About the Army

The Canadian Army is the land component of the combined Canadian Forces.

The Army protects Canadians and Canada and our interests by:

• defending Canadian territory and helping to maintain Canada's sovereignty by providing land surveillance and combat-ready forces;
• contributing to the collective defence of North America;
• providing armed and unarmed assistance to civil authorities when needed to maintain public order and security;
• assisting provincial and other authorities with natural disasters including earthquakes, floods, storms, forest fires and other emergencies;
• and supporting Canadian interests abroad, including forces for United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and other multilateral operations, peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance.

Canada's Army is the largest section of the Canadian Forces with 41,500 soldiers. The Regular Force units have 25,500 full time soldiers; the Army Reserve has 16,000 part-time, volunteer soldiers. All are supported by 5,600 civilian employees.

Regular Force

The Regular Force has three Mechanized Brigade Groups composed of units stationed in Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

• three infantry battalions (two mechanized, one light),
• armoured regiment,
• artillery regiment,
• combat engineer regiment,
• reconnaissance squadron,
• plus appropriate combat support, communications, medical and service support units.

As well, there is an engineer support regiment, air defence regiment, and electronic warfare squadron.

Army Reserve

The Reserve component of the Land Force is organized into ten Brigade Groups spread across the country. In total there are:

• 51 infantry battalions,
• 19 logistic units,
• 17 reconnaissance units,
• 17 artillery units,
• 12 engineer units,
• four military police units and
• four intelligence units.

These units are located in more than 100 communities across the country.

Canadian Rangers and the North

The Canadian Rangers are part of the Army Reserve. They form over 170 patrols located throughout Canada's Far North and in isolated geographical areas.

For more information, read "The Canadian Rangers: A CF touchstone in Canada's remote regions."

Equipment

The Army is equipped with the latest in modern weapons. The Coyote armoured reconnaissance vehicle and the LAV III infantry combat vehicle provide significant surveillance and combat capability. Both Canadian-built vehicles are equipped with state-of-the-art target acquisition systems, night-fighting capability, and enhanced crew protection.

The Armoured Regiments fight with the Leopard 2A6M tank. Artillery Regiments have recently been equipped with the new M777 howitzer. Specially tasked Air Force units provide dedicated Griffon CH 146 Helicopter capabilities to the Army.

Command

The Army Command has a regional structure covering four geographical areas, Western, Central, Quebec and Atlantic. This provides a single chain of command for Regular and Reserve forces within each region. There are six major formations within the Army Command: Land Force Atlantic Area, Land Force Quebec Area, Land Force Central Area, Land Force Western Area, Land Force Doctrine and Training System and 1st Canadian Division.

Land Force Headquarters (LFHQ) is co-located with National Defence Head Quarters in Ottawa. Land Force Atlantic Headquarters (LFAA) is located in Halifax. Land Force Quebec Area (LFQA) Headquarters is located in the City of Quebec. Land Force Central Area (LFCA) Headquarters is located in Toronto. Land Force Western Area Headquarters (LFWA) is located in Edmonton.

The Land Force Doctrine and Training System (LFDTS) forms an integral part of LFHQ. It is located in Kingston, Ontario and controls all individual and collective training activities for the Land Force.

Also under the control of LFHQ, 1st Canadian Division (1 Cdn Div) is a joint deployable command and control capability for land-based CF operations. It has three high-readiness tasks: Humanitarian Operations, Non-combatant Evacuations Operations and Full-Spectrum Operations. It is located within Land Force Command at CFB Kingston and uses existing infrastructure and base support.

Bases

The Army has seven major support bases throughout Canada: Edmonton, Alberta; Shilo, Manitoba; Petawawa, Ontario; Kingston, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; Valcartier, Quebec; Gagetown, New Brunswick and numerous training facilities.