Canada Military 2022, CIA World Factbook

Canadian Forces: Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, Canadian Joint Operations Command, Canadian Special Operations Forces Command; Primary Reserve (army, air, naval reserves); Coast Guard (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) (2022)

note: the Army reserves include the Canadian Rangers, which provides a limited presence in Canada's northern, coastal, and isolated areas for sovereignty, public safety, and surveillance roles

Military expenditures

1.4% of GDP (2021 est.)

1.4% of GDP (2020)

1.3% of GDP (2019) (approximately $26 billion)

1.3% of GDP (2018) (approximately $25.7 billion)

1.4% of GDP (2017) (approximately $27.6 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 70,000 active armed forces personnel (23,000 Army; 12,000 Navy; 12,000 Air Force; 23,000 other) (2022)

note: the Army also has approximately 19,000 part-time volunteer soldiers in the Reserve Force, including about 5,500 Rangers

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the CAF's inventory is a mix of domestically-produced equipment and imported weapons systems from Australia, Europe, Israel, and the US; since 2010, 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 (2022)

Military service age and obligation

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 (2022)

note 1: Canada opened up all military occupations to women in 2001; in 2020, women 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

the CAF has nearly 1,400 military personnel forward deployed for NATO air, land, and sea missions in the European theater, including up to 650 troops in Latvia and 140 in Romania (2022)

note: in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some NATO countries, including Canada, have sent additional troops and equipment to the battlegroups deployed in NATO territory in eastern Europe

Military - note

Canada is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949

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 Canadian Armed Forces 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 continued to be the highest-level bilateral defense forum between Canada and the US as of 2022

British troops withdrew from Canada in 1871 as part of the UK-US 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

NOTE: The information regarding Canada on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Canada 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Canada 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.