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Soon enough, though, sail gave way to steam, and Canada's mercantile fleet became inadequate to complement the British Navy.

įor Britain's Royal Navy, the Canadian merchant fleet represented a ready supply of vessels that could have been converted to auxiliary warships, with some help to procure the necessary armament should a crisis arise. Adding the fact that Canada was one of the great shipbuilding and ship-owning countries of the world, and it soon made the need for maritime protection obvious. Boasting the fourth largest Merchant Marine in the world, and deriving the majority of its foreign capital through maritime trading should have been enough to persuade the Canadian government of the strategic importance of the seas. The Merchant Navy slowly disappeared until by 1950 no Merchant Navy ships were left.At the onset of Confederation in 1867, political planners in Canada and Great Britain realized that Canada had substantial maritime interests to protect. Similar to the CMM Veterans status, World War II United States Merchant Marine Veterans were also denied veterans benefits and status until 1988.Īn important gesture in 2003 was the designation by the Canadian Parliament of the Merchant Navy Remembrance Day on 3 September as a day to recognize the contributions and sacrifice of Canadian Merchant Mariners. This was not corrected until the 1990s and many individual cases remain unresolved. The Merchant Navy was considered a fourth branch of the Canadian military alongside the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force, and suffered the highest casualty rate of the four.Īfter the war, Canadian Merchant Navy veterans were denied veterans benefits and official recognition for decades.

Margaret’s Bay, Nova Scotia to train sailors for the Canadian Merchant Navy, who became known as “Merchant Mariners.” Manning Pools, or barracks, were built in major Canadian ports to house Merchant Mariners. Murray reported: “ The Battle of the Atlantic was not won by any Navy or any Air Force, it was won by the courage, fortitude and determination of the British and Allied Merchant Navy.”Ī school was established at St. Eventually, thousands of Canadians served aboard hundreds of Canadian Merchant Navy ships, notably the “Park Ships”, the Canadian equivalent of the American “Liberty Ships”. The Canadian Merchant Navy played a major role in the Battle of the Atlantic bolstering the allies’ merchant fleet due to high losses in the British Merchant Navy. The World War II Merchant Navy greatly expanded the similar World War I effort. Within hours of Canada’s declaration of war on 10 September 1939, the Canadian government passed laws to create the Canadian Merchant Navy setting out rules and controls to provide a workforce for wartime shipping.