Canada FactbookDraft
November 2026 Edition
Canada Factbook · National chapter / CAN
Military and Security
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2021 Factbook flag mirror; image identity has not been individually audited. Source.
Last updated: October 29, 2026
Sections in Military and Security
Military and Security
Military and security forces:158
Canadian Forces: Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force (2025)¶
note 1:the CAF is comprised of both a Regular Force and a Reserve Force; the Reserve Force is comprised of the Primary Reserve, Canadian Rangers, Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service, and the Supplementary Reserve; the Canadian Rangers are part of the Army Reserve Force and provide a limited presence in Canada's northern, coastal, and isolated areas for sovereignty, public safety, and surveillance roles¶
note 2:the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP or "Mounties") is under the Department of Public Safety; the Coast Guard is under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans¶
Military expenditures:159
Military and security service personnel strengths:160
approximately 75,000 active-duty military personnel (2025)¶
Military equipment inventories and acquisitions:161
the CAF's inventory is a mix of domestically produced equipment and imported weapons systems from Australia, Europe, Israel, and the US; in recent years, the leading supplier has been the US; Canada's defense industry develops, maintains, and produces a range of equipment, including aircraft, combat vehicles, naval vessels, and associated components (2024)¶
Military service age and obligation:162
17 years of age for voluntary male and female military service (with parental consent); 16 years of age for Reserve and Military College applicants; Canadian citizenship or permanent residence status required; maximum 34 years of age; service obligation 3-9 years (2023)¶
note 1:Canada opened up all military occupations to women in 2001; women in 2023 comprised about 16% of the CAF¶
note 2:the CAF offers waivers to foreign nationals applying for military service only in exceptional cases — to individuals on international military exchanges, for example, or to candidates who have specialized skills in high demand¶
Military deployments:163
the CAF has approximately 1,000 military personnel forward deployed for NATO air, land, and sea missions in the European theater, including a ground task force in Latvia; it also contributes smaller numbers of air, ground, and naval forces to a variety of other NATO and international missions (2024)¶
note:in 2024, Canada announced plans to have a full 2,000-person brigade deployed to Latvia by 2026¶
Military - note:164
the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are responsible for external security; the CAF’s core missions include detecting, deterring, and defending against threats to or attacks on Canada; the military also provides assistance to civil authorities and law enforcement as needed for such missions as counterterrorism, search and rescue, and responding to natural disasters or other major emergencies; it regularly participates in bilateral and multinational training exercises with a variety of partners, including NATO (Canada is one of the original members) and the US; the CAF also contributes to international peacekeeping, stability, humanitarian, combat, and capacity building operations, principally through NATO, but also with the UN and other security partners¶
Canada is part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD; established 1958); NORAD is a Canada/US bi-national military command responsible for monitoring and defending North American airspace; traditionally, a CAF officer has served as the deputy commander of NORAD; Canada’s defense relationship with the US extends back to the Ogdensburg Declaration of 1940, when the two countries formally agreed on military cooperation, including the establishment of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD), which continues to be the highest-level bilateral defense forum between Canada and the US¶
British troops withdrew from Canada in 1871 as part of the US-UK Treaty of Washington; following the withdrawal, the first Canadian militia, known as the Royal Canadian Regiment, was organized in 1883 to protect Canadian territory and defend British interests abroad, which it did in the South African War (1899-1902), Canada’s first overseas conflict; militia units formed the backbone of the more than 425,000 Canadian soldiers that went to Europe during World War I in what was called the Canadian Expeditionary Force; the Royal Canadian Navy was created in 1910, while the Canadian Air Force was established in 1920 and became the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1924; the Canadian Army was officially founded in 1942; a unified Canadian Armed Forces was created in 1968 (2025)¶
Notes & sources
- Military and security forces. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military expenditures. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military and security service personnel strengths. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military equipment inventories and acquisitions. Reference edition; observation: 2024. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military service age and obligation. Reference edition; observation: 2023. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military deployments. Reference edition; observation: 2024. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
- Military - note. Reference edition; observation: 2025. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-05 17:28:40 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩