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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox museum
| name            = Canadian War Museum
| native_name     = Musée canadien de la guerre
| native_name_lang = French
| logo            = Canadian War Museum logo.svg
| image           = WarMuseum2022.jpg
| alt             = 
| caption         = Exterior of the museum in 2022
| coordinates     = {{Coord|45|25|02|N|75|43|02|W|type:landmark_region:CA|display=inline,title}}
| established     = {{Start date and age|1942|1|df=y}}
| location        = 1 Vimy Place,<br />[[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| type            = [[War museum]]
| director        = Caroline Dromaguet (interim)
| president       = Mark O'Niell<ref name="exec">{{cite web |url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/about/about-the-corporation |title=About the Corporation |publisher=Canadian War Museum |website=www.warmuseum.ca |access-date=14 August 2020}}</ref>
| chairperson     = [[James Fleck]]<ref name="exec" />
| architect       = [[Moriyama & Teshima Architects]] & Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects
| owner           = [[Canadian Museum of History (corporation)|Canadian Museum of History]]
| network         = Canadian Museum of History
| publictransit   = {{rint|ottawa|1}} [[Pimisi station|Pimisi]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.octranspo.com/en/our-services/stations1/pimisi1/|title=Pimisi|publisher=OC Transpo|year=2020|access-date=25 August 2020|website=www.octranspo.com|archive-date=21 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921192058/https://www.octranspo.com/en/our-services/stations1/pimisi1/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| website         = {{url|https://www.warmuseum.ca/}}
}}
The '''Canadian War Museum''' (CWM) ({{langx|fr|link=no|Musée canadien de la guerre}}) is a [[National museums of Canada|national museum]] on the [[military history of Canada|country's military history]] in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]], Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history and a place of remembrance. The {{convert|40860|m2|sqft}} museum building is situated south of the [[Ottawa River]] in [[LeBreton Flats]]. The museum houses a number of exhibitions and memorials, in addition to a cafeteria, theatre, curatorial and conservation spaces, as well as storage space. The building also houses the Military History Research Centre, the museum's library and archives.

The Canadian War Museum was formally established in 1942, although portions of the museum's collections originate from a military museum that operated from 1880 to 1896. The museum was operated by the [[Public Archives of Canada]] until 1967, when the National Museums of Canada Corporation was formed to manage several national institutions, including the war museum.  In the same year, the war museum was relocated from its original building to the former Public Archives of Canada building. Management of the museum was later assumed by the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (later renamed the [[Canadian Museum of History#Management|Canadian Museum of History Corporation]]) in 1990. Plans to expand the museum during the mid-1990s resulted in the construction of a new building at LeBreton Flats. Designed by [[Moriyama & Teshima Architects]] and Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects, the new Canadian War Museum building was opened to the public in 2005.

The museum's collection contains more than 500,000 items related to military history, including more than 13,000 works of [[military art]]. In addition to its permanent exhibition, the museum has hosted and organized a number of [[travelling exhibition]]s relating to Canadian military history.

==History==
[[File:Cartier Square, Drill Hall.jpg|thumb|[[Cartier Square Drill Hall]] housed the Cartier Square Military Museum from 1880 to 1896. The military museum served as the predecessor to the Canadian War Museum]]
===Background===
The collections of the Canadian War Museum originated from the collections of the Cartier Square Military Museum, established through a [[general order]] on 5 November 1880.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=60}} Established with the intention to be a museum of national interest, the institution sought to preserve historical records and materials relating to the [[Canadian Militia]], and any of its colonial predecessors.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=61}} A proposal to establish a library operated by the museum was made in 1882, although these plans never came to fruition.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=63}} As the museum continued to solicit donations for its collection the museum quickly outgrew its space in the drill hall, and appeals for a new facility were made by 1886.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=63}} The museum was closed in 1896, to make room for a new shipment of [[Lee-Enfield]] rifles and space training.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=63}}

The militia office originally intended for the museum to be relocated, storing its collections in an old military warehouse below [[Parliament Hill]] (present location of the [[Bytown Museum]]).{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=64}} In July 1901, the [[Department of Militia and Defence]] negotiated a lease to house the museum in a building in [[Ottawa]].{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=64}} However, little effort was put into reopening the museum, with the department opting to not renew the building's lease in 1905.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=64}} On 26 January 1907, the Militia Council was informed by [[Eugène Fiset]], the quartermaster-general of the Canadian Militia, that there was "no interest being taken by the officers of the garrison" to reopen the museum, and recommend to not reopening it.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=64}}

The collection from the Cartier Square Military Museum remained at the warehouse until Dominion Archivist, [[Arthur Doughty]], requested the transference of the items to the archives to display some of them.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=65}} The militia approved the request, and transferred 105 items to the [[Library and Archives Canada|Dominion Archives]] between 1910 and 1919; although in doing so, the militia believed the archives had assumed responsibility for establishing any future military museum.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=65–66}} By the 1910s, the militia began to redirect potential donors of military artifacts to the Dominion Archives.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=65}}

These artifacts, in addition to captured German weapons from the [[First World War]], were exhibited for the first time in a [[travelling exhibition]] in 1916.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=2}} In December 1918, the Commission on War Records and Trophies was established to distribute German [[war trophies]] and war-related materials to memorials across Canada.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=3}} However, the Commission retained several pieces at the Dominion Archives with the hope they would eventually be exhibited in a national museum.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=3}} In 1924, the War Trophy Building was built adjacent to the original Dominion Archives building to house the military collection.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=67}} In 1935, Doughty struck a deal with General [[Andrew McNaughton]], the [[Commander of the Canadian Army|Chief of General Staff]], for the militia to support the establishment of the museum.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=66}} A War Trophies Review Board was established between the archives and militia, charged with selecting the best items to preserve for a future museum.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=67}}

===Establishment===
The Canadian War Museum was formally opened at the War Trophies Building in January 1942; initially operated by the Dominion Archives, and partially funded by the [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]].{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=67}} In 1958, management of the Canadian War Museum was assumed by the National Museum of Canada (predecessor to the [[Canadian Museum of History]] and the [[Canadian Museum of Nature]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/LegislativeSummaries/PDF/41-2/c7-e.pdf|title=Bill C-7: An Act to amend the Museums Act in order to establish the Canadian Museum of History and to make consequential amendments to other Acts|date=13 October 2013|access-date=28 August 2020|publisher=Library of Parliament|website=lop.parl.ca|page=1}}</ref>
[[File:330 Sussex Ottawa Facade.JPG|thumb|left|The original Dominion Archives building housed the war museum from 1967 to 2005]]
The museum relocated to the original Dominion Archives building, adjacent to the War Trophies building in June 1967; after the [[Public Archives of Canada]] moved its operations to a new facility.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=4}} However, the museum continued to use the War Trophies building as a storage facility.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=4}} In the same year, management of the war museum was assumed by the National Museums of Canada Corporation; a [[crown corporation]] which managed several national institutions, including the war museum.{{sfn|Pothier|1988|p=150}}

In 1983 the museum relocated its storage facilities from the War Trophies building to [[Vimy House]]; with the former building demolished to make way for the [[National Gallery of Canada]]'s new building.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=4}} In 1990, the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (later renamed the Canadian Museum of History Corporation) was formed through ''The Museum Act'', and assumed management of several [[national museums of Canada]], including the war museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/2013examene.pdf|title=Main Points|work=Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation Special Examination Report—2013|page=1|publisher=Minister of Public Works and Government Services|date=4 October 2013|access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref> 

By the 1990s, the museum's staff had voiced that the space in the building was inadequate, with some areas of the building deemed environmentally hazardous for the exhibition of certain artifacts.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=20}} In 1991, the government established the Task Force on Military History Museum Collections in Canada, whose final report called for more resources to be given to the museum, referring to its shape in the original Dominion Archives building as "embarrassing," and a "national disgrace."{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=20}} Although the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation invested [[Canadian dollar|C$]]1.7&nbsp;million for new exhibit designs as a result of the report; funds remained limited for expansion, with the federal government implementing a number of [[austerity]] measures during the mid-1990s.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=21}} A museum supporter's group, the "Friends of the Canadian War Museum" was established in 1995 to assist the museum in fundraising efforts.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=21}}
[[File:Vimy House.JPG|thumb|Exterior of [[Vimy House]]. From 1983 to 2004, items from the museum's collection that were not on display were stored at Vimy House.]]
Between 1996 and 1997, the museum considered opening a large [[Holocaust]] exhibition within the museum.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=22}} In addition to the exhibition, the architectural expansion plans released in November 1997 included enhanced exhibit spaces, a theatre, and a memorial chamber.{{sfn|Celinscak|2018|p=18}} However, the proposed exhibit was opposed by Canadian veterans, who felt a sense of neglect by the museum, and believed an exhibition on the Holocaust would further marginalize them; in addition to some historians who believed the museum was an inappropriate space for such an exhibition.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=23}} Following events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War passed, public debate over the museum's future intensified; with the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs convening a hearing in February 1998 to determine the future of the exhibition and the museum itself.{{sfn|Celinscak|2018|p=14}} Following the Senate Subcommittee hearings, the chair of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, [[Adrienne Clarkson]] announced the museum would abandon its plans for a Holocaust exhibition, although proceed with its plans to expand the museum.{{sfn|Celinscak|2018|p=26}} 

[[Barney Danson]] was appointed to the board of trustees and the war museum advisory committee in 1998. This led to an increase in the museum's research capacity and towards the establishment of the Centre of Military History.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=23}} Danson later secured for the museum the acquisition of property near [[CFB Rockcliffe]].{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=24}}

===21st century===
In March 2000, the [[Government of Canada]] formally announced plans to build a new museum building at CFB Rockcliffe.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=24}} However, in 2001, [[Prime Minister of Canada|Canadian Prime Minister]] [[Jean Chrétien]] intervened to have the proposed location changed to [[LeBreton Flats]], a formerly industrial area of the city.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=24}}<ref name="OBJ" /> LeBreton Flats was initially rejected as a site for the new museum building during the planning stages of the project as the site was contaminated. However, Chrétien proposed to decontaminate the site, with the museum serving as the centrepiece for the area's revitalization efforts.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=24}}<ref name="legion">{{cite web|url=https://legionmagazine.com/en/2005/05/the-new-canadian-war-museum/|title=The New Canadian War Museum|date=1 May 2005|access-date=17 February 2013|publisher=Legion Magazine|website=legionmagazine.com}}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> In 2001, a design submitted by [[Moriyama & Teshima Architects]] and Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects was selected for the design of the new building.<ref name="canen">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-war-museum|title=Canadian War Museum|publisher=Historica Canada|access-date=15 August 2020|date=21 July 2015|last=Bingham|first=Russell|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref> [[Groundbreaking]] for the new building took place in November 2002, followed by a major decontamination effort of the property by the [[National Capital Commission]].<ref name="legion" />
[[File:Canadian War Museum Under Construction 31may2004.JPG|thumb|Construction for the new museum building in May 2004]]
By 2004 the museum began to move its larger artifacts from its exhibits, as well as its storage facility into the new building.<ref name="legion" /> By the end of 2004, the museum closed its storage facility in Vimy House and closed its facility in the original Dominion Archives building in January 2005.<ref name="legion" /> The new building was opened on 8 May 2005, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of [[Victory in Europe]] day.<ref name="legion" /> On the same day the new building was opened to the public, [[Canada Post]] issued a 50¢ stamp to commemorate the opening of the new museum.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canadian War Museum, Lest we forget|url=http://data4.collectionscanada.gc.ca/netacgi/nph-brs?s1=(architect.A790,C790.)+Or+(null.B742.)&l=50&d=STMP&p=1&u=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/02011702_e.html&r=25&f=G&Sect1=STMP|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130101070249/http://data4.collectionscanada.gc.ca/netacgi/nph-brs?s1=(architect.A790,C790.)+Or+(null.B742.)&l=50&d=STMP&p=1&u=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/02011702_e.html&r=25&f=G&Sect1=STMP|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 January 2013|work=Canadian Postal Archives Database|publisher=[[Library and Archives Canada]]|access-date=22 October 2012}}</ref> The total cost to build a new building for the museum, and the exhibitions was approximately C$135&nbsp;million.<ref name="divisare">{{cite web|url=https://divisare.com/projects/17901-griffiths-rankin-cook-architects-moriyama-teshima-architects-canadian-war-museum|title=Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects, Moriyama & Teshima Architects: Canadian War Museum|publisher=Divisare|website=divisare.com|access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref>

Shortly after its opening of the new building, the museum became the centre of controversy over its interpretation of the [[Combined Bomber Offensive]] during World War II, in which some 20,000 Canadians participated.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=25}} Much of the controversy stemmed from two assertions made on a [[museum label]], that the bombing offensive was largely ineffective until later in the war, and that its morality and value of strategic bombings remained contested.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=25}} Complaints from Canadian veterans prompted another Senate Subcommittee to be launched.{{sfn|Dean|2009|p=7–8}} Museum staff eventually removed the offending museum label, replacing it with another label with text three times in length that "glossed over the salient facts;" although the offending images remained.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=25}}{{sfn|Dean|2009|p=7–8}}

==Site==
[[File:Aerial image of Canadian War Museum.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the museum's [[green roof]], with the [[Ottawa River]] and [[Capital Pathway]] adjacent to the building.]]
The {{convert|7.5|ha|acre}} property is situated within LeBreton Flats, a neighbourhood within Ottawa, the [[capital city]] of Canada. The property is situated southwest of Parliament Hill and the [[National War Memorial (Canada)|National War Memorial]]. The property is bounded by roadways to the east and south, by the [[Capital Pathway]], and the southern banks of the [[Ottawa River]] to the west and north. Water from the Ottawa River is drawn into the building for mechanical cooling, and ground irrigation of the larger property.<ref name="legion" />

Directly south of the museum building is an [[urban park]] called ''The Commons'', used for various events hosted by the museum.<ref name="divisare" /> A wheelchair accessible pathway built around the building's [[green roof]] connects ''The Commons'' with the parkland to the north of the museum.<ref name="divisare" />

===Building===
The {{convert|440000|m2|sqft|adj=mid|-building}} was designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects & Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects;<ref name="pcl">{{cite web|url=https://www.pcl.com/Projects-that-Inspire/Pages/New-Canadian-War-Museum.aspx|title=Canadian War Museum|publisher=PCL Construction Inc.|website=www.pcl.com|access-date=18 August 2020|year=2020}}</ref> with [[Raymond Moriyama]] and Alex Rankin as the principal architect.<ref name="divisare" /> [[Stantec]] was contracted as the [[civil engineering]] consultant, whereas [[PCL Construction]] was contracted as the project's [[construction management|construction manager]].<ref name="canarch" /> The cost to construct the building was approximately C$96&nbsp;million.<ref name="divisare" />
[[File:Canadian War Museum - 03.jpg|thumb|Concrete and glass facade at the north entrance to the museum]]
Regeneration served as the primary theme for the architectural design team of the building, with the design intended to showcase war's impact on nature;<ref name="divisare" /><ref name="design">{{cite web|url=https://www.historymuseum.ca/app/DocRepository/12/About_the_Museum/haleye.pdf|title=The Canadian War Museum: Design Approach|last=Haley|first=Bill|year=2005|access-date=17 August 2020|publisher=Canadian Museum of History|website=www.historymuseum.ca}}</ref> and nature's ability to regrow and "regenerate" from war.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=62}} Tilted and jagged planes, along with roughhewn materials are used throughout the building in a form of "controlled imperfection", intended to create the impression of trauma and disequilibrium.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=24–25}} The building's massing largely remains low to the ground, with only the building's eastern portions only rising high above.{{sfn|Hillmer|2010|p=24}} A significant portion of the building is made out of concrete, with {{convert|47086|yd3|m3|order=flip}} of cast-in-place concrete used throughout the building;<ref name="pcl" /> in addition to 3,750 tonnes of reinforced steel.<ref name="legion" /> Many of the exterior and interior walls of the building are placed on a variety of angles, from 90 degrees to 31 degrees, with eight different angles in all used throughout the building.<ref name="pcl" />

====Exterior====
[[File:Museum War, Ottawa, Ontario (40196030574).jpg|thumb|Exterior of the Canadian War Museum from the north]]
With regeneration being the primary theme of the architectural design, the external lines of the building were designed to evoke the "devastations of war," with the building appearing to emerge from a "scarred landscape".<ref name="legion" /> The angular building was designed to appear as if it was "emerging from the Ottawa River.<ref name="legion" /> The highest point of the building rises {{convert|24|m|ft}} off the ground, and faces towards the [[Canadian Parliament Buildings]], and [[Peace Tower]].<ref name="Annex Business Media">{{cite news|url=https://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/features/lest-we-forget-the-canadian-war-museum/|title=Lest We Forget The Canadian War Museum|newspaper=Canadian Consulting Engineer|publisher=Annex Business Media|date=1 August 2015|access-date=17 August 2020}}</ref>

A {{convert|20500|m2|sqft}} self-seeding green roof, which connects to the surrounding parkland and riverfront, is also situated on the rooftop of the building.<ref name="Annex Business Media" /> The green roof was incorporated into the museum building in order to reflect the building's larger theme of regeneration; with the green rooftop intended to appear as nature fusing with ruins, showcasing the process of regeneration.<ref name="divisare" /><ref name="canarch">{{cite web|url=https://www.canadianarchitect.com/new-canadian-war-museum/|title=New Canadian War Museum|date=1 May 2008|work=Canadian Architect|publisher=iQ Business Media Inc.|access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref> The green roof also provides the building with some sustainability benefits; being an economical and efficient solution for stormwater management in the area, providing energy savings, and providing air pollution remediation.<ref name="canarch" /> The roof was designed to mimic the urban development of the area, with the western portions of the rooftop closer to the rural areas of Ottawa designed to blend in with the surrounding parkland, while the eastern portion closer to [[downtown Ottawa]] features sloped concrete slopes that provide visitors with a view into the museum from the rooftop.<ref name="divisare" />
[[File:Ottawa, Canada (17963059613).jpg|thumb|left|Southeastern glass façade the building. Windows along the protrusion are arranged to spell "lest we forget/''n'oublions jamais'' in [[Morse code]].]]
Nearly the entire southeastern façade of the building is covered in glass, providing people outside the museum a view of some of its items on display in the LeBreton Gallery, an open-storage exhibition space in the building.<ref name="legion" /> Near the top of the building's walls are a series of small windows that spell out "lest we forget/''n'oublions jamais''" in [[Morse code]].<ref name="legion" /> The exposed concrete board-form exterior is fitted with cast-in-place insulated concrete wall panels.<ref name="pcl" /> Conversely, the entrance of the building is fitted with aluminum frames; with the canted curtain wall facing Parliament Hill.<ref name="pcl" />
{{wide image|Canadian war museum panorama.jpg|700px|Panorama of the concrete façade on the southern exterior of the building from Vimy Place}}

====Interior====
[[File:Entering the Canadian War Museum proper (24748079242).jpg|thumb|An angled concrete wall line a hallway leading to the museum's exhibition space.]]
The interior walls of the building are primarily made out of concrete that incorporates up to 15 per cent recycled [[fly ash]], making the walls of the building a large energy-conserving mass.<ref name="divisare" /> The walls are designed to emerge sharply from the ground, in an unusual fashion; whereas the floors were designed with slight slopes within them.<ref name="legion" /> Together, these design features are intended to evoke the feeling of instability with the museum's visitors.<ref name="legion" /> All the galleries within the building include ramps and slopes, making all exhibits in the museum wheelchair accessible.<ref name="legion" />
[[File:Memorial Hall - Lest we forget (45813750531).jpg|thumb|Exterior façade of Memorial Hall from the museum's lobby.]]
Concrete is a major material used in the museum's lobby; with post-tensioned concrete beams extending throughout the foyer, in addition to 596 tonnes of exposed structural steel.<ref name="pcl" /> One side of the lobby's walls is textured and patterned like rough-hewn wooden planks, whereas the other side is patterned to resemble large blocks of quarried stone. In addition to concrete, copper that was originally used on the roof of the Library of Parliament is used on the walls of the museum lobby and the LeBreton Gallery. However, most of the building's interior space remains austere, to provide visitors with a solemn space for reflection.<ref name="legion" /> A {{convert|7|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} audio-visual presentation of what is contained inside the exhibits is situated at the access point from the main foyer to the exhibition areas.<ref name="design" />

Other educational facilities within the building include the Military History Resource Centre, a museum library and archive; and the 236-seat Barney Danson Theatre.<ref name="legion" /> The war museum's theatre is named in honour of Barney Danson, in recognition of his efforts in supporting the Canadian War Museum.<ref>{{cite web|title=Barney Danson Theatre and plaque|publisher=National Defence Canada|date=16 April 2008|url=http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=8464|access-date=22 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522175708/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=8464|url-status=dead|archive-date =22 May 2014}}</ref> The building also includes a dedicated group entrance; and a sunlit cafeteria along the riverfront portion of the building, with a seasonal terrace; dedicated climate-controlled vaults; and laboratories for on-site repairs of artifacts.<ref name="legion" /><ref name="pcl" /> Including all areas of the museum, the total gross floor area of the museum building is {{convert|40860|m2|sqft}}.<ref name="canarch" />

==Exhibitions==
The Canadian War Museum functions as a history museum, and as a "palace of memory". As a result, many of the museum's permanent exhibitions function as both educational exhibits, and as a memorial.{{sfn|Dean|2009|p=10}}{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=63}} Permanent exhibitions at the museum include the ''Canadian Experience Galleries'', ''Memorial Hall'', ''Regeneration Hall'', and the ''Royal Canadian Legion Hall of Honour''.<ref name="canen" /><ref name="exhiboff">{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/exhibitions/|title=Exhibitions|publisher=Canadian War Museum|access-date=17 August 2020|website=www.warmuseum.ca}}</ref> The ''Canadian Experience Galleries'' are a series of four Canadian military history galleries arranged chronologically.<ref name="canen" /> Memorial Hall is the only exhibition that is free to the public, with Memorial Hall being accessible through the lobby.{{sfn|Dean|2009|p=11}}
[[File:Canadian War Museum, Vimy Pl, Ottawa (491922) (9450423544).jpg|thumb|left|Regeneration Hall is one of several permanent exhibitions at the museum]]
The permanent exhibitions at the museum were designed by Haley Sharpe Design, based in [[Leicester]], UK, and Origin Studios, based in Ottawa.<ref name="design" /> The design team, together with museum historians, crafted its exhibits in which the themes of brutality, geography, politics, and survival are woven throughout most of the exhibitions in the museum.<ref name="design" /> The museum permanent exhibitions are divided into seven zones, and further subdivided into 25 themed clusters.<ref name="design" /> Graphic interpretive information is spread throughout the exhibits in order to convey textual and visual information to visitors.<ref name="design" />

Exhibition design teams worked in conjunction with the architectural team for the new museum building, providing the exhibition design team with greater influence in how the exhibitions were arranged, positioned, and shaped; a degree of architectural influence not available to exhibition design teams working to fit exhibits in a pre-existing space.<ref name="design" /> The exhibit structures, like the building itself, is angular and trapezoidal, reflecting the museum's theme of regeneration, in addition to enhancing the themes of the exhibits.<ref name="design" /> The exhibition areas in the museum feature austere lines of galvanized steel, concrete, wood, and other hard surfaces with strong, and deep colours. The exhibition areas' design was intended to provide visitors with "little comfort or respite," with the "fragmented structure of the exhibits," intended to the story of war.<ref name="design" /> Although angular lines are prevalent throughout the design of the building and exhibitions, coloured curved structures are strategically placed throughout the galleries, acting as a counterpoint to the angular design of the building.<ref name="design" />

In addition to permanent exhibitions, the museum also organizes and hosts special and travelling exhibitions.<ref name="exhiboff" />

===Canadian Experience galleries===
[[File:Inside the life sized bunker diorama (24839604426).jpg|thumb|A life-sized [[trench]] diorama in the ''South African and the First World War'' gallery.]]
The Canadian Experience galleries are a collection of four galleries that take up {{convert|5028|m2|sqft}} of space. The four galleries document the [[military history of Canada]], with the four galleries being ''Early Wars in Canada'', ''South African and the First World War'', ''Second World War'', and ''From the Cold War to the Present''.<ref name="canen" /><ref name="exhiboff" /> Although some galleries are centred around individual conflicts, events involving Canadians serve as the focus for the galleries, with other events during these conflicts only being briefly addressed.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=2020}}

The galleries were intended to "enhance the human experiences of war," documenting moments in Canadian military history that helped shape the country; with many of the exhibits drawing links to the events with larger themes of nationhood and national identity.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=63}} Many of the exhibits were designed to simulate the "collective perspective" of Canadian service members, and Canadians in the [[wikt:homefront|homefront]] to a lesser extent.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=63}} The galleries are themed after four "intertwined principles," geography, brutality, politics, and survival; with each principle serving as the leading theme for a gallery.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=63–64}} Visitors are introduced to these principles before entering the galleries, with conceptual phrases relating to these principles printed on the walls of the rotunda outside the entrance of the Canadian Experience galleries.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=64}}
[[File:Gallery 1 Battleground.jpg|thumb|left|An exhibit on the [[Seven Years' War]] in the ''Early Wars in Canada'' gallery]]
The ''Early Wars in Canada'' gallery explores [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] conflicts, as well as conflicts in [[New France]] and [[British North America]], and post-[[Canadian Confederation|confederated Canada]] in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/event/canadian-experience-gallery-1-early-wars-in-canada/|title=Early Wars in Canada|website=www.warmuseum.ca|publisher=Canadian War Museum|access-date=24 August 2020}}</ref> Many of the exhibits showcase how early conflicts in Canada were shaped by geography, and centred around lakes, streams, and rivers.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=64}} Conflicts covered in this exhibit include the [[Beaver Wars]], [[Second Hundred Years' War|Anglo-French conflicts]] to the [[Seven Years' War]], the [[American Revolutionary War]], [[War of 1812]], and the [[North-West Rebellion]].

The ''South African and the First World War'' gallery explores Canadian participation in the [[Second Boer War]] and the First World War. The ''South African and the First World War'' gallery is styled to resemble Canada during [[Queen Victoria]]'s [[diamond jubilee]] in 1897; intended to mimic the imperialistic fervour that existed during that period.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/event/canadian-experience-gallery-2-south-african-and-first-world-wars/|title=South African and the First World War|website=www.warmuseum.ca|publisher=Canadian War Museum|access-date=24 August 2020}}</ref> In 2015, the museum opened a new portion of the gallery on the homefront during the First World War, highlighting the [[Conscription Crisis of 1917]], the [[suffragette movement]], and stories from individuals during the war.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=75}}
[[File:Gallery 3 Forged in Fire.jpg|thumb|Exhibits of the homefront in the ''Second World War'' gallery]]
The ''Second World War'' gallery explores the [[causes of the Second World War]], as well as Canada's participation during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/event/canadian-experience-gallery-3-the-second-world-war/|title=Second World War|website=www.warmuseum.ca|publisher=Canadian War Museum|access-date=24 August 2020}}</ref> Most of the Second World War exhibit focuses on Canada's role in the [[Battle of the Atlantic]], the [[British Commonwealth Air Training Plan]], the [[European theatre of World War II|European theatre]], the homefront and the [[internment of Japanese Canadians]].{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=75}}{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=66}} Small portions of the exhibit are also dedicated to Canadian participation in the [[Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I|Asian and Pacific theatre]], and the Holocaust.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=66}}{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=233}} Objects from the museum's collection exhibited in the Second World War portion of the Canadian Experience galleries includes a [[Mercedes-Benz 770]]K previously owned by [[Adolf Hitler]], entitled ''Hitler's Car: A Symbol of Evil'' at the exhibit.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=66}} The museum acquired the Mercedes Benz 770K in 1970, under the assumption that the car formerly belonged to [[Hermann Göring]]; although a research report published in 1982 revealed that the vehicle belonged to Hitler.<ref name="hitler">{{cite journal|title="Hitler's Car" and the Canadian War Museum: Problems of Documentation and Interpretation|last=Pulsifer|first=Cameron|year=1988|page=67|journal=Material History Review|volume=50}}</ref> The gallery also houses an [[M4 Sherman]] tank named ''Forceful III'', and is dedicated to the members of the [[Governor General's Foot Guards]] killed during the Second World War.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=2325 |title=Sherman tank nicknamed "Forceful III" |publisher=Cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca |access-date=6 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502002203/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=2325 |archive-date=2 May 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> A memorial plaque to Captain [[Thomas G. Fuller]] of the [[Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve]] is also present in the gallery.<ref>{{cite web | title = Thomas G. Fuller memorial passage | publisher =National Defence Canada | date =16 April 2008 | url =http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=8459 | access-date = 22 May 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140522160746/http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/nic-inm/sm-rm/mdsr-rdr-eng.asp?PID=8459 | url-status =dead | archive-date =22 May 2014}}</ref>
[[File:Gallery4 A Violent Peace.jpg|thumb|Artifacts on display in the ''From the Cold War to the Present'' gallery]]
The final gallery, ''From the Cold War to the Present'', explored Canada's role during the [[Cold War]], and the threat of nuclear war in the public eye.{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=64}}<ref name="coldwar">{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/event/canadian-experience-gallery-4-cold-war-to-present/|title=Front the Cold War to the Present|website=www.warmuseum.ca|publisher=Canadian War Museum|access-date=24 August 2020}}</ref> In 2017, the concluding portion of the fourth gallery was updated to include post-Cold War conflicts involving members of the [[Canadian Armed Forces]].<ref name="postcw">{{cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/in-living-memory-war-museum-unveils-updated-gallery-from-gulf-war-to-afghanistan|title='In living memory': War museum unveils updated gallery from Gulf War to Afghanistan|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=21 September 2017|last=Gillis|first=Megan|publisher=Postmedia Network Inc.|access-date=30 May 2018}}</ref> The final portion of the gallery was designed to confront visitors with the problematic nature of warfare;{{sfn|Jaeger|2020|p=76}} and features an interactive space for visitors to leave their own reflections on war, peace, and remembrance.<ref name="postcw" />

===LeBreton Gallery===
[[File:CF 101B Voodoo-View from aircraft level (24747867742).jpg|thumb|Military vehicles and equipment on display at the LeBreton Gallery]]
The LeBreton Gallery: The Military Technology Collection is an open-space gallery housing several items of military equipment used by Canadians, or other military forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/event/lebreton-gallery-the-military-technology-collection/|title=LeBreton Gallery: The Military Technology Collection|publisher=Canadian War Museum|access-date=17 August 2020|website=www.warmuseum.ca}}</ref> Situated along the eastern portion of the museum, its eastern walls are made of glass, allowing natural sunlight to illuminate the gallery.<ref name="legion" />

Equipment is organized into several sections, land, air, sea, field artillery, armoured fighting vehicles, cannon or mortar, and tanks.{{sfn|Shah|2017|p=558}} Most of the equipment in the gallery has been restored and cleaned, arranged and organized with museum labels which provide details on the equipment.{{sfn|Shah|2017|p=552}} The museum labels accompanying the pieces are focused primarily on the technical aspects of the equipment.{{sfn|Shah|2017|p=562}} The equipment housed in LeBreton Gallery is among the largest items in the museum's collections and includes a [[McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo]], 19th-century artillery pieces, tanks, and other military vehicles.<ref name="legion" /> The majority of the lighter wheeled and tracked transport vehicles on display date back to the Second World War or the Cold War era.<ref>{{cite book|last=Iarocci|first=Andrew|title=Dangerous Curves: Canadian Drivers and Mechanical Transport in Two World Wars|work=Canada and the Second World War: Essays in Honour of Terry Copp|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1-55458-646-2}}</ref>

===Memorial Hall===
[[File:Memorial Hall CWM.jpg|thumb|The interior of Memorial Hall. Its walls are made out of smooth concrete, and are arranged in a grid resembling First World War headstones]]
Situated within the lobby of the museum, Memorial Hall serves as a place for sombre reflection and remembrance.<ref name="legion" /> The exhibit's access point is angled upwards; with its doorway designed to provide an illusion of narrowness.<ref name="legion" /> The walls surrounding the access point are cladded in copper and are illuminated only by light fixtures installed in the floor, and a light mounted on the ceiling.<ref name="legion" /> The portion of the museum where Memorial Hall is situated is also aligned on an axis with the Peace Tower of the Canadian Parliament Buildings.<ref name="legion" />

Conversely, the walls inside Memorial Hall are made out of smooth concrete, with only a grid pattern resembling the headstones used for Canadian First World War soldiers etched into the walls.<ref name="legion" /> The exhibit is illuminated by a skylight which extends beyond from the building's rooftop; while a glass-enclosed pool of water sits on the south side of Memorial Hall.<ref name="legion" /> The design of the exhibit was intended to provide visitors with the feeling of weightlessness.<ref name="legion" /> The exhibit contains a single artifact, the original headstone for the soldier eventually reburied at the [[Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]]. The hall was designed so that sunlight that passes through the hall's only window illuminates directly onto the headstone once a year, on 11 November at precisely 11&nbsp;am, the time that the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|armistice that ended the First World War]] went into effect.<ref name="OBJ">{{cite journal | title = History at home on LeBreton Flats | journal = Ottawa Business Journal | date = 19 April 2004 | url = http://www.obj.ca/Other/Archives/2004-04-19/article-2129353/History-at-home-on-LeBreton-Flats/1 | access-date = 17 February 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140502004200/http://www.obj.ca/Other/Archives/2004-04-19/article-2129353/History-at-home-on-LeBreton-Flats/1 | archive-date = 2 May 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

===Regeneration Hall===
Regeneration Hall is an exhibition located at the highest point of the museum building serving as a "physical representation of hope for a better tomorrow".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/event/regeneration-hall/|title=Regeneration Hall|publisher=Canadian War Museum|access-date=20 August 2020|website=www.warmuseum.ca}}</ref> The walls of Regeneration Hall are angled in a manner similar to the buildings on Parliament Hill, with the Peace Tower visible through the eastern glass façade of the exhibition.{{sfn|Dean|2009|p=10}} The exhibition holds several artworks, including the original models for the [[Canadian National Vimy Memorial]], and the painting ''Sacrifice'' by [[Charles Sims (painter)|Charles Sims]].{{sfn|Dean|2009|p=10}}

===Royal Canadian Legion Hall of Honour===
[[File:Royal Canadian Legion Hall of Honour.jpg|thumb|The Royal Canadian Legion Hall of Honour exhibit, with the original plaster design for the [[National War Memorial (Canada)|National War Memorial]]]]
The [[Royal Canadian Legion]] Hall of Honour is a {{convert|200|m2|sqft}} oval-shaped exhibit which explores how Canadian military history has been commemorated and honoured throughout recorded history.<ref name="legion" /> The original plaster model that was submitted and later chosen in the National War Memorial design competition is exhibited in the centre of the Hall of Honour.<ref name="legion" /><ref name="modelvern">{{cite web|url=https://www.warmuseum.ca/collections/artifact/1024514/?q=Vernon+March&page_num=1&item_num=0&media_irn=5452379|title=Maquette sculpture, The Response; National War Memorial; Cenotaph|website=www.warmuseum.ca|access-date=10 August 2020|publisher=Canadian War Museum}}</ref>

Floor-to-ceiling [[display case]]s containing certificates of service, letters, medals, models, paintings, photographs, rolls of honour, scrapbooks, and souvenirs are situated along the walls of the exhibit.<ref name="legion" /> The exhibits are displayed chronologically and include items relating to First Nations, New France, British North America, and confederated Canada. However, the majority of the displays are dedicated to exhibiting items from the 20th century.<ref name="legion" /> Items in these displays, along with the individual stories corresponding to each chronological period are exhibited in an attempt to convey the various forms of commemorating the war dead throughout Canadian history.<ref name="legion" />

==Collection==
[[File:Konowal medal set.jpg|thumb|[[Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada|Canadian military medals]] from the museum's collection on display]]
As of 2015, the museum's collection includes over 500,000 pieces.<ref name="canen" /> The collection includes correspondences, documents, equipment, maps, medals, [[military art]], military vehicles, and military uniforms.<ref name="soul">{{cite book|last=Moriyama|first=Raymond|year=2012|publisher=D& M Publishers|isbn=978-1-55365-995-2|title=The Process|work=In Search of a Soul|page=30}}</ref> On average, the museum receives 700 offers for donations a year, including individual items or large collections; although, the museum only accepts 100 to 150 of these offers annually.<ref name="donate">{{cite web|url=http://ww1.canada.com/after-the-war/canadian-war-museum-welcomes-your-donated-artifacts-but-cant-take-everything|title=Canadian War Museum welcomes your donated artifacts, but can't take everything|website=ww1.canada.com|publisher=Postmedia Network Inc.|date=17 August 2014|access-date=22 August 2020}}</ref> However, Canadian service medals and medals of valour are accepted by the museum unconditionally, as an "act of honouring".<ref name="donate" /> Approximately 2,000 artworks and photographs from the museum's collection are used throughout the museum exhibits; although 500 of these images are enlarged versions of originals.<ref name="design" />

Items from the museum's collection are either displayed in the museum's exhibits, on tour with travelling exhibitions, loaned out to other institutions, or housed in the museum storage area.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=4}} From 1967 to 2004, items not on display were stored in off-site facilities; with the Dominion Archives' Trophy Building used as storage from 1967 to 1983, and Vimy House used as storage from 1983 to 2004.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=4}} During the 20th century, archival materials belonging to the war museum were also held in a warehouse in [[ByWard Market]].{{sfn|Pothier|1988|p=151}} In 2004, the museum ceased operating these off-site storage facilities, after it relocated items held there to a new storage space within the new museum building.<ref name="legion" />
[[File:The collections vault- it's huge! (24239119493).jpg|thumb|left|Storage units in the museum's collections vault. The vault holds items from the museum's collection not on display in its exhibits or on loan.]]
The museum's collection originated from the artifacts and archival materials originally held at Cartier Square Military Museum in 1880; including an assortment of weapons; a bell from {{HMS|Neptune|1757|6}}, the flagship for Admiral [[Charles Saunders (Royal Navy officer)|Charles Saunders]] during the [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham#Preparations|1759 siege of Quebec]]; and the [[Military colours, standards and guidons|colours]] for the [[84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)|Royal Highland Emigrants]], and various units from the War of 1812.{{sfn|Pulsifer|2007|p=65}} The collection grew in size during the First World War, with materials from the war transported back to Canada.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=2}} Following the [[end of World War II in Europe]], the museum dispatched its first collections acquisition team to the Netherlands and [[Allied-occupied Germany]] to acquire a large number of German military equipment.{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=3}} During the Cold War, the museum's collection continued to expand with the Canadian Armed Forces transferring its obsolete equipment, as well as examples of enemy equipment to the museum. During the 1990s, the museum also began to acquire a number of materials as gifts from several [[post-Soviet states]].{{sfn|Noakes|2015|p=3}}

In 1994, the museum's collection held approximately 6,550 posters; with 3,770 posters originating from Canada, 692 from the United Kingdom, 612 from the United States, and the remaining from a variety of countries in Europe, and Australia.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=cmh|title=Posters and the Canadian War Museum|journal=Canadian Military History|year=1994|last=Halliday|first=Hugh A.|volume=3|issue=1|page=128}}</ref> In 2019, 39 of the 99 [[Victoria Cross|original Victoria Crosses]] that were [[List of Canadian Victoria Cross recipients|awarded to Canadians]] are held in the collections of the Canadian War Museum.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/doing-right-for-the-country-the-canadian-war-museums-mission-to-save-canadas-victoria-crosses|title=Doing right for the country: The Canadian War Museum's mission to save Canada's Victoria Crosses|publisher=Postmedia Network Inc.|work=The National Post|last=Tumilty|first=Ryan|date=9 November 2019|access-date=22 August 2020}}</ref>{{notetag|Original Victoria Crosses refer to Victoria Crosses issued to Canadians prior to the creation of the [[Victoria Cross (Canada)|Canadian Victoria Cross]] in 1993.}}

===War art===
{{further|Canadian official war artists}}
As of 2015, the museum's Beaverbrook Collection of War Art contained over 13,000 pieces of military art.<ref name="canen" /> The majority of the war artworks in the collection are on paper, although these works are less often used in museum exhibits than their on canvas counterparts.<ref name="wwa">{{cite journal|url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1870&context=cmh|title=Women War Artists in the Canadian War Museum Collection, 1914-1945|last=Barker|first=Stacey|year=2017|issue=1|volume=26|journal=Canadian Military History|page=12}}</ref> The museum has been invested in several Canadian war art programs since 1971, after the National Gallery of Canada handed over management of the Canadian War Memorial Fund, and over 5,000 works from its Canadian War Records Collections to the war museum;{{sfn|Brandon|1995|p=68}} including all of its war art from the Second World War.{{sfn|Brandon|1995|p=70}} The museum's military art collection takes its name from [[Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook]], who established the art collection that later became the Canadian War Records.{{sfn|Brandon|1995|p=68}} Although the museum's war art collection included over 13,000 works, only 64 of these pieces depicted a dead body as of 2017.{{sfn|Shah|2017|p=562}}
[[File:Canadian War Museum, Vimy Pl, Ottawa - panoramio (5).jpg|left|thumb|[[Military art]] from the museum's collection on display]]
The museum's collection of war art includes over 400 works by [[Alex Colville]].<ref name="soul" /> Other artists featured in the collection include [[Caroline Armington]], [[Alfred Bastien]], [[Charles Comfort]], [[Alma Duncan]], [[Colin Gill]], [[Bobs Cogill Haworth]], [[Robert Stewart Hyndman]], [[Richard Jack]], [[Frank Johnston (artist)|Frank Johnston]], [[Manly E. MacDonald]], [[Pegi Nicol MacLeod]], [[Mabel May]], [[Jack Nichols (painter)|Jack Nichols]], Charles Sims, and [[Frederick Varley]].<ref name="wwa" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=McDowall|first=Duncan|year=2000|title=Canvas of War: Masterpieces from the Canadian War Museum, 1914–1918 and 1939–1945|journal=Canadian Military History|volume=9|issue=2|pages=84–87|url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1288&context=cmh}}</ref> The collection also includes several models and statues, including the plaster model by [[Vernon March]] that was later selected as the design for the National War Memorial.<ref name="modelvern" /> The museum's collection also includes the original scale plaster models by [[Walter Seymour Allward]] for the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.{{sfn|McDowall|2000|p=84}} From 1937 to 2000, the models were held in storage, before they were exhibited in an exhibition in 2000.{{sfn|McDowall|2000|p=84}} The models are now used in the Regeneration Hall exhibition.{{sfn|Dean|2009|p=10}}

Major travelling exhibitions of war art organized by the Canadian War Museum include ''A Terrible Beauty: The Art of Canada at War'' (1977), curated by the Canadian War Museum and Heather Robertson; and ''Canvas of War: Masterpieces from the Canadian War Museum'', which toured Canada between 1999 and 2004 and was seen by nearly half a million visitors.<ref name="warartaic">{{cite web|url=https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/war-art-in-canada/critical-issues/#the-impact-of-exhibitions|title=The Impact of Exhibitions - War Art in Canada: A Critical History|publisher=Art Canada Institute|website=www.aci-iac.ca|access-date=25 December 2021|last=Brandon|first=Laura}}</ref>

In 2007, the Canadian War Museum highlighted contemporary women's perspectives on war in the exhibitions ''War Brides: Portraits of an Era'' (an installation by Calgary artist Bev Tosh) and ''Stitches in Time'' (the work of London, Ontario artist Johnnene Maddison).<ref name="warartaic" />

====Selected works====
<gallery>
Alfred Theodore Joseph Bastien - Over the Top, Neuville-Vitasse (CWM 19710261-0056).jpg|''Over the Top, Neuville-Vitasse'', by [[Alfred Bastien]], 1918
Frank Johnston-LOOKING EAST, SCHOOL OF GUNNERY, BEAMSVILLE (CWM 19710261-0281).jpg|''School of Gunnery, Beamsville'', by [[Frank Johnston (artist)|Frank Johnston]], 1918
Mabel May-Women Making Shells (CWM 19710261-0389).jpeg|''Women Making Shells'', by [[Mabel May]], 1918
Alfred Munnings- A Stream Bed at Labergement Jura Forest (CWM 19710261-0469).jpeg|''A Stream Bed at Labergement Jura Forest'', by [[Alfred Munnings]], 1918
Frederick Varley - Gas Chamber at Seaford.jpg|''Gas Chambers at Seaford'' by [[Frederick Varley]], 1918
Charles Sims-Sacrifice (CWM 19710261-0662).jpg|''Sacrifice'', by [[Charles Sims (painter)|Charles Sims]], 1917–1919
Alex Colville-HIS MAJESTY'S CANADIAN SHIP PRINCE HENRY IN CORSICA (CWM 19710261-1685).jpeg|''His Majesty's Canadian Ship Prince Henry in Corsica'', by [[Alex Colville]], 1944
Pegi Nicol MacLeod - untitiled.jpg|''Untitled'', [[Pegi Nicol MacLeod]], 1944
</gallery>

==Library and archives==
The '''Military History Research Centre''' is a facility in the museum that houses the Hartland Molson Library Collection, and the George Metcalf Archival Collection. The Hartland Molson Library Collection serves as the museum's reference collection on Canadian military history, materials, and [[rare book]]s; whereas George Metcalf Archival Collection serves as an archive for blueprints, [[daguerreotype]]s, films, journals, logbooks, maps, photographs, scrapbooks, and tapes.<ref name="legion" /> The research centre includes a general reading area that overlooks the adjacent river, and a specialized reading room for more fragile materials.<ref name="legion" />
[[File:Vimy Ridge map-April 9-April 12.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the [[Canadian Corps]]' advance during the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]]; drawn by the Historical Section of the General Staff, 1917.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catalogue.warmuseum.ca/musvw/List.csp?SearchT1=19980056-280&Index1=1*Otherstdid&Database=1_CWM3&BoolOp2=AND&SearchT2=&Index2=1*Keywordsbib&BoolOp3=AND&SearchT3=&Index3=1*Otherstdid&BoolOp4=AND&SearchT4=&Index4=1*Keywordsbib&BoolOp5=AND&SearchT5=&Index5=1*Keywordsbib&SearchMethod=Find_1&SearchTerm1=19980056-280&SearchTerm2=&SearchTerm3=&SearchTerm4=&SearchTerm5=&OpacLanguage=eng&Profile=Profile28&EncodedRequest=*DE*13*5D*EAu*14*A8*8AZ*23CS9*3F7*83&EncodedQuery=*DE*13*5D*EAu*14*A8*8AZ*23CS9*3F7*83&Source=SysQR&PageType=Start&PreviousList=RecordListFind&WebPageNr=1&NumberToRetrieve=50&WebAction=NewSearch&StartValue=0&RowRepeat=4&ExtraInfo=&SortIndex=Author&SortDirection=1&Resource=&SavingIndicator=&RestrType=&RestrTerms=&RestrShowAll=&LinkToIndex=|title=Vimy Ridge 9-12 April 1917 [cartographic material], Map 7|publisher=Canadian War Museum|website=catalogue.warmuseum.ca|access-date=2 September 2020}}</ref> The map is one of a number of cartographical materials held in the museum's archives.]]
Although the War Trophies Review Board initially planned for the museum to include an archive, the museum did little archival work until 1967.{{sfn|Pothier|1988|p=150}} The archiving of war-related documents was primarily undertaken by the Public Archives of Canada up until that point; although the Public Archives voluntarily turned over war materials sent to the archives to the war museum.{{sfn|Pothier|1988|p=150}} After the closure of the Public Archive's history museum in 1967, materials and documents from the museum were split between the National Museum of Man (now the Canadian Museum of History), and the Canadian War Museum.{{sfn|Pothier|1988|p=150}} As a result of the closure of the Public Archive's history museum, the Public Archives began to regularly transfer archival documents to the war museum.{{sfn|Pothier|1988|p=150}} In 1982, the museum's archival collection was reorganized into several categories, souvenirs, museum, manuscripts, maps, plans and blueprints, and Canadian War Museum records.{{sfn|Pothier|1988|p=152}}

The Military History Research Centre's oral history archive contained nearly 400 interviews in 2007.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=61}} The oral history collection was started by the museum in 1999.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=61}} The program devised topic lists to guide interviews toward certain areas of interest; although the framing of the topics is designed to allow for in-depth conversation, one free of bias.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=61}} Interviews were either conducted by the museum's research team, or ex-military officers and averaged 90 minutes in length.{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=61–62}} Subjects of interviews include service members who served in the Second World War, [[United Nations Emergency Force]], [[Canadian Forces Europe]], [[Yugoslav Wars]], and the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War in Afghanistan]].{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=63}} Specific subjects interviewed include Airborne Intercept Navigators in [[NATO]] and [[NORAD]], [[Deputy Commander of NORAD|deputy commanders of NORAD]], and all former Canadian commanders of [[STANAVFORLANT]].{{sfn|Brown|2007|p=63}}

In 2000, the museum's photographic archives contained over 600 photograph collections or fonds; holding more than 17,000 individual photographs, and more than 250 photo albums.<ref name="photos">{{cite journal|last=McCoy|first=Brendan|title=Snapshots from the South African War: The F. C. Cantrill Photograph Collection at the Canadian War Museum|journal=Canadian Military History|volume=9|issue=2|year=2000|url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1287&context=cmh|page=73}}</ref> The collection was largely obtained through private sources, most of whom had taken the photo as participants in these conflicts.<ref name="photos" />

==See also==
* [[Lest We Forget Project]]
* [[List of military museums]]
* [[List of museums in Ottawa]]
* [[National museums of Canada]]
* [[National War Memorial (Canada)]]
* [[Organization of Military Museums of Canada]]
* [[Victor Suthren]], former director general of the museum

==Notes==
{{notefoot}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|last=Brandon|first=Laura|title=A Unique and Important Asset? The Transfer of the War Art Collections from the National Gallery of Canada to the Canadian War Museum|pages=67–74|journal=Material History Review|date=6 June 1995|volume=42|url=https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/17664}}
* {{cite book|title=War Art in Canada: A Critical History|publisher=Art Canada Institute|isbn=978-1-4871-0272-2|last=Brandon|first=Laura|year=2021}}
* {{cite journal|last=Brown|first=Angus|title=Oral History at the Canadian War Museum|journal=Canadian Military History|volume=16|issue=1|year=2007|url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1447&context=cmh|pages=61–64}}
* {{cite journal|last=Celinscak|first=Mark|title=The Holocaust and the Canadian War Museum Controversy|year=2018|journal=Canadian Jewish Studies|volume=26|doi=10.25071/1916-0925.40063|pages=11–30|url=https://cjs.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cjs/article/view/40063/36251|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|last=Dean|first=David|title=Museums as conflict zones: the Canadian War Museum and Bomber Command|journal=Museum and Society|date=March 2009|volume=7|issue=1|pages=1–15|issn=1479-8360}}
* {{cite journal|last=Hillmer|first=Norman|year=2010|journal=Canadian Military History|volume=19|issue=3|title=The Canadian War Museum and the Military Identity of an Unmilitary People|url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.ca/&httpsredir=1&article=1625&context=cmh|pages=19–27}}
* {{cite book|last=Jaeger|first=Stephan|publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG|year=2020|title=The Second World War in the Twenty-First-Century Museum: From Narrative, Memory, and Experience to Experientiality|isbn=978-3-11-066441-6}}
* {{cite web|last=Noakes|first=Jeff|url=https://history.army.mil/events/ahts2015/presentations/workshops/workshop9d_CanadianMilitaryProgram_text.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219210627/http://www.history.army.mil/events/ahts2015/presentations/workshops/workshop9d_CanadianMilitaryProgram_text.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 December 2016|title=The Canadian War Museum and Canadian Military History|website=history.army.mil|publisher=United States Army|pages=1–10|year=2015}}
* {{cite journal|last=Pothier|first=Bernard|title=Archival Material at the Canadian War Museum|journal=Archivaria|year=1988|pages=149–153|volume=26|issn=1923-6409}}
* {{cite journal|last=Pulsifer|first=Cameron|title=Colonel Wily's Brainchild: The Origins of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa's Cartier Square Drill Hall, 1880–1896|journal=Canadian Military History|volume=16|issue=2|year=2007|pages=59–68|url=https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1455&context=cmh}}
* {{cite journal|last=Shah|first=Nisha|title=Death in the details: Finding dead bodies at the Canadian War Museum|journal=Organization|volume=24|issue=4|year=2017|pages=549–569|doi=10.1177/1350508417700403|s2cid=149114133}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{official|https://www.warmuseum.ca/}}
* [https://www.friends-amis.org/index.php/en/ Friends of the Canadian War Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110210527/https://www.friends-amis.org/index.php/en/ |date=10 November 2018 }}

{{National museums of Canada}}
{{Ottawa landmarks}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 2005]]
[[Category:Cold War museums in Canada]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Canada]]
[[Category:Museums established in 1942]]
[[Category:Museums in Ottawa]]
[[Category:National museums of Canada|War]]
[[Category:Raymond Moriyama buildings]]
[[Category:Tank museums]]
[[Category:World War I museums in Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian Museum of History Corporation|War_Museum]]
[[Category:1942 establishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:Library and Archives Canada]]
[[Category:Federal government buildings in Ottawa]]