Canada
Dominion du Canada | |
---|---|
Flag of Canada | |
Canada in Light Green TAG = CAN | |
Capital | Ottawa |
Ruling Party | Liberal Party of Canada |
Last Election | 30/06/1958 |
Head of State | Queen Elizabeth II |
Head of Government | Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson |
Sphere | American Sphere |
Foreign Alignment | Independent Member of the OFN |
GDP | $20.65B |
Credit Rating | Exceptional |
Market Type | Free Market Capitalism |
Canada, officially the Dominion of Canada (French: Dominion du Canada), is a country in North America. The territory of Canada comprises ten provinces and two territories, that extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, sharing a land border with the United States to the south and northwest through Alaska.
The de facto leader of the Commonwealth, the collapse of the British Empire at the end of the Second World War has left Canada increasingly reliant on the United States to its south.
Canada is a founding member of the Organization of Free Nations.
History[edit | edit source]
Pre-War History[edit | edit source]
Canada was formed in 1867 from the process known within Canada as Confederation when the colonies of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia agreed to unite to form a single colony. It was initially under the suzerainty of the United Kingdom, but since the Statute of Westminster in 1931, Canada has been de facto an independent country.
World War Two (European Theatre)[1][edit | edit source]
Canada like the other British Dominions, declared war on Germany in September 1939, albiet 1 week later than the other dominions to exercise Canada's independence from the British Empire under the Statute of Westminister. Immediately upon the declaration of war, Canada mobilised her economy for war, with convoys ready to depart for Britain 6 days after Canada's declaration of war.
The 1st Canadian Infantry Division arrived in Britain on 1 January 1940. By 13 June 1940, the 1st Battalion of The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment was deployed to France in an attempt to secure the southern flank of the British Expeditionary Force in Belgium. By the time the battalion arrived, the British and their allies were cut off at Dunkirk, Paris had fallen, and after penetrating 200 km inland, the battalion returned to Brest and then to Britain.
From France's collapse in June 1940 to the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941, Canada supplied Britain with urgently needed food, weapons, and war materials by naval convoys and airlifts, as well as pilots and planes who fought in the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.
During the Battle of Britain between 88 and 112 Canadian pilots served in the RAF, most having come to Britain on their own initiative. For political necessity an "all Canadian" squadron, No. 242 Squadron RAF, was formed under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan at the start of the war and the squadron served in the Battle of France. They were later joined by No. 1 Squadron RCAF in June 1940 during the Battle for Britain and they were in "the thick" of fighting in August. By the end of the battle in October 1940, 23 Canadian pilots had been killed. Squadrons of the RCAF and individual Canadian pilots flying with the British RAF fought with distinction in Spitfire and Hurricane fighters during the Battle of Britain.
Had Operation Sealion had taken place in 1941, units of the First Canadian Corps could have deployed between the English Channel and London to meet them. When Operation Sealion finally occured in late-1943, Canadian troops would be deployed to fight and defend the British Isles, serving with distinction. Upon the invasion of the British Isles, the immediate evacuation of senior government and the Royal Family was conducted, to Scotland first and later to Canada.
On the seas, the Royal Canadian Navy, with the remaining Royal Navy and US Navy Ships in the Atlantic were unable to defeat the Kriegsmarine and Regia Marina's naval superiority, despite best efforts. The Germans would eventually secure their supplies lines and continued to push out from their beach head. London would fall in early 1944 and Allied morale collapsed. The fall of London incited many uprisings amongst the Empire.
With the constant stream of offensives by the Germans, the Allies were forced to retreat back to the Scottish Highlands, with cities such as Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh falling in quick succession. By April 1945, during the hasty evacuation conducted by a joint US Army Navy Task Force, Canadian troops would fight rearguard actions alongside the British troops, before being evacuated by the US Navy before the British capitulation.
World War Two (Pacific Theatre)[2][edit | edit source]
In the Pacific Theatre, the Canadian Government was authorised to send two infantry battalions and a brigade headquarters (1,975 personnel) to reinforce British, Indian, and Hong Kong personnel garrisoned at Hong Kong. It was known as "C Force" and arrived in Hong Kong in mid-November 1941, but did not have all of its equipment. Initially positioned on the south side of the island to counter any amphibious landing by foreign powers. On 8 December, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese began their attack on Hong Kong with a force 4 times bigger than the Allied garrison. Canadian soldiers were called upon to counterattack, and saw their baptism of fire on 11 December 1941. Allied Forces would surrender 14 days later on Christmas Day 1941 after fierce fighting on the island, with "C Force" losing 290 personnel during the battle.
Post War[3][edit | edit source]
With the surrender of Britain and the collapse of the British Empire, Canada has assumed, for all intents of purpose the mantle of head of the Commonwealth of Nations, itself comprising of Guyana, the West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa, housing not just the largest population of British exiles out of the other Commonwealth nations, but also playing host to the disputed heir to the throne of the former United Kingdom, as well as the exiled government, as Queen Elizabeth II fulfils her constitutional role as sovereign in Canada, serving as a relatively popular figure of unity in an ever more fraught Canadian domestic situation.
Given its landmass, Canada is relatively sparsely populated, however it has a considerable population, with the two most populous provinces in Canada being Ontario and Quebec, though the issue of Quebec separatism has, since the conclusion of the Second World War, become an ever-present issue that threatens to put paid to this figure. Even in Western Canada, rumblings of discontent with the perceived detachment of the Ottawa government from the issues of the West, grow ever louder.
On the issue of foriegn policy, many Canadians can count themselves lucky to be protected from the Greater Germanic Reich abroad, whilst others in Canada begin to see it as nothing more than a method of promoting American interests in Canada, threatening the future of Canada, with many a wary Canadian waiting to see what becomes of this alliance, ready to sound the alarm at any sign of this pact becoming an economic one, shackling Canada forever more to the American behemoth.
Politics of Canada[edit | edit source]
Canada is led by the Prime Minister who is the Canadian Head of Government. The Canadian Head of State is the Monarch of the Commonwealth. In 1962, the Prime Minister is Lester B. Pearson of the Liberal Party, and the Monarch is Queen Elizabeth II.
Official Name | Colloquial
Name |
Ideologies | Leader |
---|---|---|---|
Liberal Party of Canada | Liberals | Lester B. Pearson | |
Progressive-Conservative Party of Canada | Tories | John Diefenbaker | |
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation | CCF | Tommy Douglas | |
Social Credit Party of Canada | Socreds | Réal Caouette |
In-Game[edit | edit source]
Canada currently only has skeleton content. Via 2 elections in 1963 and 1967, Canada has 6 possible Prime Ministers, including the incumbent Lester B. Pearson. Playable Canada content is coming in 'Northwest Passage'.