Canada's Naval History

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Birth Of the Navy

First World War

Between the Wars

Second World War

Early Cold War

Later Cold War
- - From RCN to Maritime Command
  - A Changing Fleet

Navy Today
- - The Gulf War
  - Continuing Commitments

The Early Cold War
Rebuilding and Transformation

The Canadian navy's main Cold War mission was anti-submarine warfare, as it had been in the two world wars. It sought to build a force of ships, personnel, and facilities to fulfill this mission, as well as to pursue other national objectives like sovereignty protection.

Artifact Record

Graveyard, Sorel, P.Q.

These corvettes, moored at Sorel, Quebec and soon to be sold for scrap, attest to the scale of post-war demobilization.

This painting by Tony Law, a naval officer and official war artist, also captures the sadness felt by many sailors at the decommissioning of their ships. After the end of the Second World War, the Canadian navy quickly shrank, and by late 1946 had an active strength of one aircraft carrier, two cruisers, two destroyers, a frigate, a minesweeper, and a captured German submarine.

Graveyard, Sorel, P.Q.
Painted by Tony Law in 1945
Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19710261-4075

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