Global InformationCanadian Armed Forces information
| Canadian Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Forces armées canadiennes | |
 Badge of the Canadian Armed Forces[1] | |
 Flag of the Canadian Armed Forces | |
| Current form | 1 February 1968 |
| Service branches |
|
| Headquarters | National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario |
| Website | www |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Charles III, King of Canada Represented by Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Minister of National Defence | Bill Blair[2] |
| Chief of the Defence Staff | General Wayne Eyre |
| Vice Chief of the Defence Staff | Lieutenant-General Frances J. Allen |
| Chief Warrant Officer | CWO Bob McCann |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 16–60 years old[a] |
| Conscription | No |
| Active personnel | approx. 68,000 (2021)[3] |
| Reserve personnel | approx. 27,000 (2021)[3] |
| Deployed personnel | approx. 3,000[4] |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | US$26.9 billion (2022)[5] (ranked 14th) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.2% (2022)[5] |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | List
L-3 Communications MAS Bombardier Aerospace CAE Meggitt Training Systems Canada Colt Canada Textron Systems Canada Kongsberg Protech Systems Canada Rheinmetall Defence Canada Irving Shipbuilding Inc. General Dynamics Land Systems Canada Raytheon Canada Limited Seaspan Marine Corporation Thales Canada[6] Boeing Canada[7] |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of Canada
List of engagements
Fenian Raids Wolseley Expedition North-West Rebellion Second Boer War World War I Russian Civil War World War II Cold War Korean War October Crisis Gulf War Oka Crisis Bosnian War Somali Civil War Kosovo War Afghanistan War 2011 Libyan Civil War Operation Serval 2014 military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Operation Unifier, aid to Ukrainian Armed Forces 2015-present |
| Ranks | Canadian Armed Forces ranks and insignia |
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; French: Forces armées canadiennes, FAC) are the unified military forces of Canada, including land, sea, and air commands referred to as the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force.[9] The CAF also operates several other commands, including the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, the Canadian Joint Operations Command, and the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. Personnel may belong to either the Regular Force or the Reserve Force, which has four sub-components: the Primary Reserve, Supplementary Reserve, Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service, and the Canadian Rangers. Under the National Defence Act, the Canadian Armed Forces are an entity separate and distinct from the Department of National Defence (the federal government department responsible for the administration and formation of defence policy), which also exists as the civilian support system for the forces.[10][11][12]
The command-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces is constitutionally vested in the monarch, Charles III.[13][14][15] The chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the Canadian Armed Forces, who under the direction of the minister of national defence and together with the assistance of the Armed Forces Council, manages the operations of the Canadian Armed Forces. In 2022, Canada's military expenditure totalled approximately US$26.9 billion, or around 1.2 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) — placing it 14th for military expenditure by country.[5] The Canadian Armed Forces are a professional volunteer force that consists of approximately 68,000 active personnel and 27,000 reserve personnel, with a sub-component of approximately 5,000 Canadian Rangers.[3]
Canada has long been reluctant to participate in military operations that are not sanctioned by the United Nations,[16][17] such as the Vietnam War or the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.[16][17] The notion of peacekeeping is deeply embedded in Canadian culture and a distinguishing feature that Canadians feel sets their foreign policy apart from its closest ally, the United States.[18][19][20] Alongside many domestic obligations and its ongoing peacekeeping missions such as the Multinational Force and Observers operation in the Sinai Peninsula, the Canadian Armed Forces currently has over 3,000 personnel deployed in multiple foreign operations. Notable missions include; Operation Unifier in the Ukraine training military personnel, Operation Caribbe in the Caribbean Sea related to the elimination of organized crime, Operation Projection in the Asia-Pacific, Euro-Atlantic and African regions in support of NATO operations related to maritime security and Operation Impact as part of the military intervention against ISIL[21]
- ^ "Registration of a Badge". Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. Official website of the Governor General. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "'Prime Minister Trudeau is shuffling his cabinet today. Here's what we know". CBC News. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ a b c Defence, National (11 March 2021). "Canadian Armed Forces 101". www.canada.ca.}
- ^ "Current operations list". Government of Canada. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
- ^ a b c "Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2022" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. April 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ Canadian Defence Review Canada's 2011 Top 50 Defence Companies Archived 31 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on: 15 December 2011
- ^ Canadian Defence Review Canada's 2011 Top 50 Defence Companies Archived 31 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on: 28 August 2011
- ^ "The World Factbook > Canada > Military". Central Intelligence Agency. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ "National Defence". Government of Canada. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions – What is the relationship between DND and the CAF?". Department of National Defence. 27 July 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ "About the Canadian Armed Forces". Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. 27 July 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "About the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces – National Defence Act". Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ Victoria (29 March 1867). Constitution Act, 1867. III.15. Westminster: Queen's Printer. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ Lagassé, Philippe (December 2013). "The Crown's Powers of Command-in Chief: Interpreting Section 15 of Canada's Constitution Act, 1867" (PDF). Review of Constitutional Studies. 18 (2): 189–220. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "Governor General of Canada > Commander-in-Chief". Rideau Hall. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ a b Massie, Justin (30 April 2019). "Why Canada Goes to War: Explaining Combat Participation in US-led Coalitions". Canadian Journal of Political Science. 52 (3). Cambridge University Press (CUP): 575–594. doi:10.1017/s0008423919000040. ISSN 0008-4239.
- ^ a b Mingst, K.; Karns, M.P. (2019). The United Nations In The Post-cold War Era, Second Edition. Taylor & Francis. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-000-30674-3.
- ^ Gutiérrez-Haces, Maria Teresa (6 November 2018). Identity and Otherness in Canadian Foreign Policy. Collection internationale d'Études canadiennes | International Canadian Studies Series. University of Ottawa Press. pp. 231–250. ISBN 978-0-7766-2722-9. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ Carroll, Michael K (2016). "Peacekeeping: Canada's past, but not its present and future?". International Journal. 71 (1). [Sage Publications, Ltd., Canadian International Council]: 167–176. doi:10.1177/0020702015619857. ISSN 0020-7020. JSTOR 44631172. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Canada's Current Role in World" (PDF). Environics Institute for Survey Research. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Current operations list". National Defence. 2024.
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