Wars of Conviction explores the lives of Canadian transnational fighters, illuminating why they travelled abroad to take up arms for others, their experiences during and after battle, and the legal and political legacies that followed them home.

In 1867 Alfred LaRocque, a young Quebecker, left home to defend the papacy in Rome. In 1937 journalist and communist Jean Watts travelled to Spain to cover the civil war. In 2023 former corporal Kyle Porter took up arms in Ukraine. Separated by time and cause, the three share a bond with tens of thousands of Canadians who fought, assisted, or died defending other nations or oppressed peoples.

The stories of transnational fighters complicate Canada’s familiar war narrative, illuminating the motivations and passions that drove people to fight abroad and the legal and political legacies that followed them home. Spanning 150 years, Wars of Conviction explores who fought, why they did so, and what they experienced during and after battle. Canadians’ decisions to take up arms in the Papal Zouaves, the Spanish Civil War, the Sino-Japanese War, Vietnam, Syria, and Ukraine provoked both admiration and outrage, invited state scrutiny, and sparked enduring debate over how such fighters should be commemorated.

A deftly sketched portrait of the fighters that committed to making foreign wars their own, this volume unsettles military history to better understand an uncertain present.

“This volume is fantastic. It marshals an excellent cast of contributors and will appeal broadly to Canadian, military, and public historians, as well as those studying transnational movements.” Asa McKercher, coauthor of Canada First, Not Canada Alone: A History of Canadian Foreign PolicyExploring the motivations and experiences of Canadians who fought in others’ wars and the controversy surrounding their commemoration.“One of the more remarkable strengths of this ambitious book is how it explores the great variety of motivations and experiences of Canadian individuals involved in transnational fighting.” John MacFarlane, author of Triquet’s Cross: A Study of Military Heroism“This original volume is the first to draw together the histories of Canadian transnational fighters across numerous conflicts. It will interest those curious about Canadian history, the history of modern warfare, and how states and non-state fighters interact.” Jennifer Wellington, author of Exhibiting War: The Great War, Museums, and Memory in Britain, Canada, and Australia

Tim Cook (Editor)
Tim Cook (1971–2025) was chief historian and director of research at the Canadian War Museum.

Adrian Shubert (Editor)
Adrian Shubert is professor emeritus of history at York University.

Marcel Martel (Editor)
Marcel Martel is professor of history at York University.