Posts Tagged ‘The History Of Canada’s Navy’

In 1945, naval minister Douglas Abbott announced he wanted Canada to have “a good, workable little fleet.” Some interpretations of Abbott’s statement suggest this was a cry for an efficient and versatile force, which, through its ability to perform numerous maritime tasks, would give the government the greatest flexibility when dealing with foreign policy challenges. What Abbott actually had defined, however, was a versatility paradox that would haunt the Canadian navy throughout the postwar period. Cutting budgets and capabilities while telling the navy to respond to a wide range of contingencies and increasing operational commitments may seem counterintuitive, but that is [...]

One hundred years ago, on Jan. 12, 1910, the government of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier introduced the Naval Service Bill. After third and final reading on May 4, the bill received royal assent and Laurier, who had been prime minister since 1896, achieved one of his fondest dreams: the establishment of a Canadian navy. Laurier’s plan called for a fleet of five cruisers and six torpedo-boat destroyers. This was a tidy little squadron capable of effective patrolling off Canada’s coasts, and big enough to establish a Canadian service, with a shipyard to build and maintain the fleet, operational bases, recruitment depots, [...]