World War II

Canada's military involvement in World War II (1939-1945) was significant. At the time, Canada had a total population of approximately eleven million, and over the course of the war, more than one million Canadians served full-time in the nation's armed forces. The Canadian military was active on many fronts during the global conflict, and Canada figured prominently in multiple theatres of war and numerous key battles. World War II also had a profound effect on Canadian society, with cultural, economic, and political impacts that elevated the country's international profile.

Canada's first battle engagement of World War II took place in December of 1941, when Canadian troops attempted to defend Hong Kong, which was then still a British colony, from a...