Sending more than 2,000 Canadian troops to Afghanistan has turned Canada's military into a better fighting force and improved Canada's standing on the world stage, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.

In an interview Monday with CBC-TV's  The National, Harper acknowledged the mission has taken its toll on the army, with 36 soldiers paying the "ultimate sacrifice," but he said it is time for Canada to shoulder its share of the burden of fighting for peace and stability in the world.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Peter Mansbridge that the mission in Afghanistan has improved the fighting ability of Canada's armed forces.
(CBC)

"If I can be frank about this, you know, in some ways I think we can complain that only a handful of countries are carrying the bulk of the load and the bulk of the danger there," Harper said.

"But, you know, the shoe was often on the other foot. For a lot of the last 30 or 40 years, we were the ones hanging back."

In his defence of the mission, Harper said it has changed the Canadian military in important ways. Canada first sent troops to Afghanistan in early 2002. Now, it has more than 2,000 soldiers there, the majority stationed in Kandahar in the volatile south, where the Taliban is still active.

"It's certainly engaged our military," Harper said. "It has made it a better military."

Harper said it has been years since Canadian troops have been involved in the kind of sustained fighting that they have encountered in Afghanistan and the commitment made by Canada to root out the Taliban to create a more stable Afghanistan has enhanced the image of Canada abroad.

"It's certainly raising Canada's leadership role, once again, in the United Nations and in the world community where we used to have an important leadership role," he said.

Casualties, however, are mounting. On Monday, four Canadians were killed when a suicide bomber rode a bicycle into a group of soldiers on foot patrol.

Thirty-six Canadian soldiers and one Canadian diplomat have died in Afghanistan since Canada first sent troops there.

But Harper said Canada is making progress in Afghanistan. The mission will be considered a success, he said, when changes to the country in terms of peace and security are irreversible.

Canada may have underestimated the strength of the insurgency when it committed troops to the mission, Harper said, but the Taliban continues to be on the defensive. 

Meeting with Afghan president

Harper is expected to host Afghan President Hamid Karzai later this week when the Afghan leader visits Ottawa and Montreal.

Karzai will visit Ottawa for a working visit with Harper and a private reception in his honour, then he will travel to Montreal for meetings with non-governmental organisations.

In Ottawa, Karzai is also expected to address Parliament, with the usual order of business delayed to allow for his address, and he is scheduled to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial. In Montreal, he is expected to attend the inaugural meeting of the Canada-Afghanistan Business Council.

The meeting between Harper and Karzai will be the second between the two leaders. The first occurred in March 2006 in Kabul.

"Canada shares its goal of giving the people of Afghanistan, the children, men and women alike, the chance of a better life," Harper said in a Sept. 14 news release announcing Karzai's visit. "A life of peace, security, freedom and justice. A life we as Canadians have for ourselves and that we seek for others."

The two leaders are expected to talk about Canada's mission in Afghanistan.