VI.

Government

Canada is a federation governed under a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. Governmental powers in Canada are divided between the central or federal government and the provincial and territorial governments. Territories have less autonomy from the federal government than provinces have. Canada is governed under the constitution of 1982, which gathered the previous constitutional acts into a single framework and added a charter of rights and freedoms. It also provided for what Canadians call “patriation”—giving the Canadian government total authority over its own constitution. Previously, the British North America Act of 1867 and subsequent laws had given the British government some authority over Canada’s constitution.

With the exception of electoral officers, all Canadian citizens over the age of 18 are eligible to vote. All eligible voters except those currently serving time in correctional facilities are eligible to run in elections. Voters must be resident in the riding (electoral district) where they cast their ballot. Voter turnout for national elections is generally high, with 70 percent or more of eligible voters participating.

Queen Elizabeth II, the monarch of Britain, is recognized as the queen of Canada. The queen is represented in Canada by the governor-general, whose powers are largely ceremonial. The chief executive is the prime minister, who is answerable to a legislature. The Canadian Parliament is answerable to the citizens at elections that are held, at most, five years apart. Judges are appointed by the federal and provincial governments.

Traditionally there were two dominant Canadian national political parties, the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party. They stood for the liberal and conservative sides, respectively, of political thought, although their positions varied widely. Each had a counterpart in the provincial governments, but these were loosely connected and differed with the national party on major issues. The two parties were of comparable strength, with one forming the government and the other the official opposition in Parliament, until 1993. In that year the Progressive Conservatives were defeated so resoundingly that their future was in doubt. A sectional party, the Bloc Québécois of Québec, won the second highest number of seats in Parliament and became the official opposition. In 1997 they were replaced in that role by another sectional party, the conservative Reform Party (later folded into a new party called the Canadian Alliance), based mainly in the western provinces. In 2003 the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance merged to form the Conservative Party.

Since World War II the federal government has greatly increased the social services—such as subsidized medical care, pensions, and family allowances—that it provides its citizens. The provincial governments have generally cooperated, but not without fear that the traditional powers exercised by the provinces are being eroded. That fear is especially great in Québec, where it is compounded by fear of domination by the English-speaking majority of the country.

In foreign policy, Canada was allied with the non-Communist powers during the period of world tension called the Cold War and contributed troops to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an alliance formed to counter the threat of Communist aggression. However, Canada has not aspired to be a major military power. A strong supporter of the United Nations, it devotes its military largely to providing peacekeeping forces for that body in hot spots around the world.

A.

Constitution

Under the British North America Act of 1867, the central government had considerable power over the provinces. However, amendments to the act and changes brought by practical experience have increased the scope of authority of the provincial governments. Considerable tension continues to exist between Ottawa and the provincial governments concerning the proper allocation of power. The most important current constitutional issue is the status of Québec, which seeks more autonomy. When the constitution was patriated in 1982, the Québec premier refused to sign it because he did not think the terms were fair to Québec. Subsequent attempts to induce Québec to ratify the constitution, in 1990 and 1992, foundered because of opposition from other provinces. This impasse has fueled the Québec separatist movement, and in 1995 a referendum that could have led to Québec independence very nearly passed, receiving 49.4 percent of the vote. See also Constitution of Canada; French Canadian Nationalism.

A.1.

Federal-Provincial Division of Powers

The central government of Canada exercises all powers not specifically assigned to the provinces. It has exclusive jurisdiction over administration of the public debt, currency and coinage, taxation for general purposes, organization of national defense, fiscal matters, banking, fisheries, commerce, navigation and shipping, energy policy, postal service, the census, statistics, patents, copyright, naturalization, aliens, indigenous peoples’ affairs, marriage, and divorce. Among the powers assigned to the provincial governments are authority over education, hospitals, provincial property, civil rights, taxation for local purposes, regulation of local commerce, and the borrowing of money. Some of these may be allocated to the municipal level at the discretion of the provincial government. With respect to certain matters, such as immigration and agriculture, the federal and provincial governments have concurrent jurisdiction.

The provinces and territories control the establishment and operation of local units of government within their borders. The categories and functions of local governmental units vary from province to province, depending on population density and local custom. In densely populated areas, such as southern Ontario, the system of local governmental units includes counties, districts, cities, towns, villages, and townships. Large metropolitan areas may have regional governments comprising several local governments. Certain powers, such as transit and regional planning, are the responsibility of the regional government, although each local unit usually retains powers of local self-government, with responsibility for local public services. Unincorporated rural districts are usually administered by the provincial or territorial government.

A.2.

Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, added to the constitution in 1982, guarantees to citizens fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of conscience and the press. It also guarantees the right to vote and seek election, as well as rights to move throughout Canada, to enjoy security of person, and to combat discrimination. It also specifies the equality of the French and English languages. The charter changed the Canadian political system by enhancing the power of the courts to make or unmake laws through judicial decisions. It also contains the so-called notwithstanding clause, which allows Parliament or the provincial legislatures to designate an act operative even though it might clash with a charter provision. The charter applies uniformly throughout Canada although the province of Québec has never signed the constitution.

B.

Federal Government Organization

The Canadian Parliament consists of three parts: the governor-general, the Senate, and the House of Commons. Commons, which is popularly elected, contains about three times as many members as the appointed Senate. The prime minister and the Cabinet are members of Parliament, usually of the House of Commons.

B.1.

Head of State

Queen Elizabeth II, the monarch of Britain, is the queen of Canada. She is the official head of state and is represented in Canada by the governor-general and in each province by a lieutenant governor. The governor-general is appointed by the reigning monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister of Canada. Traditionally, English-speakers alternate with French-speakers as governor-general. The length of term is usually five years.

The governor-general’s role is largely ceremonial; he or she summons, suspends, and dissolves Parliament, gives royal assent to bills that have passed Parliament, authorizes treaties, commissions officers in the armed forces, gives honors such as the Order of Canada, and acts as host to visiting heads of state. He or she has the constitutional right to be consulted and to give advice and thus receives regular visits from the prime minister and government officials.

Officially the governor-general appoints the prime minister and the cabinet ministers. However, he or she must adhere to the advice of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons (the larger chamber of Parliament) in appointing the prime minister and must follow the prime minister’s wishes in appointing the Cabinet. While holding no political power, the governor-general has considerable symbolic power. As the governor-general is above politics, the post serves as a unifying symbol for all Canadians.

B.2.

Executive

The executive head of government is the prime minister, generally the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons. Canada’s parliamentary system is modeled on that of Britain (see British Parliament), where the prime minister must be elected from a local riding (district) like any other member of the House of Commons. The prime minister derives his or her executive position by being head of the party, which in most cases votes as a bloc. This is unlike the American system, for example, where the chief executive (the president) is elected separately. In cases where no one party has a majority in Commons, the governor-general chooses the leader most likely to win support from other parties. If a prime minister resigns as leader of the party before an election, the new party leader automatically becomes prime minister until an election can be held.

The responsibilities and powers of the prime minister are far reaching. He or she sets the policy of the government and determines what legislation should be passed. Through the Cabinet, he or she controls all the functions of the federal government, including budget allocations. The prime minister names the cabinet ministers (who are then officially appointed by the governor-general) and also recommends appointees to the civil service, Senate, and judiciary.

The length of term of the prime minister is at most five years, but he or she generally calls an election before then. There is no restriction on the number of terms a prime minister may serve; William Lyon Mackenzie King was prime minister for 13 consecutive years and served two other separate terms. The prime minister may, however, be removed at any time by a vote of no confidence in Parliament—that is, a declaration by the majority of the members that they no longer support the prime minister. A no-confidence vote forces the prime minister either to resign or to call a general election.

The Cabinet consists of as many as 40 members, most of whom are ministers presiding over the various departments of the federal government, such as finance, immigration, labor, or health. They are supported by civil servants headed by a deputy minister. Some members of the Cabinet may be ministers without portfolio, who are not assigned to a department. Although they have no formal legal power, cabinet ministers exercise considerable authority to make and enforce regulations in their various departments through orders issued by the governor-general. The prime minister generally selects his or her Cabinet from party members sitting in Commons, but he or she may also draw them from other parties or the Senate.

B.3.

Senate

The members of the Senate are appointed, nominally by the governor-general but in effect by the prime minister. Once appointed, a senator may stay in office until age 75. Appointment to the Senate is considered an honor and is frequently granted for political service in the national or provincial government. To be appointed, a senator must own a certain amount of property, be over the age of 30, and reside in the province he or she represents.

Senators are appointed on the principle of regional representation. There is a total of 105, but four more or eight more can be added under exceptional circumstances as long as they are drawn equally from Québec, Ontario, the Maritimes, and the western provinces.

The Canadian Senate is more closely related in function to the British House of Lords than to the United States Senate. It has the power to initiate legislation, except for finance bills, but mainly acts as the chamber of “sober second thought,” scrutinizing the legislation initiated in the House of Commons. It has the right to amend or delay passage of bills passed by Commons. It also has the power to veto bills but rarely exercises it. Another important function of the Senate is the Special Senate Committee, through which social and economic issues important to the country are thoroughly investigated, often leading to changes in government policy.

B.4.

House of Commons

Members of Commons are directly elected by the Canadian voters. There is no uniform interval between national, or general, elections, but by law they must be held at least once every five years. Each province and territory is divided into ridings, and each riding elects one member. The total number of seats is reapportioned periodically on the basis of the national census. Currently the House of Commons has 308 members. If a seat becomes vacant between general elections a by-election is held in that riding to fill the open seat.

To qualify for election to the House of Commons, a candidate must be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years of age. But, unless he or she runs as an independent, a candidate must go through a nomination process at the party level first. A candidate or member does not have to live in the riding he or she represents, but most do.

In practice, the House of Commons is the key legislative branch, the place where most important bills are introduced; all money bills must originate in Commons. The prime minister and most of the Cabinet are members of Commons. Tradition decrees that if a government loses the support of a majority of Commons, it must surrender power or call a general election. Therefore, members of the party in power rarely vote against government policies. Dissent within the party is expressed in private meetings or party caucuses, but the party usually presents a solid front in Parliament.

All political parties in the House of Commons that do not support the government are known collectively as the opposition. The minority party with the most seats in Commons is known as the Official Opposition and has special privileges. The leader of the Official Opposition is one of the most important and visible figures in the House of Commons. In the Canadian parliamentary system it is the duty of the opposition to oppose the party in power. Government programs and bills submitted to Parliament are subject to close scrutiny and criticism by members of the opposition. The prime minister and his Cabinet must be ready at all times to explain and defend the government’s program or actions to the opposition.

C.

Judiciary

The legal system in Canada is derived from English common law, except in Québec, which has a civil-law system based on the French civil law, which has been the basis of French law since 1804. The federal judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court of Canada, made up of a chief justice and eight associate judges, three of whom must come from Québec. It sits in Ottawa and is the final Canadian court of appeal for all civil, criminal, and constitutional cases. The next highest tribunal, the Federal Court of Canada, is divided into a Trial Division and an Appeal Division. It hears a variety of cases, including those involving claims against the federal government. Provincial courts are established by the provincial legislatures and, although the names of the courts are not uniform, each province has a similar three-part court system. Judges of the Supreme Court and the Federal Court and almost all judges of the higher provincial courts are appointed by the federal government.

D.

Provincial Government

Canada comprises ten provinces, each with a separate legislature and administration. The government of each province is similar in structure and function to that of the national government. The monarch is represented in each province by a lieutenant governor, who is appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the prime minister. The functions of the lieutenant governor, like those of the governor-general, are primarily ceremonial. Each province has a unicameral, or single-chamber, legislature, called the legislative or provincial assembly. It is elected at least once every five years but may be dissolved at any time. The provincial legislature functions in much the same way as the House of Commons.

The head of the provincial government is the premier, who is appointed by the lieutenant governor after his or her party wins a general election. The premier’s role is similar to that of the prime minister in Ottawa. He or she must be able to control a majority in the legislature. The premier appoints an executive council, or Cabinet, whose members must be members of the legislative assembly and serve as heads of provincial departments. They function in provincial affairs as cabinet members do in national affairs.

The Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories are administered by Ottawa through the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The chief executives are commissioners, appointed by the federal government and assisted by local councils. The commissioner for the Northwest Territories resides at Yellowknife, and the commissioner for the Yukon at Whitehorse. The Yukon Territory has an elected legislative council. The council for the Northwest Territories is composed of both elected and appointed members; the majority are elected. In both territories the commissioner and council have legislative powers similar to those of provincial governments. A few areas of government, such as natural resources, are still controlled by Ottawa. The commissioner of each territory acts according to instructions from the federal Cabinet or the minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

A third territory, Nunavut, was created in 1999 out of the Northwest Territories and encompasses about 2 million sq km (about 772,000 sq mi) of the eastern Arctic. Nunavut has its own government, similar to the other territories. This is the only large jurisdiction in North America with a majority of indigenous people, and in effect it constitutes indigenous self-government.

E.

Political Parties

The strongest national political parties in Canada during the 20th century were the Progressive Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. The third party with a tradition of national support was the New Democratic Party (NDP). The Progressive Conservatives generally favored an unfettered market, fiscal responsibility, and limits on state power. The Liberals are generally associated with the center of the political spectrum, which means that they advocate greater government involvement in the economy; they have also been traditionally seen as the party most open to immigration.

The smaller NDP, which emerged from Canadian labor and protest movements, supports programs to increase social and economic equality. The NDP claims to represent ordinary people. Although never achieving national power, the NDP has from time to time held the balance of power and used it to support the Liberals; it has also led the provincial government at various times in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.

In the 1993 election only the Liberals maintained their political base, while the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP waned in significance. Two new parties arose that cut into their traditional support. The Bloc Québécois (BQ) was formed to protect Québec interests and promote Québec sovereignty. It acts to a large extent as the federal arm of the provincial separatist party, the Parti Québécois. The BQ has no support outside Québec and no desire to form the federal government. To its own surprise, the collapse of the Progressive Conservatives and NDP in 1993 left the Bloc Québécois for a time in the position of the official opposition in Canadian Parliament. Its original leader, Lucien Bouchard, left the party to become the premier of Québec. The BQ will cease to exist if Québec gains independence; it will likewise decline if serious interest in Québec separatism disappears.

In contrast, the Canadian Alliance, the successor to the Reform Party and originally an expression of western dissatisfaction with federal control, came to express right-wing conservative ideals. It supported reducing taxes and governmental functions and opposed concessions to Québec. In the 1997 election it increased its standing in the west, replacing the Bloc Québécois as the official opposition in Parliament. Led by Stockwell Day, the Canadian Alliance gained an even larger share of seats in the 2000 election and retained its position as the official opposition. However, the party failed to attract many voters from central or eastern Canada.

In 2003 the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance merged to form a new party known as the Conservative Party. Led by Stephen Harper, the Conservative Party became the official opposition in Parliament. A small group of former Progressive Conservatives rejected the merger and formed a breakaway political party known as the Progressive Canadian party. In elections held in early 2006 the Conservative Party won the most seats in Parliament and formed a minority government, with the Liberals becoming the official opposition party.

F.

Social Services and Health Care

All levels of government share the responsibility for social welfare in Canada. The chief federal agencies responsible for social service programs are Health and Welfare Canada and Human Resources Development Canada. The latter agency administers comprehensive income maintenance programs, such as the national pensions, old-age security, and unemployment insurance (known officially as the Employment Insurance program). Nationwide coordination is considered to be necessary for these programs. The federal government also provides services for indigenous peoples and veterans, and it provides block grants to provincial governments to help cover their expenditures in health, education, and public assistance.

Canada’s health system has successfully provided health services to all people regardless of income for many decades. Canada’s infant mortality rate, at 5 per 1,000, is one of the lowest in the world. Vaccination programs have brought diseases such as polio under control. Canadians have one of the highest life expectancies in the world and a generally high level of health throughout their lives. Most Canadians consider their health-care system a sacred trust.

However, the Canadian health-care system is being squeezed on the one hand by rising costs and on the other by reductions in government funding. Costs are increasing for a variety of reasons: an aging population, increasing poverty, higher expectations for health services, population growth in some provinces and cities, intractable diseases such as cancer, newer ones such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and higher-cost treatment procedures. Governments concerned with deficit reduction are looking for ways to reduce costs; user fees for certain services, billing for extra physician visits, and private clinics have been suggested. Canadians are worried, however, about creating a two-tier system where the wealthy would have better access to health care than the poor, which has become a serious issue in the United States.

The problem of rising health-care costs is particularly acute for the Canadian federal government, as it covers a larger percentage of total medical costs than the U.S. government—69 percent of all health-care spending comes from the federal government in Canada versus 45 percent in the United States. Overall Canadian federal government spending rose from C$81.8 billion on health care in 1998 to more than C$130 billion in 2004, an increase of 59 percent. The 2004 total represented slightly more than $C4,000 for each man, woman, and child in the country.

The Child Tax Benefit, Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan, and the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) program are the chief forms of federal welfare service. The Child Tax Benefit is a monthly stipend paid to low- and modest-income families with children to help cover the costs of child maintenance. Employment Insurance provides income for up to a year, in the event of job loss, to workers who receive a salary or an hourly wage. The Canada Pension Plan supplies retirement and disability income and survivors’ benefits to older workers, keyed to the amount of their lifetime earnings. It is supplemented by Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, which are paid to people over 65 regardless of how much they earned. The CHST program provides money to the provinces to administer programs for health care, higher education, social assistance, and other social services.

The administration of welfare services is mainly the responsibility of the provinces. Municipalities and other local entities actually provide the services, generally with financial aid from the province. Provincial governments also have the major responsibility for education and health in Canada, with municipalities assuming authority over matters delegated to them by provincial legislation. The provinces spend about 30 to 35 percent of their total budgets on health care and about 17 percent on social services.

State-funded medical health insurance was first enacted in Saskatchewan in 1947 by the provincial government. A national system was established with the Hospital Insurance and Diagnostic Services Act of 1957 and the Medical Care Act of 1966. In 1984 the Canadian Parliament consolidated these acts into the Canada Health Act. Under that law, the provinces must ensure that their health care systems meet the following criteria: (1) public administration—the health insurance plans must be administered by a public authority accountable to the provincial government; (2) comprehensive benefits—the plan must cover all medically necessary services prescribed by physicians and provided by hospitals; (3) universality—all legal residents of the province must be covered; (4) portability—residents must continue to be covered if they move or travel from one province to another; (5) accessibility—services must be made available to all residents on equal terms, regardless of income, age, or health needs. Private health insurance companies also operate in Canada, providing coverage for services beyond the regular system, such as ambulance fees and private hospital rooms.

The incidence of most diseases in Canada is similar to that in other developed countries. There are no diseases unique to Canada. The leading causes of death in 1997—the most recent year for which complete statistics are available—consisted of cancer, 27.2 percent; heart disease, 26.6 percent; and cerebrovascular diseases, 7.4 percent. Infectious diseases are fairly rare, although incidence varies between socioeconomic groups. Tuberculosis, for example, once thought to be under control in Canada, is now widespread in indigenous communities and other vulnerable populations, such as homeless people and those who are more than 65 years old. There were 1,628 new or relapsed cases of tuberculosis reported in 2003.

Attention also has focused on AIDS in recent years. The first known case in Canada was recorded in 1982. Since then there have been an estimated 20,000 cases of AIDS in the country. Despite improved drug and therapy programs, the number of persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—the virus that causes AIDS—is rising, from an estimated 40,000 in 1996 to 56,000 in 2002. The death rate of individuals with AIDS declined during the 1990s as new medications were introduced, but stopped dropping late in the decade as the virus developed resistance to them. See also Health Care System in Canada.

G.

Defense

As a country of nearly 33 million people, Canada is not a central military power. A special joint Senate and Commons committee reaffirmed in 1994 that Canada’s existing defense policy is to oversee and protect Canada, survey and control Canadian airspace and coastal waters, and participate in multinational security operations. Canada spends 6 percent of the federal budget on its armed forces, which are intended to evolve toward greater flexibility, mobility, and affordability.

The Canadian Forces are unified rather than being divided into separate branches, as with the U.S. military. The head of the armed forces is the chief of the defense staff, who reports to the civilian minister of national defense. Under the defense staff are three major commands, organized by function: the air, maritime, and land force commands. Military service is voluntary, and there has been no conscription in Canada except for brief periods during the two world wars. Conscription measures were unpopular and were soon repealed.

Canada was a founding member of NATO in 1949, and until 1994 Canada had air and land forces stationed in Europe to support NATO. Canada also participates jointly with the United States in the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which coordinates the air and space defense of North America. Canada is a leading peacekeeping nation, regularly sending service personnel to participate in United Nations peacekeeping or supervisory operations.

Occasionally the armed forces have been used in domestic affairs. The most notable of these incidents occurred during the October Crisis of 1970, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau deployed the armed forces to prevent terrorist activity in the province of Québec. The army has also intervened in various protests by indigenous peoples in recent decades.

In the 1990s Canada reduced its military expenditures. Funding for the armed forces peaked in the early 1990s, at which time the military employed more than 120,000 people both in and out of uniform. By 2005 the numbers had dropped to 63,700 for regular forces and 22,000 for reserves. Funding actually rose during the same period, however—from C$11.3 billion in 1994 to C$13 billion in 2005, although inflation plays a role in the increase.

In general, the military does not have a high profile in Canada. Military affairs have had little impact on politics since the conscription controversy of World War II (1939-1945). In the mid-1990s a public inquiry into misconduct on the part of Canadian peacekeeping soldiers in Somalia revealed several cases of abuse of foreign civilians, including the murder of a Somali man. During the investigation, officers and department officials were accused of trying to cover up the incident and of tampering with evidence, and the result was the disbanding of the Airborne Regiment involved and the resignations of two succeeding chiefs of the defense staff. A new minister of defense was appointed, and his decision to terminate the inquiry before its completion was criticized by many.

H.

Foreign Policy

Foreign policy is coordinated by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The country uses its influence to encourage democracy, the protection of human rights, free trade, and peaceful resolution of conflicts. These objectives generally coincide, but occasionally choices must be made among them. For example, Canada participated in economic sanctions against South Africa during the era of apartheid, placing the issue of democracy above that of trade. In the 1990s, however, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien declared that the most effective way to promote democratic movements and human rights was through increased trade, a policy that drew criticism from some groups but was supported by the business community.

The policy has also frustrated some of Canada’s allies. The United States, especially, disapproves of Canada’s continuing trade with Cuba in the face of a U.S. embargo of that country. Tensions rose between the two countries in 1996 when the United States tried to enforce its Helms-Burton Act, which barred entry into the United States of certain foreign persons doing business in Cuba. Canada retaliated by passing the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act, forbidding Canadian companies from observing U.S. embargoes. Since the late 1990s the United States has backed off on enforcing Helms-Burton against Canadian firms. Trade between Canada and Cuba remained strong into the 21st century, and in 2005 Canada was Cuba’s third-largest trading partner.

Tensions between the United States and Canada over foreign policy were renewed in 2003 over the unilateral decision of U.S. president George W. Bush to invade Iraq and oust the regime of Saddam Hussein. Canada urged the United States to work through the United Nations (UN) and rejected Bush’s unilateral approach. Canada’s refusal to send troops to Iraq angered the Bush administration. See also U.S.-Iraq War.

Foreign aid, including money, goods, expertise, and emergency relief, is also an important part of Canada’s foreign policy. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was formed in 1968 to manage Canada’s foreign aid program, which annually provides billions of dollars in aid to developing countries. The International Development Research Centre, set up in 1970, funds research into possible adaptations of science and technology for use in the developing world.

Canada has always had a strong role in the United Nations (UN), the umbrella organization for international cooperation and problem resolution. Canadian leaders have expressed the belief that cooperation and consensus among nations are the best hope for the future. Prime Minister Lester Pearson’s mediation in the Suez Crisis of 1956 and his proposal for an international peacekeeping force won him the Nobel Peace Prize and boosted the role of peacekeeping forces around the world. Canada supports the UN in many ways: as a major financial contributor; as a participant in many UN aid organizations; and as a contributor to the world’s peacekeeping troops. Canada has also supported a number of UN-led military interventions—for example, in the Korean War (1950-1953) and in the Persian Gulf War in Kuwait (1991)—but advocates earlier involvement to prevent active fighting. Canada also sent troops in support of the UN effort to protect Kābul, the capital of Afghanistan, after the United States invaded and toppled that nation’s Taliban regime in retaliation for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Canada belongs to a variety of major international organizations. One is the Commonwealth of Nations, which developed gradually after World War I (1914-1918) as former British colonies gained their independence. Others include NATO (1949) and NORAD (1957). Canada has enthusiastically supported the international associations for world peace and cooperation, first the League of Nations (1920-1946) and then its successor the United Nations (UN), of which Canada was a charter member in 1945. Other international groups that Canada has joined are the International Monetary Fund (1944), World Bank (formally the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 1944); World Trade Organization (formerly General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1948); Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (1961); L’agence de Cooperation Culturelle et Technique (1970); G-7 Summit (1976); Organization of American States (1989); and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation organization (1994).