Military History of Canada - Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping

See also: List of Canadian Peacekeeping Missions

Closely related to Canada's commitment to multi-lateralism has been its strong support for peacekeeping efforts. Canada’s peacekeeping role during the 20th and 21st centuries has played a major part in its global image. Prior to Canada’s role in the Suez Crisis, Canada was viewed by many as insignificant in global issues. Canada’s successful role in the conflict gave Canada credibility and established it as a nation fighting for the "common good" of all nations. Canada participated in every UN peacekeeping effort from its inception until 1989. Since 1995, however, Canadian direct participation in UN peacekeeping efforts has greatly declined. In July 2006, for instance, Canada ranked 51st on the list of UN peacekeepers, contributing 130 peacekeepers out of a total UN deployment of over 70,000. Where in November 1990 Canada had 1,002 troops out of a total UN deployment of 10,304, that number decreased largely because Canada began to direct its participation to UN-sanctioned military operations through NATO, rather than directly to the UN.

Canadian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lester B. Pearson is considered to be the father of modern peacekeeping. Pearson had become a very prominent figure in the United Nations during its infancy, and found himself in a peculiar position in 1956 during the Suez Crisis: Pearson and Canada found themselves stuck between a conflict of their closest allies, being looked upon to find a solution. During United Nations meetings Lester B. Pearson proposed to the security council that a United Nations police force be established to prevent further conflict in the region, allowing the countries involved an opportunity to sort out a resolution. Pearson’s proposal and offer to dedicate 1,000 Canadian soldiers to that cause was seen as a brilliant political move that prevented another war.

The first Canadian peacekeeping mission, even before the creation of the formal UN system, was a 1948 mission to the second Kashmir conflict. Other important missions include those in Cyprus, Congo, Somalia, Yugoslav, and observation missions in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights. The loss of nine Canadian peacekeepers when their Buffalo 461 was shot down over Syria in 1974 remains the largest single loss of life in Canadian peacekeeping history. In 1988, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to United Nations peacekeepers, inspiring the creation of the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal to recognize Canadians, including serving and former members of the Canadian Forces, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, other police services, and civilians, who contributed to peace on certain missions.