Effects of War and Peacekeeping on Canadian Autonomy Essay Example

Over the course of its history, Canada has progressed immensely regarding its autonomy. Starting out as just a colony of Great Britain, Canada was in the control of the overarching British Empire. However, Canada now has emerged as a sovereign state, in control of its own future. A major contributing factor to Canada ultimately reaching autonomy has been its participation in war and peacekeeping efforts. Contributions made in war efforts such as WWI and WWII have allowed Canada to demonstrate just how influential and powerful the country can be. Even though Canada entered WWI under the order of Great Britain, Canada’s showing at the battle of Vimy Ridge helped it emerge as a more independent country, gaining its own seat in the League of Nations. After participation in World War Two, Canada once again progressed in independence and earned the right to be a founding member in both NATO and the UN. Along with wars, Canada has made many contributions to peacekeeping. Canadian Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson, is considered a founder of modern peacekeeping after his efforts in the Suez Canal Crisis during the Cold War Era. With Canada’s legal status as a self-governing colony of Great Britain, Canada was automatically brought to war after Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914. However, Canada would not give up the freedom to decide what level of involvement it wanted in the war. For the first time in its history, Canada fielded a massive military force of over 80,000 men by 1916, establishing a solid reputation in combat. Canada’s independence started to show in the First World War with Canada having to bear all costs of its military contribution, managing all of its troops independently, and controlling overall participation in the war effort. This was a major improvement over the previous multinational wars such as the war in South Africa where Canada had no control over what they did. Although Canada participated in several battles in WWI, The