Military history of Canada
The military history of Canada spans centuries of conflicts within the country, as well as international engagements involving the Canadian military. The Indigenous nations of Canada engaged in conflicts with one another for millennia. The arrival of European settlers in the 17th century led to new alliances and hostilities among Indigenous nations and colonial powers, leading to conflicts such as the Beaver Wars.
The late 17th and 18th centuries saw four major British-French conflicts fought in Canada, culminating with the British conquest of New France in 1760. This reshaped the region and contributed to the American Revolutionary War, during which American attempts to seize Quebec and spark a revolt in Nova Scotia failed.
The 19th century brought both external threats and internal challenges to British North America. While its colonies repelled American invasions during the War of 1812, the Rebellions of 1837–1838 and Fenian raids highlighted the need for militia reforms and contributed to Canadian Confederation in 1867. The end of the century saw Canadian units become involved in British imperial conflicts like the Nile Expedition and Second Boer War.
In the 20th century, Canada played a significant role in both World Wars. After World War II, it embraced multilateralism, with its military participating in international coalitions and peacekeeping missions, including the Korean War and the Gulf War. In the 21st century, Canada has continued its involvement in multilateral military coalitions, contributing to missions in the Greater Middle East and Mali.
Warfare pre-contact
Warfare took place throughout the continent at various levels of in intensity, frequency and decisiveness. Periods of raiding occurred even in subarctic areas that had sufficient population density. However, Inuit groups in the extreme northern Arctic typically avoided direct warfare due to their small populations, relying on traditional law to resolve conflicts. 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.In pre-contact Canada, Indigenous warriors relied primarily on the bow and arrow, having honed their archery skills through their hunting practices. Knives, hatchets/tomahawks and warclubs were used for hand-to-hand combat. Some conflicts took place over great distances, with a few military expeditions travelling as far as.
Warfare tended to be formal and ritualistic, resulting in few casualties. However, major conflicts sometimes occurred. The St. Lawrence Valley Iroquois were also almost completely displaced, likely due to warfare with their neighbours the Algonquin. The threat of conflict impacted how some groups lived, with Algonquian and Iroquois groups residing in fortified villages with layers of defences and wooden palisades at least by 1000 CE.
Captives from battles were not always killed. Tribes frequently adopted them to replenish lost warriors or used them for prisoner exchanges. Slavery was common among the Pacific Northwest Coast's Indigenous people like the Tlingit and Haida, with around a quarter of the region's population being enslaved. In certain societies, slavery was hereditary, with slaves and their descendants being prisoners of war.
Several First Nations also formed alliances with one another, like the Iroquois League. These military alliances became important to European colonial powers in their struggle for North American hegemony during the 17th and 18th centuries.
European contact
The first clash between Europeans and Indigenous peoples likely transpired around 1003, during Norse attempts to settle North America's northeastern coast, such as at L'Anse aux Meadows. 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 Norse weaponry, and their canoes offered greater manoeuvrability in an environment they were familiar with. Outnumbered, the Norse abandoned the settlement.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.
17th century
Firearms began to make their way into Indigenous hands by the early 17th century, with significant acquisition starting in the 1640s. The arrival of firearms made fighting between Indigenous groups bloodier and more decisive, 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. By the end of the 17th century, Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands and the eastern subarctic rapidly transitioned to firearms, supplanting the bow. Though firearms predominated, the bow and arrow saw limited use into the early 18th century as a covert weapon for surprise attacks.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.
Early European colonies in Canada include the French settlement of Port-Royal in 1605 and the English settlement of Cuper's Cove five years later. French claims stretched to the Mississippi River valley, where fur trappers and colonists established scattered settlements. The French built a series of forts to defend these settlements, although some were also used as trading posts. New France's two main colonies, Acadia on the Bay of Fundy and Canada on the St. Lawrence River, relied mainly on the fur trade. These colonies grew slowly due to difficult geographical and climatic circumstances. By 1706, its population was around 16,000. By the mid-1700s, New France had about one-tenth of the population of the British Thirteen Colonies to the south. 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.
The early military of New France was made up of regulars from the French Royal Army and Navy, supported by the colonial militia. 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. By the 1750s, most New French military officers were born in the colony. New France's military also relied on Indigenous allies for support to mitigate the manpower advantage of the Thirteen Colonies. This relationship significantly impacted New French military practices, like the adoption of Indigenous guerrilla tactics by its military professionals.
Beaver Wars
The Beaver Wars were intermittent conflicts involving the Iroquois Confederacy, New France, and France's Indigenous allies. By the 17th century, several First Nations' economies relied heavily on the regional fur trade with Europeans. The French quickly joined pre-existing Indigenous alliances such as the Huron-Algonquin alliance, bringing them into conflict with the Iroquois Confederacy, who initially aligned with Dutch colonists and later with the English. As a result, the primary threat against New France in its early years were the Iroquois, particularly the easternmost Kanien'kehá:ka, known to Europeans as the Mohawk.Conflict between the French and Iroquois likely arose from the latter's ambition to control the beaver pelt trade. 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 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.
1609–1667
Initially, the French offered limited support to their Indigenous allies, providing iron arrowheads and knives, but few firearms. 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. Access to firearms proved decisive, enabling the Iroquois to wage an effective guerrilla war.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. These attacks caused the dispersion of the Neutral, Petun, and Huron Confederacy, along with the systematic destruction of Huronia. 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.
Hostilities resumed between the two sides in 1658 when the French withdrew their Iroquois missions. After years of expansionist campaigns in the mid-1650s, the outbreak of a wider front in 1659 and 1660 strained the Confederacy. To secure a favourable peace, the French sent the Carignan-Salières Regiment in 1665, the first uniformed professional soldiers station in Canada, and whose members formed the core of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine militia. The regiment's arrival led the Iroquois to agree to peace in 1667.