Colonial militia in Canada The Colonial militia s in Canada were made up of various militias prior to Confederation in 1867 . During the period of New France and Acadia , and Nova Scotia ( 1605 - 1763 ) , these militias were made up of Canadiens , aboriginals , British and Acadians . After the Seven Years War , the militias were primarily British . The Canadian Militia was the traditional title for the land forces of Canada from in 1867 to 1940 when it was renamed the Canadian Army . Today , many citizen soldiers serve in the Primary Reserve of the Canadian Forces . History . New France . Military service has been part of Canadian life since the 17th century in New France , where colonists were required to serve in local militia to support regular units of the French army and navy . In 1651 , Pierre Boucher received a commission of captain from the Governor of New France and asked to raise militia corps in Trois - Rivières . Until the arrival of the Carignan - Salières regiment in 1665 , militia corps were the only defence of New France . In the long struggle between the French and British colonies , British and colonial America n troops found the Indian - style tactics ( i . e . , Guerrilla warfare / frontier warfare ) of the Canadian militia to be a formidable adversary . Perhaps the two most famous Canadien attacks against New England were the Siege of Pemaquid ( 1696 ) and the Raid on Deerfield ( 1704 ) . Until the establishment of Halifax ( 1749 ) , the militia units in Nova Scotia and Acadia were Mi ' kmaq , Maliseet and Acadian . Before the British Conquest of Acadia in 1710 , these militias fought the New Englanders in King William ' s War and Queen Anne ' s War . After the conquest , in the New England colonies and Nova Scotia , the Royal Navy was responsible for front - line defence while the frontiers inland of New England were guarded mainly by militia . In Nova Scotia and Acadia ( present - day New Brunswick and Maine ) , the Mi ' kmaq , Acadian and Maliseet militias fought the New Englanders during Father Rale ' s War . During King George ' s War , and Father Le Loutre ' s War the first British militias were established in the colony . The Mi ' kmaq and Acadian militias continued to fight in Nova Scotia throughout the French and Indian War . The success of the Canadiens was underscored during the French and Indian War by George Washington ' s defeat at Great Meadows and Edward Braddock ' s embarrassment at the Monongahela River . The British response was to create new " ranger " and " light infantry " units adept at woodland warfare . When France conceded Canada to Great Britain in 1763 , defence of the territory remained a duty shared by French and British colonists , Indian nations , and the regular forces of Britain . As the colonies advanced to nationhood , its people would be called to their own defence three times in the next 100 years . The American Revolution . In the aftermath of the American Revolutionary came an exodus of 50 , 000 Loyalists into the Canadas , Nova Scotia , and New Brunswick , joined by many of the Six Nations Iroquois who had remained loyal to Great Britain . Since many of the new Canadians were also veterans of Loyalist regiments , they brought both the British sympathies and the military training to establish competent professional forces to oppose the perceived American threat . Called " fencibles " , the new units were organized within the British army , but charged wholly with the defence of their home colonies . Their professional presence also enhanced training for the citizen militia and established many traditions that continue to modern times . The War of 1812 . In 1812 , with the United Kingdom engaged in Europe , the United States took the opportunity to declare war and launch another attempt to capture Canada and expand westward into Indian territories . While British redcoats did most of the fighting in the War of 1812 , Canadian militia and allied Indian warriors proved to be a vital part of Canada ' s defence . The merit of British professional commanders was illustrated by Major - General Sir Isaac Brock in Upper Canada ( Ontario ) and Lieutenant - Colonel Charles de Salaberry , a French Canadian , in Lower Canada ( Quebec ) . As soon as war was declared , Brock hastened to capture the American post on Lake Huron at Michilimackinac . Besides closing a key crossing on the Great Lakes , his success earned the admiration and loyalty of the Indian leader , Tecumseh . Brock then led a force of his troops along with colonial militia , fencibles and Tecumseh ' s Indians to capture Fort Detroit , securing the upper Great Lakes . In the east , the French Canadians fought a crucial battle at Châteauguay , south of Montreal . With a force of just 350 " Canadiens " and 50 allied Indians , de Salaberry turned back a column of 4000 Americans moving on Montreal . Brock died a Canadian hero as he repelled the American landing at the Battle of Queenston Heights and Tecumseh was later killed at the Battle of the Thames . Many engagements proved to be bloody but indecisive , including the Battle of Lundy ' s Lane near Niagara Falls , Ontario , the burning of both York ( Toronto ) and Washington , and in numerous naval engagements on the Great Lakes . When the war concluded in 1815 , nothing material had changed for the European powers . The Treaty of Ghent restored all pre - war boundaries . Canadians , meanwhile , discovered the seeds of nationhood in their victories and their sacrifices , while their allies , the Indian nations , saw their hopes for secure boundaries of their own vanish . The Fenian Raids . In the late 1860s , the Fenian Brotherhood was an association of Irish - American veterans of the American Civil War who plotted to free Ireland from British rule by striking at the United Kingdom ' s colonies that lay within easy striking distance . In response , 20 , 000 Canadians volunteered for militia service , many from the Orange Order . Several hundred soldiers were quickly deployed from nearby Toronto , many of them coming from The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada . The first serious raid came in June 1866 with 850 Fenians attacking at Ridgeway in the Niagara region , then withdrawing quickly back across the border . Militia units skirmished with the Fenians sporadically until 1871 . The raids ended after unsuccessful attacks during the Battle of Eccles Hill in Quebec and in the northwest frontier , near the Manitoba border . The Fenians accomplished little , but the Canadian colonies came to recognize a shared need for a vigilant and coordinated defence : a key factor leading to of the provinces into one country in 1867 .