Editing Canadian Armed Forces (section)

===Origins and establishment===
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2017}}
[[File:The Canadian Militia, 1898.jpg|thumb|Uniforms of the [[Canadian militia]] in 1898. The Canadian Army traces its roots to the militia.]]
Prior to [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]] in 1867, residents of the colonies in what is now Canada served as regular members of French and British forces and in [[Colonial militia in Canada|local militia groups]]. The latter aided in the defence of their respective territories against attacks by other European powers, [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada|Indigenous peoples]], and later [[United States Armed Forces|American forces]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]] and [[War of 1812]], as well as in the [[Fenian raids]], [[Red River Rebellion]], and [[North-West Rebellion]]. Consequently, the lineages of some Canadian Army units stretch back to the late 18th century, when militia units were formed to assist in the defence of [[British North America]] against invasion by the United States.

The responsibility for military command remained with the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British Crown]]-[[Queen-in-Council|in-Council]], with a [[Commander-in-Chief, North America|commander-in-chief for North America]] stationed in [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] until the final withdrawal of [[British Army]] and [[Royal Navy]] units from the city in 1906. Thereafter, the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] was formed, and, with the advent of military aviation, the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]. These forces were organized under the [[Department of Militia and Defence (Canada)|Department of Militia and Defence]], and split into the [[Permanent Active Militia|Permanent]] and [[Non-Permanent Active Militia]]s{{mdash}}frequently shortened to simply ''[[Canadian militia|The Militia]].'' By 1923, the department was merged into the [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]].
[[File:Canadian tank and soldiers Vimy 1917.jpg|thumb|Soldiers of the [[2nd Canadian Division]] behind a [[Mark II tank|Mark II]] [[female tank]] during the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]]]]
The first significant overseas deployment of Canadian military forces occurred during the [[Second Boer War]] when several units were raised to serve under British command. Similarly, when the United Kingdom entered into conflict with Germany in the [[First World War]], Canadian troops were called to participate in European theatres. Battles that are particularly notable to the Canadian military include the [[Second Battle of Ypres]], the [[Battle of the Somme]], the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]], the [[Second Battle of Passchendaele]], as well as a [[Canada's Hundred Days|series of attacks undertaken]] by the [[Canadian Corps]] during the [[Hundred Days Offensive]].

During this period, a distinctly Canadian army and navy were established, followed by an air force, that, because of the constitutional arrangements at the time, remained effectively under the control of the [[{{ucfirst:{{Canadian monarch, current|genderp=~}}}} Majesty's Government|British government]] until Canada gained [[Statute of Westminster 1931|legislative independence]] from the United Kingdom in 1931, in part due to the distinguished achievement and sacrifice of the Canadian Corps in the First World War.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nersessian |first=Mary |title=Vimy battle marks birth of Canadian nationalism |publisher=CTV |date=9 April 2007 |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070402/vimy_90years_070402 |access-date=20 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215182932/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070402/vimy_90years_070402 |archive-date=15 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last=Cook| first=Tim| publication-date=2008| title=Shock troops: Canadians fighting the Great War, 1917–1918| location=Toronto| publisher=Viking| isbn=978-0-670-06735-0| year=2008}}</ref> In November 1940, the Canadian militia was formally renamed the Canadian Army. However, in the 1950s, Reserve Army forces were once again referred to in official documentation as "Militia", which, although rare, is still used to refer to part-time members.

Canadian Forces entered the [[Second World War]] in September 1939, after the [[Monarchy of Canada|Canadian Crown-in-Council]] declared war on [[Nazi Germany]]. Battles and campaigns during the Second World War that was particularly notable to the Canadian military include the [[Battle of the Atlantic]], the [[Battle of Britain]], the [[Battle of Hong Kong]], the [[Dieppe Raid]], the [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invasion of Sicily]] and [[Allied invasion of Italy|Italy]], [[Operation Overlord]], the [[Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine|Siegfried Line Campaign]], [[Operation Veritable]], as well as the [[Strategic bombing during World War II|strategic bombing of German cities]].
[[File:RCAF Typhoon Holland 1944 IWM CL 1598.jpg|thumb|Two armourers of [[440 Transport Squadron|No. 440 Squadron RCAF]], re-arming a [[Hawker Typhoon]]. By the end of the [[Second World War]], Canada possessed the fourth-largest air force in the world.]]
At the end of the Second World War, Canada possessed the fourth-largest air force and fifth-largest naval surface fleet in the world.<ref>World War – Willmott, H.P. et al.; Dorling Kindersley Limited, London, 2004, Page 168</ref> [[Conscription]] for overseas service was [[Conscription Crisis of 1944|introduced only near the end of the war]], and only 2,400 conscripts made it into battle. Originally, Canada was thought to have had the third-largest navy in the world, but with the fall of the [[Soviet Union]], new data based on Japanese and Soviet sources found that to be incorrect.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Rob |last=Stuart |title=Was the RCN ever the Third Largest Navy? |journal=Canadian Naval Review |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=4–9 |date=Fall 2009 |url=https://www.navalreview.ca/wp-content/uploads/CNR_pdf_full/cnr_vol5_3.pdf |access-date=12 November 2019}}</ref>

Since 1947, Canadian military units have participated in more than 200 operations worldwide, and [[List of Canadian military operations|completed 72 international operations]]. Canadian soldiers, sailors, and aviators came to be considered world-class professionals through conspicuous service during these conflicts and the country's integral participation in [[NATO]] during the [[Korean War]], [[Gulf War|First Gulf War]], [[Kosovo War]], and in United Nations [[Peacekeeping]] operations, such as the [[Suez Crisis]], [[Golan Heights]], Cyprus, Croatia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Libya. Canada maintained an aircraft carrier from 1957 to 1970 during the Cold War, which never saw combat but participated in patrols during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]].