The five deaths occurred as the soldiers in armoured vehicles patrolled in what was considered to be a safe part of southern Kandahar city.
The military has identified the four Canadian soldiers as: Sgt. George Miok, 28, Cpl. Zachery McCormack, 21, both of Edmonton, Sgt. Kirk Taylor, 28, of Yarmouth, N.S., and Pte. Garrett Chidley, 21, of Cambridge.
Michelle Lang, 34, a reporter with the Calgary Herald was killed in the blast. She was in the back of an armoured vehicle.
One Canadian civilian official was also hurt, Menard said.
The huge blast occurred during a routine presence patrol in Kandahar's District 2 abutting the Dand district, where Canada has established a "model village."
The explosion happened just 1,500 metres from the Dand district centre, which Canadian soldiers helped rebuild after a suicide bombing in April.
In all, 138 Canadian soldiers -- 32 of them this year -- and two civilians have been killed in the Canada's eight-year mission to Afghanistan.
The incident was the second lethal strike against Canadian forces by the insurgents in a week. Lieutenant Andrew Nuttall and an Afghan soldier were killed Dec. 23 during a foot patrol in Panjwaii district.
Lang, on her first assignment in Afghanistan for Canwest News Service, had arrived in the country little more than two weeks ago. She won a National Newspaper Award this year for coverage of health and medical issues for the Calgary Herald.
