While Allied troops were fighting in northern Russia, the Canadian government organized a second expedition and sent it to Vladivostok to support the anti-communist forces in Siberia. The 4,000-man Canadian contingent, a force composed of one infantry brigade, a North-West Mounted Police cavalry squadron, and a battery of artillery, was dispatched to Siberia in October 1918. Major-General J.H. Elmsley, a Canadian officer who had served in France, commanded the expedition.
The Canadian government had ordered Elmsley not to commit his troops to any offensive operations or to support the British contingent attached to Admiral Kolchak's anti-communist force. As a result, the Canadians remained in Vladivostok for the winter. In Canada, many citizens opposed Canadian involvement in the Russian Civil War. Consequently, the government ignored British objections and withdrew the Canadian contingent in April 1919.
