Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan engage in some target practice.

Background

The Canadian military is comparatively small, one of the smallest armies per capita of any nation in the western world. Part of this is due to historical legacy. Before Canada became a completely self-governing country it was always just assumed that the British Empire would defend Canada in times of need. Indeed, before World War II, the Canadian military was formally called "the Militia," and was intended mostly just to handle border skirmishes with the United States or offer token backup to the Brits in their various overseas colonial adventures.

Since the Second World War, however, the Canadian military has greatly modernized and is now a mature and independent armed forces appropriate for a sovereign nation.

According to the federal Veteran's Affairs Department, Canada has officially fought in the following six wars, with the following statistics:

Additionally, over 125,000 Canadians have volunteered in various UN and NATO "peacekeeping" missions over the years, in a variety of different countries for a variety of different mandates. Veteran's Affairs says that as of 2000, 113 Canadians have died in such missions.

Unofficially, several thousand Canadians also fought in the Spanish Civil War and the Vietnam War, though precise enrollment and death statistics for both battles are understandably rather debated.

Currently, Canadian troops are participating in the War on Terror in Afghanistan, and there are about 100 Canadian soldiers still peacekeeping in Kosovo.

Hierarchy

General Rick Hillier is the current Chief of the Defense Staff of Canada, and thus Canada's top soldier. He is known for his outspoken comments.

Because of the small size of the Canadian armed forces, all three branches (Ground, Naval, and Air) were combined into a single Canadian Forces in 1968. The Army Navy, and Airforce thus do not operate independently from each other, as they do in many other countries.

In 2006, the Forces were further re-organized into a new three-part hierarchy, consisting of the Canada Command, the Canada Expeditionary Force Command, and the Canada Special Operations Command. These three forces deal with different types of missions. Canada Command is for homeland security, the Expeditionary Force is for foreign missions, and the Special Operations is for covert and secret stuff.

The nominal heads of the Canadian military are Queen Elizabeth and the Governor General of Canada. Yet unsurprisingly, they don't exercise any real power in these roles. The defacto commander-in-chief of Canada is the Prime Minister, who forms military policy along with the Minister of National Defense, and the military Chief of Defense Staff.                 

The Army,	Navy,	and Airforce

Canada's Land Force Command (ie: the conventional, land-based army) is composed of 19,500 regulars and 4,100 civilian employees with another 16,000 in reserve service. Right now, 2,400 of these soldiers are serving overseas in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Three brigades (and 10 reserve brigades) are spread out across less than 10 bases across the country.

This fellow, Admiral Timothy Keating, is the head of NORAD. He's an American. The commander is always an American and the deputy commander is always a Canadian.

The Maritime Command (Navy) is made up of over three dozen warships and support vessels, although it does not posses any large capital ships comparable to American aircraft carriers. The bulk of the naval forces are the 12 Halifax Frigates, 12 Kingston defense ships, four Victoria hunter-killer submarines, and three Iroquois destroyers. Although they maintain active operations around the world and help support Land Force Command operations in Afghanistan, the Maritime Command serves mostly as a patrol and rescue force, similar to the Coast Guard of most nations.

The Air Command is composed of about 300 aircraft and a few thousand personnel. Most Canadian warplanes are American-made, including the CF-18 Hornet and the CH-124 Sea King.

It is in the matter of air defense that Canada and the United States are the most integrated. Together, the two countries are part of a joint military organization called NORAD, or the North American Aerospace Defense Command. In practice, this means that when it comes to protecting the security of the continent, both American and Canadian pilots operate under a single military hierarchy, in joint patrol, maneuvers, and monitoring of North American airspace.

The Military Today

The 50-year old "Sea King" helicopters are often cited as a quintessential example of our under-funded army. The army spends more time fixing them then they spend in the air.

Despite its proud history and institutional maturity, there is a rather large gap in perceptions between how the Canadian military thinks of itself, and how the public at large regards it. Today you'll often hear Canadian military denounced as a "joke," "pathetic," or worse. Though we may respect our men and women in uniform, few Canadians hold our army in high regard, for the simple fact that the Canadian armed forces remain so small and under-funded. Though Canadians like to claim to be modest, they're also very ambitious, and have never really been entirely comfortable with Canada just being a "minor" country. Having a small and underfunded military is an embarrassing reminder of this status.

There are always stories in the media about how poorly equipped our soldiers are, and how they are using decades-old equipment that literally falls apart in their hands. It's very fashionable for populist politicians to promise to increase funding for the armed forces, but in practice the Canadian government always has lots of other spending priorities. Certain "sacrifices" always must be made to fund project X, and more often than not the Canadian military has been the victim of such budget cuts.

In 2006 Prime Minister Harper made a much-publicized visit to the troops in Afghanistan. Canada deployed soldiers there after 9-11 and they continue to play a large role in protecting the country from Taliban insurgents.

There are some signs this may be changing, however. Due to steady economic growth Conservative politicians in Ottawa have begun campaigning for an increase of $17 billion to the armed forces over the next five years. New Prime Minister Stephen Harper has often stated that an increase in military funding will be one of his government's top priorities. Recruitment is also being pushed a lot these days, with a high-profile public advertising campaign. The goal is for the Canadian military forces to increase by 31,000 to a grand total of about 100,000.

Canada prides itself on having a "gender equal" military, and has one of the largest ratios of women soldiers of any military in the world (15%). Combat training was opened to women in 1987, and women have been fully integrated into the Canadian Forces since 1999. There is now officially no difference between male and female soldiers.

Thanks to alert reader David Liao for contributing to the information on this page.