A Brief Overview of the Canadian Navy's History

1911 Naval recruiting poster

During WWI Canadians served with the Royal Navy overseas with the newly formed Canadian navy established in 1910 contributing to the defence of the important ports on the east coast including the strategic harbour of Halifax.

WWII Convoy escorts

It was during the Second World War that the Royal Canadian Navy came to the fore and played a critical role in the war at sea and the six year Battle of the Atlantic that was the key to allied victory. The Navy grew from a few destoyers and small minesweepers to a force of 100,000 with hundreds of warships from corvettes and destroyers to cruisers and carriers. By the war's end the Canadian Navy was the third largest in the world.The navy's success during the Battle of the Atlantic and in the naval support to D-Day came at a heavy cost in ships and men. The sea enclosed many of them but they eventually broke the back of the U-boat threat and helped liberate Europe from the oppression of the Nazi Third Reich.

Canadian Destoyer fires at targets on shore during the Korean War

In the post-war era the navy fought with UN naval forces off Korea's coasts and contributed to NATO deterrence at sea. In the 1990s the navy participated in naval operations in the Arabian Gulf. The navy continues its tasks of securing Canada's coastlines and off shore interests and contributing to collective global maritime security.

A Canadian Victoria Class submarine and a Canadian Patrol Frigate at sea.