Canadian troops have participated in several international conflicts since the end of World War II. The reasons for Canada's involvement in such conflicts are varied. Canada's strong support of both UN peacekeeping and other UN military actions has seen Canadian commitments in many areas of the world. Sometimes the decision to become involved in a conflict may have been because of membership in an organization such as NATO. This lesson gives a brief version of Canada's role in some very complex conflicts.

Korea was the site of the very first UN military mission. After World War II, Korea was occupied by the United States in the south and the Soviet Union in the north. At first, the United Nations tried to reunite North and South Korea into one nation. North Korea, however, had a communist, pro-Soviet Union government, and South Korea had a democratic, pro-United States government.

The Suez Canal is a very important waterway that joins the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It lets ships travel between Europe and Asia without having to go all the way around the bottom of Africa. It is owned internationally, but it runs through Egypt. In 1956, Egypt asked for a loan from the USA and Britain to build a dam, but they were turned down. Egypt took over the Suez Canal and was going to charge tolls for its use to raise the money to build the dam. Britain and France were very upset and, along with Israel, attacked Egypt.

The Suez Canal

W. M. Welch / US Navy / Public domain

Canada's prime minister at the time, Lester B. Pearson, suggested to the United Nations that an international police force be set up and sent to the Suez Canal zone to keep the peace until a solution was reached. This is considered to be the first peacekeeping force.

After a truce was arranged to stop the fighting, a force called the United Nations Emergency Force, led by a Canadian, was sent in. The force stayed until 1967 and then withdrew. Because fighting broke out right away, the peacekeepers returned. The map below shows the troop movements during the Suez Canal Crisis.

As you learned in L24 — A2, Israel remains one of the world's hot spots. Millions of Jewish people were killed by the Nazis in Germany during World War II; others fled from Europe. After the war, many returned to their traditional homeland in an area of the Middle East called Palestine. The United Nations declared an area of Palestine as a new country called Israel for the Jewish people. Palestinians who lived in the area were annoyed that the Jewish people were moving in. Arabs around Israel were very angry about the creation of this country. As Israel has expanded its territory, the Palestinians have been forced to live under the government of Israel or flee their homes.

In 1949, when the United Nations set up a Truce Supervision Organization to try to maintain peace between the Arabs and Jews, Canada sent observers. This region is still very unsettled, and conflicts continue to erupt.

In a previous lesson, you read about the Gulf War that occurred when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.

Canada fought against Iraq as part of the United Nations forces. Most of the fighting was from the air, making use of high-tech bombs and missiles. Iraq was defeated because its military was damaged severely and could no longer fight effectively. The war ended in 1991, but Canada sent observers to inspect Iraq's military facilities and ensure they were not creating weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons).