As the British began to withdraw soldiers from
British North America in the decades after the War of 1812, the
Parliament of the Province of Canada passed the
Militia Act of 1855, 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
Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM), the Canadian Militia's
military reserve force. 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. PAM was mobilized on a number of occasions in the latter half of the 19th century, including the
Fenian raids, the
Wolseley expedition, the
North-West Rebellion, and the
Second Boer War. 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 in 1901, and the
Royal Canadian Engineers,
Canadian Army Medical Corps,
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), the
Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, the
Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery, and the
Royal Canadian Regiment. PAM was not directly mobilized during
World War I; Canadian soldiers served overseas after enlisting in the
Canadian Expeditionary Force (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 of
Bermuda 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,
77th Battalion, CEF, and
163rd Battalion (French-Canadian), CEF. 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 Commission proposed that PAM field a force of six infantry divisions and one cavalry division, supplemented by personnel from NPAM. Additionally, the Otter Commission saw links of perpetuation created, for
battle honours earned from units of the CEF with units of the Canadian Militia. Following the results of the
Otter Commission, two more infantry regiments were integrated into PAM,
22nd Battalion (French Canadian) of the CEF (later renamed the
Royal 22nd Regiment), and
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. 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. In 1923, PAM was tasked with the operation of the
Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System. In the
Interwar period, 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==