The body of Private Robert Costall, the first Canadian soldier killed in direct combat in Afghanistan, arrived at an Ontario military base at the weekend. He was 22 and the father of a one-year-old boy. His widow and his parents greeted the coffin, the grief on their faces captured by the national media.
Canadians see themselves as peacekeepers, and know the risks of sending soldiers to some of the most dangerous countries in the world. They are unaccustomed, however, to being at war, and are slowly coming to terms with the fact that more than 2,200 Canadian troops now in Kandahar are doing more than keeping the peace in southern Afghanistan.
On February 28, Canada assumed command of Nato forces in Kandahar. Nato's mission is to stabilise the region. To do that, it has to fight a war with the insurgents, who include the Taliban, bandits, drug traffickers and al-Qaida members. The attacks have grown more bold and more deadly in the past few months. Pte Costall was killed in a firefight with insurgents who attacked a forward base about 69 miles (110km) northwest of Kandahar.
Canada is in Afghanistan because its former Liberal government wanted to show the Americans that it was committed to the war on terror despite its refusal to participate in the invasion of Iraq. At first, Canada played its traditional peacekeeping role. The decision to lead Nato forces in Kandahar changed that, because the region is the stronghold of the remnants of the Taliban.
The Liberals warned that the mission to southern Afghanistan would bring casualties, but many Canadians didn't pay attention until January, when the diplomat Glyn Berry was killed in a roadside bomb and three soldiers were severely injured.
Public support for the mission seemed to be faltering when the prime minister, Stephen Harper, visited the troops last month.
"You can't lead from the bleachers. I want Canada to be a leader," he told the soldiers.
"Of course, standing up for core Canadian values, taking on the dangers you're taking on, these things are not easy. It's never easy for the men and women who are on the frontlines. And there may be some who want to cut and run. But cutting and running is not your way. It's not my way. And it's not the Canadian way."
Mr Harper made it clear that there would be no parliamentary debate over the deployment, as some opposition politicians have demanded.
A poll published around the time of Mr Harper's visit found that the deployment had the support of 55%of those surveyed nationwide. But many Canadians appear uncomfortable with the idea of soldiers being engaged in active combat. Almost half (47%) oppose that role.
Active combat is inevitable, however, in a mission that combines humanitarian work with battles against an insurgency that uses bombs and suicide attacks.
There are many other countries taking part in the effort to rebuild Afghanistan, and much has been accomplished since the fall of the Taliban in November 2001. The country has a new constitution, and held free and fair elections in the autumn of 2004, electing Hamid Karzai as president. Hundreds of schools have been opened, and an army and national police force have been established.
The cost has been high, however. The US, Germany, Spain, France, Romania, Denmark and Italy have all had troops killed in action.
Canada has now lost 11 soldiers and one diplomat. Another soldier was badly injured in an axe attack.
There will no doubt be more attacks. Spring means the snow on the mountain passes will melt, and more insurgents can make their way into the country from Pakistan. Mr Harper has made it clear that Canada is in Afghanistan for the long haul.
"We don't make a commitment and then run away at the first sign of trouble. We don't and we will not as long as I am running this country."