Militia reform

The 1890s marked the advent of an era of militia reform. After soldiers returned from the South African War, Sir Frederick William Borden, minister of militia and defence, used their experience and the public’s enthusiasm to assist in the reform of the militia. During his administration the force was reorganized and re-equipped. Borden’s larger aim was to create a self-contained citizen army and to win a greater degree of autonomy within the imperial defence system in a cooperative, rather than integrative, approach.