HMCS Magnificent (CVL 21) was a Majestic-class light aircraft carrier that served the Royal Canadian Navy from 1948–1957.

Initially ordered by the Royal Navy during World War II, the Royal Canadian Navy acquired the Magnificent while waiting for another aircraft carrier to be completed to their needs and it entered service in 1948 replacing in service HMCS Warrior which had been loaned for two years by the RN.

In 1956, Canada received HMCS Bonaventure and Magnificent returned to the United Kingdom in 1956, where it remained in reserve until being scrapped in 1965.

[5] In May 1944, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) intended to expand its fleet in size of ships if it were to take on a larger role in the Pacific theatre.

[9] The six Majestic-class ships were considered surplus to Royal Navy plans, and the three furthest along in construction were offered for loan.

[3] In January 1945 the RCN negotiated the loan of two ships, Warrior (Colossus class) and Magnificent, with the option to purchase at a later date.

She officially joined the Canadian Atlantic Fleet on 23 March,[10][11] but required further work to address builder's defects.

The ship had problems with her unheated equipment during operations in cold North Atlantic waters off eastern Canada during 1946, and she was transferred to the Canadian Pacific Fleet, arriving in Esquimalt, British Columbia, in December 1946.

While undergoing repairs in January 1947, the RCN was examining the overall impact of reduced defence spending and manning constraints, and came to the conclusion that they could not operate two aircraft carriers.

From there the two destroyers left the aircraft carrier and toured the north, becoming the first RCN warships to penetrate Hudson Bay.

[14] On 20 March 1949, while on fleet manoeuvres in the Caribbean, thirty-two aircraft handlers on Magnificent briefly refused an order to turn to morning cleaning stations to protest various grievances.

The captain acted with great sensitivity to defuse the crisis, holding an informal discussion with the disgruntled crew members and carefully using the term "incident" instead of "mutiny", which could have resulted in severe legal consequences for the handlers.

[5] With the outbreak of the Korean War, Magnificent was withheld from service in that theatre on the grounds that she was already committed to NATO duties.

[20] The aircraft carrier, escorted by Micmac, Haida and Huron, made a second cruise to Europe beginning in September, making several port visits and participating in two NATO naval exercises.

This was to be her last role, carrying a large part of the Canadian peacekeeping force to Egypt, its vehicles parked on her deck.

[4] She was replaced in RCN service by Bonaventure, another Royal Navy Majestic-class carrier (HMS Powerful) that had not been completed at the end of the war.