A declaration of war by Canada is a formal declaration issued by the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
(the
federal Crown-
in-Council) indicating that a state of
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
exists between
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and another nation. It is an exercise of the
Royal Prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...
on the
constitutional advice
In constitutional law, advice is a formal and usually binding instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another. Particularly in parliamentary systems of government, heads of state often act on the basis of advice issued by prime ...
of the
ministers of the Crown
Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign or ...
in
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
and does not require the direct approval of the
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
, though such can be sought by the government. Since gaining the authority to declare war under the
Statute of Westminster 1931
The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown.
Passed on 11 December 1931, the statute increased the sovereignty of the ...
, Canada has declared war only during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Second World War
Nazi Germany
![GeoVICan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/GeoVICan.jpg)
After
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
invaded
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
on September 1, 1939, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
declared war on September 3.
To assert Canada's independence from the UK, as already established by the Statute of Westminster 1931
The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown.
Passed on 11 December 1931, the statute increased the sovereignty of the ...
, Canada's political leaders decided to seek the approval of the federal parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...
to declare war. Parliament was not scheduled to return until October 2, but returned to session early on September 7 to consider the declaration of war.
On September 9, the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
and Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
approved authorization for a declaration of war. The Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
then drafted an Order in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
to that effect. On September 10, Vincent Massey
Charles Vincent Massey (February 20, 1887December 30, 1967) was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada after ...
, Canada's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, brought the document to King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
, at the Royal Lodge
The Royal Lodge is a Grade II listed house in Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, England, half a mile north of Cumberland Lodge and south of Windsor Castle. Part of the Crown Estate, it was the Windsor residence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mothe ...
, Windsor Great Park
Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of , including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for many ...
, for his signature, whereupon Canada had officially declared war on Germany. In his capacity as the government's official recorder for the war effort, Leonard Brockington
Leonard Walter Brockington (6 April 1888 – 15 September 1966) was a Canadian lawyer, civil servant, public figure, and the first head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Born in Cardiff, Wales, one of seven children, Brockin ...
noted: " did not ask us to declare war for him—we asked King George VI of Canada to declare war for us."
Fascist Italy
On June 10, 1940, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
declared war on France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and the United Kingdom. Canadian National Defence Minister Norman Rogers had been killed in a plane crash that day. Both houses of parliament approved a declaration of war and the Cabinet issued the Order in Council the same day. It was submitted to the King and the proclamation was read by the Prime Minister to parliament the following day.
Finland, Hungary, Romania
Parliament adjourned on November 14, 1941, and was not scheduled to return until January 21, 1942. At the urging of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the United Kingdom declared war on Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
on December 6, 1941. At the UK's urging, the Canadian Cabinet the next day issued a proclamation declaring war on Finland, Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, and Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
Japan
On December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan), the Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
began an undeclared war upon the United Kingdom (invading Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and Malaya), Canada, and the United States (attacking Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
). Mackenzie King and the Cabinet decided to go to war with Japan that evening and issued a proclamation the following day declaring that, as of December 7, a state of war existed between Japan and Canada. One day later, the US and UK also declared war on the Japanese Empire. These proclamations were presented by Mackenzie King to the House of Commons when parliament returned on January 21, 1942.
See also
*Military history of Canada
The military history of Canada comprises hundreds of years of armed actions in the territory encompassing modern Canada, and interventions by the Canadian Forces, Canadian military in conflicts and peacekeeping worldwide. For thousands of years, t ...
*List of conflicts in Canada
List of conflicts in Canada is a timeline of events that includes wars, battles, skirmishes, major terrorist attacks, riots and other related items that have occurred in the country of Canada's current geographical area. A complete list of terror ...
*
*Declarations of war by Great Britain and the United Kingdom A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation and another.
In the United Kingdom, the government and command of the armed forces is vested in the sovereign. U ...
*Declaration of war by the United States
A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation and another. A document by the Federation of American Scientists gives an extensive listing and summary of st ...
References
{{reflist
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
Wars involving Canada
Military history of Canada