Canadian Rangers

Specialized northern oriented element of the Canadian Army

The Canadian Rangers are a sub component of the Canadian Army under the Canadian Armed Forces reserves that provides a limited military presence in regions of Canada where stationing conventional Army units would not be practical or economically viable. Formally established on May 23, 1947, the Canadian Rangers employs around 5,000 Rangers. The Canadian Rangers are responsible for remote, isolated, and sparsely populated regions of Canada, such as Northern Canada and the coastlines. They regularly conduct surveillance, sovereignty patrols (SOVPATS), and inspections of the North Warning System. They also act as guides, scouts, and subject matter experts in such disciplines as wilderness survival when other forces and Army components are in their area of operations.

Modern Canadian Rangers can trace their heritage back to the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers (PCMR). Formed on March 3, 1942, the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers were volunteers who patrolled, performed military surveillance, and provided local defence of the coastline of British Columbia and in Yukon against the wartime threat of a possible Japanese invasion. At their height, the PCMR consisted of 15,000 volunteers in 138 companies under three major patrol areas, which were Vancouver Island, the lower Fraser Valley and the Bridge River area. Some of the principal officers of the PCMR were Lieutenant Colonel Cyrus Wesley Peck VC, Lieutenant Colonel A. L. Coote and Major H. Ashby. The Pacific Coast Militia Rangers were disbanded on September 30, 1945, after Japan's surrender in the Second World War.

Each Canadian Ranger is issued a red Canadian Ranger sweatshirt, CADPAT pants, combat boots, baseball cap, safety vest, rifle and navigation aids. They are expected to be mostly self reliant regarding equipment. However, they are also provided with a small amount of patrol level stores (mostly camp stores – tents, stoves, lanterns, axes, etc.). They are reimbursed for the use of personal vehicles and equipment and are paid for this use according to the nationally established equipment usage rates. Items that a Canadian Ranger could be reimbursed for include snowmobiles (called light over snow vehicles, or LOSVs, in the military), all terrain vehicles, watercraft, trailers, pack horses, sled dog teams, and a variety of tools and equipment (such as radios, chainsaws, generators, and the like).

Since 1947, the Canadian Rangers have been issued the Lee–Enfield No 4 rifle in .303 British calibre, with each user being provided with 200 rounds of ammunition every year. At the outset of the Second World War, the rest of the Canadian Army was equipping with Enfield rifles, Bren guns, Webley revolvers, and Browning Inglis Hi Power pistols and Canadian production of these weapons was badly needed for overseas service. The Pacific Coast Militia Rangers thus had to make do with what was readily available, often patrolling with their own rifles and shotguns. This led Canadian purchasing agents to look to American sources for rifles. At the time the most popular style of rifle in the North American West was the .30WCF (.30 30 calibre) lever action. As such, purchasers considered that the Winchester 1894 and Marlin 36 would be easy for the PCMR members to use, as they more than likely had experience with the type already. As a stop gap until Enfield Rifles became available in numbers for issue, some 3000 Winchesters and an estimated 1800 Marlins were promptly acquired direct from North Haven (likely all these firms had on hand). Guns were issued as needed to senior members of the companies, but stocks of .30 30 ammunition was so limited that only six rounds were issued with the rifle while the rest was locked up in the company's armoury, typically in the vault of the local bank. The bolt action Lee–Enfield was then issued to the PCMR as the standard rifle later during the war and it continued to be used by the Canadian Rangers when they were established in 1947. Due to the economy of the .303 (there were thousands left over after the war) and the robust nature of the rifle (especially in conditions such as extreme cold), it was not replaced for use even after being taken out of general service in the remainder of the Canadian military in the 1950s. It has remained in service with the Canadian Rangers for over 70 years and has proven to be most reliable in adverse conditions even in the Canadian Arctic environment. With the issue of the Colt Canada C19 as their new service rifle in 2015, the Canadian Rangers were officially gifted their retired Lee Enfields by the Canadian Armed Forces.

The Junior Canadian Rangers (JCR) Programme was created on May 31, 1996, and has more than 3,400 members in 119 locations. Each CRPG is responsible for facilitating the JCRs and receive separate national funding for JCR activity facilitation. Each Canadian Ranger patrol has at least a couple of Canadian Rangers who directly look after the JCRs, and JCR instructors are part of the CRPG's full time staff. At the national level, the Junior Canadian Ranger programme is maintained by the National Cadet and Junior Canadian Ranger Group, commanded by a brigadier general. The programme is open to Canadians from ages 12 to 18.