Canadian Army

The Canadian Army is the land component of the combined Canadian Forces.Canada's Army is the largest section of the Canadian Forces with 35,000 soldiers. The Regular Force units have 19,500 full time soldiers; the Army Reserve has 16,000 part-time, volunteer soldiers. All are supported by 4,100 civilian employees.

The Army protects Canadians and Canada 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.

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.

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. The Canadian Rangers are part of the Army Reserve. They form over 164 patrols located throughout Canada's Far North and in isolated geographical areas.

The Army is equipped with the lastest 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.

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. Land Force Headquarters (LFHQ) is co-located with National Defence Head Quarters in Ottawa. The Land Force Doctrine and Training System forms an integral part of LFHQ. It is located in Kingston, Ontario and controls all individual and collective training activities for the Land Force.

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.