The Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal (french: Médaille canadienne du maintien de la paix) is a

campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a high ...

created October 21, 1999 to recognize the contributions of all Canadian Peacekeepers towards the ultimate goal of peace, after the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Department of Peacekeeping Operations The Department of Peace Operations (DPO) (French: ''Département des opérations de maintien de la paix'') is a department of the United Nations charged with the planning, preparation, management and direction of UN peacekeeping operations. Pre ...

was awarded that year's

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

. The inaugural presentation was made on September 6, 2000.

History

In 1988, the

was awarded to United Nations Peacekeepers, in recognition of their efforts over more than 50 years to establish and maintain peace. This act inspired the creation of the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal, its purpose being to recognize all

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

, including serving and former members of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

, members of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

, other police services, and Canadian

civilians Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

, who contributed to peace on certain missions. Some time was involved in getting the medal to the presentation stage, but, as with the creation of any major honour or award, the approval of this award involved consultation with a large number of interested individuals.

Design

The Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal was designed by

Bruce W. Beatty Bruce Wilbur Beatty, , (July 6, 1922 – March 21, 2011) was a Canadian graphic designer best known as being chiefly responsible for designing the emblems of the Canadian Honours System, starting with the badge of the Order of Canada in 1967. Th ...

and is in the form of a diameter disc with, on the obverse, the words ''PEACEKEEPING • SERVICE DE LA PAIX'', separated by maple leaves, surrounding a rendition of the three Canadian Peacekeeper figures that top the

Peacekeeping Monument Reconciliation: The Peacekeeping Monument is a monument in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, commemorating Canada's role in international peacekeeping and the soldiers who have participated and are currently participating, both living and dead. It ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

; one is an unarmed

Military Observer, holding

binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

, the second, a woman, shoulders a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

, while the third stands guard with a

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

, and above them is a

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

, the international symbol of peace. The medal's reverse shows the word ''CANADA'' below a maple leaf surrounded by a laurel wreath and bearing the Royal Cypher of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, symbolizing her roles as both

fount of honour The fount of honour ( la, fons honorum) is a person, who, by virtue of his or her official position, has the exclusive right of conferring legitimate titles of nobility and orders of chivalry on other persons. Origin During the High Middle Ages, ...

and Commander-in-Chief of her various forces. A single-toe claw attaches the top of the medal to the centre of a slotted bar on which is another maple leaf. This medallion is worn at the left chest, suspended on a 31.8mm wide ribbon coloured with vertical stripes in the shade of blue used by the United Nations, green (representing service), and Canada's official colours: red (also indicitave of blood shed in the service of peace), and white (also the colour of peace).

Eligibility

The Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal recognizes Canadian Peacekeepers deployed outside Canada for a minimum of 30 days, which includes members of the

, other police officers, and civilians who served with the forces on peacekeeping missions. As of September 2003, some 68,000 Peacekeeping Service Medals had been awarded.

References

External links

Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal Act
{{Canadian Honours System Civil awards and decorations of Canada Canadian campaign medals Peacekeeping

History

Design

Eligibility

See also

References

External links