A collection of incisive essays emerging from the second Fleet Historical Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, A Nation's Navy documents for the first time the evolution of a distinctive Canadian naval identity. Contributors explore a wealth of pivotal issues: the popular perception of the Canadian navy, the navy as an instrument of national policy, the impact of various wars and conflicts, the navy as an expression of Canadian society, the distinctive role of women and the integration of francophone Canadians, and the future direction of Canadian naval policy. Contributors include Catherine E. Allan, Serge Bernier, Peter W. Cairns, Fred W. Crickard, Jan Drent, Richard H. Gimblett, William Glover, James Goldrick, Barry Gough, Michael L. Hadley, Peter T. Haydon, Michael A. Hennessy, James D. Kiras, William A. March, Doug M. McLean, Siobhan J. McNaught, Marc Milner, Bernard Ransom, Roger Sarty, Graeme R. Tweedie, Barbara Winters, and David Zimmerman.

Michael L. Hadley is an award-winning writer, scholar, yachtsman, retired naval officer, international traveller, and lecturer. He is the author and editor of several books on naval and maritime history, including Spindrift: A Canadian Book of the Sea (co-edited with Anita Hadley) and Citizen Sailors: Chronicles of Canada’s Naval Reserve, 1910–2010 (co-edited with Richard H. Gimlett), and his work has won such prestigious awards as the John Lyman Prize of the North American Society for Oceanic History and the Keith Matthews Award of the Canadian Nautical Research Society. He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Victoria and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

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"Collecting together recent original work on Canadian naval history, A Nation's Navy is a valuable and interesting survey of the 'state of the art' on the subject. I recommend it." Eric Grove, Center for Security Studies, University of Hull, England.