| Military branches | 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) (2021) 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 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 (2021) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.42% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.29% of GDP (2019) 1.31% of GDP (2018) 1.44% of GDP (2017) 1.16% of GDP (2016) |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | the Canadian Armed Forces have approximately 66,000 total active personnel (23,000 Army; 8,000 Navy; 12,000 Air Force; 23,000 other uniformed personnel) (2020) |
| 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 by far is the US; Canada's defense industry develops, maintains, and produces a range of equipment, including aircraft, combat vehicles, naval vessels, and associated components (2020) |
| Military deployments | 540 Latvia (NATO); up to 200 Ukraine; up to 850 Middle East (multiple missions, including support to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and NATO assistance mission Iraq) (2021) |
| 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 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
