterson about the exploits of First World War flying ace William Avery "Billy" Bishop. Since its premiere in 1978, the musical has been staged across Canada and in the United States and Europe. It remains one of the most popular Canadian musicals.
On 4 August 1701, the French concluded a peace agreement with the Five Nations Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). This brought to an end almost a century of hostilities marked by atrocities on both sides. The Haudenosaunee were permitted to trade freely and to obtain goods from the French at a reduced cost. In exchange, they pledged to allow French settlement at Detroit and to remain neutral in the event of a war between England and France. The accord assured New France superiority in dealing with issues related to the region’s First Nations. It also gave the French the freedom to expand militarily over the next half century.
U-boat Operations threatened Canada's sovereignty in 2 world wars. German submarines (Unterseeboote) first laid mines off Halifax and attacked shipping in Aug 1918, and virtually unopposed by the unprepared naval service they sank 11 schooners and a trawler for a total of 2002 gross tons.
The Halifax class of helicopter-carrying frigates (FFH) are multi-purpose warships of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). There are 12 ships in the class. They were conceived in the 1970s as a replacement of the St Laurent and related classes of destroyer escorts, to provide antisubmarine warfare (ASW) protection for the fleet. The Halifax class entered service in the early 1990s, just after the end of the Cold War, and proved instead to be highly versatile general-purpose warships. Due to a major class-wide modernization project completed in the 2010s, they remain the backbone of the RCN surface fleet. The Halifax class will be replaced in the 2030s by the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) ships announced in 2019.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on November 15, 1999. Partner content is not updated.
The first contingent of 1,000 troops sailed from Quebec City 100 years ago, on Oct. 30, 1899. Another 7,638 young soldiers and 12 nurses followed over the next 2½ years. Their destination: South Africa, to join British troops battling the Afrikaner republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State.A merchant navy (or merchant marine) is a fleet of commercial vessels that carries troops and supplies in wartime. The history of Canada’s merchant fleet is one of up and downs. From the heady days of the late 19th century to its virtual disappearance a few years later, through a rapid build-up as a key Allied component during the Second World War, to its final demise in mid-20th century, Canada’s Merchant Navy has not been treated well.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on July 14, 1997. Partner content is not updated.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. If only Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had not jumped at U.S. President George Bushs request to send Canadian troops to Somalia in 1992.As the threat of another world war loomed ever larger, Canadians, far from the conflict, would face a difficult choice of whether to stand again with Britain or remain isolated and safe in North America.
This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on May 25, 1998. Partner content is not updated.
Dawn Thomson remembers peering up at the windows of Nelles Barracks when she arrived for her first posting at CFB Esquimalt in Victoria in January, 1992. She saw a wall of men's faces - then came the hollering and the catcalls, a cacophony of sexual innuendo and gutter talk.
This article contains sensitive material that may not be suitable for all audiences.
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.
