 After 1871, the responsibility for the defence of Canada rested with the Dominion government.This led to the designation of a Permanent Active Militia as the regular army of Canada (regular in the sense that they were full-time professional soldiers) and the Non-Permanent Active Militia (or reserves, part-time soldiers with vocations in the civilian world who trained on evenings, weekends, and for short periods in the summer months).The Canadian historian René Chartrand wrote