Air Force, Navy to Get 'Royal' Designation

Canada's growing monarchic fervour finally finds a worthwhile outlet.

Canada's navy and air force are both about to be rebranded with the word 'royal,' bringing back the names used by the two military branches until the 1960s. Defence Minister Peter McKay is to make the switch official tomorrow, meaning we'll once again have the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force. After all, the navy's current official name, Maritime Command, is bureaucratese of the highest order (something the Canadian Forces truly excels at), and since this is a constitutional monarchy, the new old names are accurate, we guess, and provide some sense of continuity from the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. Plus, we have it on good authority that the Trudeau-era efforts to homogenize the military into the Canadian Forces never really settled well with anyone in the services, so, sure, bring back the “royal.” The army, however, will remain the Canadian Army.