Domestic security and law enforcement

The Canadian Armed Forces help protect Canada by patrolling our borders, and remaining ready to defend our country.

Canada and the Cold War

Canadian Armed Forces Argus patrol aircraft and submarine during a Cold War training exercise. Photo: Department of National Defence

For decades following the end of the Second World War, CAF members guarded against potential attack by Soviet bombers and submarines that probed our defences during the Cold War. The Cold War dominated the world’s international relations from the late 1940s until the early 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed.

Domestically, a key organization that evolved during the Cold War, in addition to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). A joint American / Canadian organization, it is responsible for watching the skies over North America for potential threats.

As technology advanced throughout the Cold War, strings of radar stations were built across northern Canada to provide an early warning against potential attacks.

The Canadian Rangers

Canadian Ranger during a patrol in Nunavut in 2012. Photo: Department of National Defence

Indigenous military personnel fill a wide variety of roles, including serving with the Canadian Rangers. This group of army reservists is active predominantly in the North, as well as on remote stretches of our east and west coasts. The Canadian Rangers use their intimate knowledge of the land to help maintain a national military presence in these difficult-to-reach areas, reinforcing Canadian sovereignty in the north.