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The
1868 Militia Act ensured Canadian political
control over Canadian forces although
they were led by a British General Officer
Commanding. British garrisons (except
for a small detachment at the Royal Navy
base in Halifax) left Canada in 1871.
Canada then took over the forts at Kingston
and Québec and created two permanent
artillery units to garrison them. Known
as the Permanent Force, these units were
the country’s first full-time regular
forces. In 1876, Ottawa opened the Royal
Military College of Canada in Kingston
to help professionalize the officer corps.
Seven years later it raised permanent
infantry and cavalry units, mainly to
train the part-time Militia and to act
as an internal security force.
Relations
with the United States improved after
1871 and, except for rare instances of
tension, serious planning against an
American invasion was no longer necessary
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