In 2001, Canada went to war in Afghanistan. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, Canada joined a coalition to pursue al-Qaeda and unseat the Taliban. Canadians served across Afghanistan, from the rural battlefields of Kandahar to the bustling city of Kabul, until 2014 when Canada ended its presence there.
More than 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan. More than a thousand were wounded. A diplomat and 158 soldiers died.
The consequences of the war in Afghanistan continue to ripple through our politics, the military, and the lives of those who served. The Long War: Canada in Afghanistan tells their stories. We examine why Canada went to war in Afghanistan, what happened there, and the war’s complicated legacy.
Podcast trailer
By focusing on the voices of the people who were there, The Long War combines powerful firsthand storytelling with thoughtful reflection on a defining chapter in Canadian military history.
Credits
The Long War: Canada in Afghanistan is a podcast by the Canadian War Museum.
- Narrator: Anna Maria Tremonti
- Historian: Andrew Burtch
- Producers: Lisa Gabriele and Neil Morrison
- Associate Producer: Hailey Choi
- Mixing: Cameron McIver
- Executive Producers: Jenny Ellison and Steve McCullough
Many voices heard in The Long War come from the Canadian War Museum’s oral history project, In Their Own Voices: Stories from Canadian Veterans and Their Loved Ones. Both of these projects have been generously funded by donors including the A. Britton Smith Family; the Azrieli Foundation; Arthur B.C. Drache, C.M., K.C., and Judy Young Drache; The Royal Canadian Legion; The Legion National Foundation; Friends of the Canadian War Museum; the Crabtree Foundation; Robert Stollery, in honour of his service in the Second World War; Colonel (Ret’d) Stanley A. Milner, O.C., A.O.E., M.S.M., C.D., LL.D.; and individuals from across Canada.
The podcast cover image shows private Michael Kubis of The Royal Canadian Regiment, standing in a cloud of dust moments after the detonation of an improvised explosive device (IED) in Panjwaii District, Kandahar, in 2010.
Photo: Louie Palu.
In Their Own Voices
In Their Own Voices is an oral history project about Canadian veterans’ postwar and post-service lives from the Second World War to the present day. It consists of more than 200 interviews with veterans and their loved ones.
Explore their stories