Canada Owes its Status to War

Historically Canada has only been a primary contender in one war: The War of 1812. So it is safe to say that Canada is generally a peaceful country that has a respectful “middle power” status. A term used to describe countries that are not “superpowers” but still have a large amount of influence. Yet, this reputation would have been impossible without Canada’s roles in past wars, that have helped it to establish itself as a middle power among nations; specifically battles such as those in Vimy Ridge and Normandy, as well as Canada’s contributions during the Cold War.

Beginning with the Great War, what started out as a dispute between Britain and Germany sprawled out into a full out World War. Canada at the time still had very close ties with Great Britain, and thus, had little choice but to follow the British into War, while enduring the glare of French Canadians. The early years of battle were not as glorious as everyone had envisioned, to make matters worse Germany still had the upper hand. It was that Battle at Vimy Ridge that acted as a turning point for the war. On April 9, 1917 all four Canadian Divisions set out to do what the British and French had failed in: securing the highest point on the ridge: Hill 147. They won the battle and this was when Canada began to enter the international stage. Allied countries viewed Canadians with a new light (more as its own nation); this victory was the shift that gave the Allies an edge in the Great War. When the war ended, Canada demanded to have its own representative at the peace talks in Versailles, citing that if it were not for Canadian contributions – they might not have won. Taking this into account, Canada was given two seats. Before the war Canada did not have much of a na...

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...present prior the Great War.

Works Cited
“Middle Power,” Wikipedia, 10 Jan 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_power

Tim Cook, Shock Troops: Canadians fighting the Great War 1917-1918 (Toronto: Penguin Group, 2008) 76

J. Bradley Cruxton, and W. Douglas Wilson, Spotlight Canada 4th Ed. (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2000) 240

“Juno Beach – Canada’s contribution to WWII June 6, 1994 – D-Day Operation Overlord,” 2008, CommunityWalk, 10 Jan 2010. http://www.communitywalk.com/location/juno_beach__canadas_contribution_to_wwii_june_6_1944__dday_operation_overlord/world_war_1__2_monuments/1109400

J. Bradley Cruxton, and W. Douglas Wilson, Spotlight Canada 4th Ed. (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2000) 291

J. Bradley Cruxton, and W. Douglas Wilson, Spotlight Canada 4th Ed. (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2000) 292