Permanent Active Militia (PAM), also known as Permanent Force (PF), was the proper name of Canada's full-time professional land forces from 1855 to 1940, when it was reorganized into the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

. PAM was in effect Canada's

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars or ...

, consisting of one regular infantry regiment and two cavalry regiments in 1914. The counterpart to PAM was the

Non-Permanent Active Militia The Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) was the name of Canada's part-time volunteer military force from 1855 to 1940. The NPAM (also called "the Militia" though that term could also encompass the full-time standing army known as the Permanent ...

(NPAM), which referred to the reserve force of the Canadian Militia. PAM and NPAM were distinct forces from the sedentary militias raised in Canada. Both organizations were reorganized into the Canadian Army in 1940.

History

As the British began to withdraw soldiers from

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestow ...

in the decades after the War of 1812, the Parliament of the Province of Canada passed the

Militia Act of 1855 The ''Militia Act of 1855'' was an Act passed by the Parliament of the Province of Canada that permitted the formation of an "Active Militia", which was later subdivided into the Permanent Active Militia and the Non-Permanent Active Militia, and ...

, creating the Active Militia. The Active Militia, later split off into the Permanent Active Militia (PAM), the Militia's regular armed unit (although it continued to use the label militia), and the

(NPAM), the Canadian Militia's

military reserve force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

. After PAM's formation, the remaining sedentary militia regiments that made up the Canadian Militia were collectively referred to as the Reserve Militia. Following Canadian Confederation in July 1867, PAM was managed by the Canadian

Minister of Militia The Minister of Militia and Defence was the federal government minister in charge of the volunteer army units in Canada, the Canadian Militia. From 1855 to 1906, the minister was responsible for Canadian militia units only, as the British Army w ...

. PAM was mobilized on a number of occasions in the latter half of the 19th century, including the Fenian raids, the

Wolseley expedition The Wolseley expedition was a military force authorized by Canadian Prime Minister John A. Macdonald to confront Louis Riel and the Métis in 1870, during the Red River Rebellion, at the Red River Colony in what is now the province of Manitob ...

, the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a Resistance movement, resistance by the Métis people (Canada), Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Natio ...

, and the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...

. The Second Boer War saw more than 8,000 volunteers raised for service in South Africa, from a number of militia regiments in Canada, including PAM.

20th century

A number of administrative reforms were instituted after the war, with the establishment of the

Canadian Army Service Corps The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC) was an administrative and transport corps of the Canadian Army. The Canadian Army Service Corps was established in the Non-Permanent Active Militia in 1901 and in the Permanent Active Militia in 1903. ...

in 1901, and the

Canadian Military Engineers The Canadian Military Engineers (CME; french: links=no, Génie militaire canadien) is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engi ...

Canadian Army Medical Corps The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army. The Militia Medical Service was established in 1898. It consisted of an Army Medical Service (officers) and an Army Medical Corps (other ranks). ...

, Canadian Ordnance Corps, and the Signalling Corps in 1903. On 1 April 1914, PAM had an authorized force of 3,110 soldiers of all ranks, and 684 horses. It comprised two cavalry regiments ( Royal Canadian Dragoons,

Lord Strathcona's Horse Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH C is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and is Canada’s only tank regiment. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 1 Canadian Mechani ...

), the

Royal Canadian Horse Artillery The Royal Canadian Horse Artillery is the name given to the regular field artillery units of the Canadian Army. Organization The Regular Force has three RCHA regiments: ; 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery: this is the descendant of ...

, the Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery, and the

Royal Canadian Regiment , colors = , identification_symbol_2 = Maple Leaf (2nd Bn pipes and drums) , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = The RCR , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation , mar ...

. PAM was not directly mobilized during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

; with Canadian soldiers serving overseas enlisting the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry divisi ...

(CEF), a separate force managed by the Ministry of Overseas Military Forces. However, the Royal Canadian Regiment, an infantry regiment under PAM, was deployed to the

Imperial fortress Imperial fortress was the designation given in the British Empire to four colonies that were located in strategic positions from each of which Royal Navy squadrons could control the surrounding regions and, between them, much of the planet. His ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

in order to relieve the 2nd Battalion, The Lincolnshire Regiment from garrison duty. The members of the regiment were later redeployed to France in November 1915, where its members were integrated with the CEF. It was replaced at Bermuda successively by the

38th Battalion (Ottawa), CEF The 38th Battalion, CEF was a unit of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force. It was mobilized in Ottawa and recruited in Ottawa, Brockville, Perth, Prescott and Alexandria. An initial draft of five officers and 251 other ranks was sen ...

77th Battalion, CEF The 77th Battalion (Ottawa), CEF was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War. The 77th Battalion was authorized on 10 July 1915 and embarked for Great Britain on 19 June 1916. It provided reinforcements for ...

, and

163rd Battalion (French-Canadian), CEF The 163rd (Canadien-Francais) Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the unit began recruiting in late 1915 throughout the province of Quebec. In May 1916, the battalion ...

. As World War I drew to a close in 1918, and the CEF expected to disband, plans to re-organize the Canadian Militia were initiated under the

Otter Commission The Otter Commission, or Otter Committee, was established after the First World War to tackle a problem created by the chaotic mobilization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In 1919 units of the CEF, intended as a wartime expeditionary force, ret ...

. The Commission proposed that PAM field a force of six infantry divisions, one cavalry division, supplemented by personnel from NPAM. Additionally, the Otter Commission saw links of perpetuation created, for

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s earned from units of the CEF with units of the Canadian Militia. Following the results of the

, two more infantry regiments were integrated into PAM, 22nd Battalion (French Canadian) of the CEF (later renamed the

Royal 22nd Regiment , colors = Scarlet with blue facings (full dress and mess dress) , march = Quick: ''Vive la Canadienne''Slow: ''Marche lente du Royal 22e Régiment: La Prière en famille'' , mascot ...

), and

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

. In the midst of demobilization after the end of World War I, PAM strength was reduced to nearly its pre-World War I levels, with 381 officers, and 3744 soldiers of other ranks. The force would maintain this relative size until the eve of

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1923, PAM was tasked with the operation of the

Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System The Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System was a radio service spanning the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, in existence from 1923 until 1959. It was created for easy communication between the towns or outposts and the rest of the coun ...

. In the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

, PAM was occasionally mobilized in order to maintain "peace," between strikers and business owners during strikes. From 1932 to 1936, PAM was involved in the operation of unemployment camps, jointly with the Department of Labour. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, PAM fielded a force of 455 officers, and 3,714 soldiers of all other ranks. During World War II, the Permanent Force was renamed the Canadian Army (Active); it later became known as the Canadian Army Active Force, Canadian Army (Regular), and Force Mobile Command following Unification on February 1, 1968. On July 8, 2013, by order of the Minister of National Defence, the name reverted to the Canadian Army.

Equipment

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...

(SMLE) Mark III – 1916–1943 *

M1911 pistol The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for t ...

* Smith & Wesson 2nd Model "Hand Ejector" Revolver * Lewis machine gun *

M1919 Browning machine gun The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, ...

Bren light machine gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used ...

References

External links

canadiansoldiers.com article on lineage of the Canadian Army
Canadian Militia Military units and formations established in 1867 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940

History

20th century

Equipment

See also

References

Further reading

External links