Muted reaction in Canada marks end of Afghanistan military mission

OTTAWA – A new a poll suggests Canadians are ambivalent about the country’s military legacy from Afghanistan.

Two-thirds say it is too soon to call the decade-plus military involvement a success or failure, while only 58 per cent realized that the Canadian Forces actually had, until today, a continuing military mission there.

The Canadian Press-Harris/Decima survey of 1,051 respondents was conducted Feb. 20-24 and is considered accurate plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The Canadian army formally withdrew from Afghanistan on Wednesday as the last 100 soldiers who served on the three-year-old training mission lowered their flag.

The Canadian death toll in Afghanistan was: 158 soldiers, one diplomat, one journalist and two civilian contractors.

Canada’s military engagement in Afghanistan began with the unpublicized arrival of special forces in late 2001.