 Pitka retired in November 1919.In 1920, for his service in the Baltic region during and after the 1917 Russian Revolution, Pitka was awarded a knighthood – Knight Commander of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG) – by Britain's King George V upon the recommendation of British Admiral Sir Walter Cowan.As a former merchant seaman and Canadian Pacific Railway Co. representative, Pitka had some familiarity with Canada's immigration policies, the availability of land for homesteading and Canada's natural beauty.