List of Prime Ministers of Canada by military service

Last updated

This is a list of the Prime Ministers of Canada and their military service

Military service Performing the service in the armed forces of a state

Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).

The Prime Minister is not Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces, rather the role is held by the Queen of Canada and is held on behalf of the monarch by the Governor General of Canada.

Governor General of Canada representative of the monarch of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The person of the sovereign is shared equally both with the 15 other Commonwealth realms and the 10 provinces of Canada, but resides predominantly in her oldest and most populous realm, the United Kingdom. The Queen, on the advice of her Canadian prime minister, appoints a governor general to carry out most of her constitutional and ceremonial duties. The commission is for an unfixed period of time—known as serving at Her Majesty's pleasure—though five years is the normal convention. Beginning in 1959, it has also been traditional to rotate between anglophone and francophone officeholders—although many recent governors general have been bilingual. Once in office, the governor general maintains direct contact with the Queen, wherever she may be at the time.

Prime MinisterServiceRankActive Service
Sir John A. Macdonald Sedentary Militia Private Kingston during Upper Canada Rebellion 1837; Minister of Militia and Defence 1860-1867
Alexander Mackenzie Canadian Militia Major None; member of militia in Lambton, Ontario (1866–1874)
Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott Canadian Militiacommanding officer (Lieutenant Colonel?)None; officer of 11th Argenteuil Battalion militia in Montreal area (1866-1874?)
Sir John Sparrow David Thompson nonenonenone
Sir Mackenzie Bowell Canadian Militia Lieutenant Colonel Canadian militia posted along the border during the American Civil War; member of 49th (Hastings) Battalion of Rifles militia unit in North Hastings, Ontario (1867–1872); Minister of Militia and Defence 1892 and 1896 (acting)
Sir Charles Tupper nonenonenone
Sir Wilfrid Laurier nonenonenone
Sir Robert Laird Borden nonenonenone
Arthur Meighen nonenonenone
William Lyon Mackenzie King nonenonenone
Richard Bedford Bennett nonenonenone
Louis St. Laurent nonenonenone
John Diefenbaker Canadian Expeditionary Force (Permanent Active Militia) Lieutenant Served during World War I (1916–1917) in Britain as member of 196th Battalion (Western Universities), CEF
Lester Bowles Pearson Canadian Expeditionary Force (Permanent Active Militia) Lieutenant Served during World War I in Greece and Egypt as member of Canadian Army Medical Corps and later in the Royal Flying Corps as Pilot (1915–1918) in Britain
Pierre Trudeau Canadian Army Home Service / Canadian Army Reserve Officer cadet None; Served in Canadian Officers' Training Corps from 1943 to 1945 in Montreal during World War II, but never deployed overseas
Joe Clark nonenonenone
John Turner nonenonenone
Brian Mulroney nonenonenone
Kim Campbell nonenonenone; Minister of National Defence 1993
Jean Chrétien nonenonenone
Paul Martin nonenonenone
Stephen Harper nonenonenone
Justin Trudeau nonenonenone

Only seven Prime Ministers have served in the military:

The Canadian Militia is a traditional title given to militia units raised from local communities for the defence of Canada. The term has been used to describe colonial militias raised in Canada, as well as its regular army from 1855 to 1940.

British Army land warfare branch of the British Armed Forces of the United Kingdom

The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. As of 2018, the British Army comprises just over 81,500 trained regular (full-time) personnel and just over 27,000 trained reserve (part-time) personnel.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Two Prime Ministers have been Minister of Militia and Defence (Macdonald and Bowell) and one as Minister of National Defence (Campbell).

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

Related Research Articles

Militia generally refers to an army or other fighting force that is composed of non-professional fighters

A militia is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a nation, or subjects of a state, who can be called upon for military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel, or historically, members of a warrior nobility class. Generally unable to hold ground against regular forces, it is common for militias to be used for aiding regular troops by skirmishing, holding fortifications, or irregular warfare, instead of being used in offensive campaigns by themselves. Militia are often limited by local civilian laws to serve only in their home region, and to serve only for a limited time; this further reduces their use in long military campaigns.

New Zealand Defence Force combined military forces of New Zealand

The New Zealand Defence Force consists of three services: the New Zealand Army, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Navy; and is commanded and headed by the Chief of Defence Force (CDF).

Canadian Armed Forces combined military forces of Canada

The Canadian Armed Forces, or Canadian Forces (CF), are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."

The colonial militias in Canada were made up of various militias prior to Confederation in 1867. During the period of New France and Acadia, and Nova Scotia (1605-1763), these militias were made up of Canadiens, aboriginals, British and Acadians. Traditionally, the Canadian Militia was the name used for the local sedentary militia regiments throughout the Canadas.

Sam Hughes Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I

Sir Samuel Hughes, was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I. He was notable for being the last Liberal-Conservative cabinet minister, until he was dismissed from his cabinet post.

The Conscription Crisis of 1944 was a political and military crisis following the introduction of forced military service for men in Canada during World War II. It was similar to the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but was not as politically damaging.

Andrew McNaughton Canadian scientist, diplomat, and general

General Andrew George Latta McNaughton was a Canadian electrical engineer, scientist, army officer, cabinet minister, and diplomat.

Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance, which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colony of Ceylon. At the time of forming it was only a reserve force but soon developed into a regular force responsible for the defence of Ceylon. The CDF was under the command of the General Officer Commanding, Ceylon of the British Army in Ceylon if mobilized. However mobilization could be carried out only under orders from the Governor.

Royal Hong Kong Regiment

The Royal Hong Kong Regiment , formed in May 1854, was a local auxiliary militia force funded and administered by the colonial Government of Hong Kong.

Princess of Wales Own Regiment Regimental Museum in ON , Canada

The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment (PWOR) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces.

The history of the Australian Army dates back to colonial forces, prior to the Federation of Australia in 1901. Some of the colonial forces, which served the states of Australia at the time, were gradually united into federal units between 1899 and 1903; thus forming the beginning of the Australian Army. The colonial armies were officially united as the Commonwealth Military Forces in the Defence Act of 1903. Since then the Australian Army as an organization has changed to suit to needs of the nation; with particular changes occurring during, and following, the World Wars, Korean War, Vietnam War and Gulf War. In 1916 the title Australian Military Forces was adopted and remained its official name until 1980, after which it became known as the Australian Army.

The history of the Canadian Army, began when the title first came into official use in November 1940, during the Second World War, and is still used today. Although the official titles, Mobile Command, and later Land Force Command, were used from February 1968 to August 2011, "Canadian Army" continued to be unofficially used to refer to the ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces, much as it has been from Confederation in 1867 to the present. The term was often even used in official military publications, for example in recruiting literature and the official newspaper of the Canadian Forces, The Maple Leaf. On August 16, 2011, the title, "Canadian Army", was officially restored, once again bringing the official designation in line with common and historical usage.

The Volunteer Army units raised in Bermuda were created as part of an Imperial military garrison that existed primarily to protect the Royal Naval base, centred about the HM Dockyard on Ireland Island.

Bermuda Militia Artillery

The Bermuda Militia Artillery was a unit of part-time soldiers organised in 1895 as a reserve for the Royal Garrison Artillery detachment of the Regular Army garrison in Bermuda. The unit was embodied during both world wars, fulfilling its role within the garrison, and also sending contingents overseas to more active theatres of the wars.

Permanent Active Militia (PAM), also known as Permanent Force (PF), was the proper name of Canada's full-time professional land forces from 1855 to 1940, when it was reorganized into the Canadian Army. PAM was in effect Canada's standing army, consisting of one regular infantry regiment and two cavalry regiments in 1914.

A military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career. They are not normally kept under arms and their main role is to be available to fight when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve forces are generally considered part of a permanent standing body of armed forces. The existence of reserve forces allows a nation to reduce its peacetime military expenditures while maintaining a force prepared for war. It is analogous to the historical model of military recruitment before the era of standing armies.

Victorian Scottish Regiment

The Victorian Scottish Regiment (VSR) was an infantry regiment of the Australian Army. Formed in 1898 as a volunteer unit of the colonial Victorian Military Forces, the unit went through a number of changes in name over the course of its 62-year history. During World War I many of its members volunteered for overseas service and saw action at Gallipoli and on the Western Front in France. Following the end of the war, the regiment was reorganised to perpetuate the honours of the 5th Battalion, AIF. During World War II the battalion was employed on garrison duties in Australia, although many of its members volunteered for overseas service and fought in campaigns in North Africa, the Middle East and New Guinea. Following the war, the battalion was re-raised as part of the Citizen Military Forces and undertook the training of national servicemen until 1960 when the unit was disbanded and absorbed into the 1st Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment. Today, the regiment's traditions are maintained by 'B' Company, 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment.

Haldane Reforms

The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the "Childers Reforms" of the early 1880s, and were made in the light of lessons newly learned in the Second Boer War.

Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces

The Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces, also referred to as commander in chief of the armed forces of the Crown, is a constitutional role vested in the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, who as head of state is the "Head of the Armed Forces". Long-standing constitutional convention, however, has vested de facto executive authority, by the exercise of Royal Prerogative, in the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence. The Prime Minister makes the key decisions on the use of the armed forces. The Queen however, remains the supreme authority of the military.