File:Badge_of_the_Canadian_Armed_Forces.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Canadian Armed Forces
Sign in to saveAlso known as CAF, FAC, Forces armées canadiennes, Forces canadiennes, Canadian Forces, CF, FC, Forces armees canadiennes
combined military forces of Canada
Key facts
- Current form
- 1 February 1968 ; 58 years ago ( 1968-02-01 )
- Service branches
- Royal Canadian Navy Canadian Army Royal Canadian Air Force
- Headquarters
- National Defence Headquarters , Ottawa , Ontario
- Website
- www .canada .ca /en /services /defence /caf .html
- Commander in chief
- Charles III , King of Canada , represented by, Mary Simon , Governor General of Canada
- Prime minister
- Mark Carney
- Minister of national defence
- David McGuinty
- Chief of the defence staff
- General Jennie Carignan
- Vice chief of the defence staff
- Lieutenant-General Stephen Kelsey
- Chief warrant officer
- CWO Bob McCann
- Military age
- 16–60 years old
- Conscription
- No
- Active personnel
- approx. 67,825 (2026)
- Reserve personnel
- approx. 32,440 (2026)
- Deployed personnel
- approx. 5,000
- Budget
- US$ 37.75 billion (2026), ( List of countries by military expenditures )
- Percent of gdp
- 1.6% (2026)
- Foreign suppliers
- List United Kingdom , United States , France , Italy , Sweden , Australia , Israel , Spain
via Wikipedia infobox
Research organization · ROR
- Type
- Funder, Other
- Founded
- 1968
- Location
- Ottawa, Canada
- Also known as
- CAF, Canadian Forces
- Status
- Active
GRID grid.457399.5 · ISNI 0000 0001 2295 5076
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- armed forces
- Official name
- Canadian Forces
- Country
- Canada
- Headquarters
- National Defence Headquarters
- Parent organization
- Government of Canada
- Subsidiary
- Royal Canadian Navy
- Conflict
- War against the Islamic State
- Official website
- www.canada.ca/en/services/defence/caf.html
- Image
- Badge of the Canadian Armed Forces.png
Show 11 more facts
- Commons category
- Military of Canada
- topic's main category
- Category:Canadian Armed Forces
- inception
- 1968-02-01
- short name
- CF
- native label
- Canadian Armed Forces
- maximum age
- 60
- minimum age
- 16
- member count
- 103873
- budget
- 22800000000
- history of topic
- military history of Canada
- applies to jurisdiction
- Canada
Sources (9)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; French: Forces armées canadiennes, FAC) are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, air, and special operations forces commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Air Force, and Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. Under the National Defence Act, the Canadian Armed Forces are an entity separate and distinct from the Department of National Defence (the federal government department responsible for the administration and formation of defence policy), which also exists as the civilian support system for the forces.
The commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces is the Governor General. The chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the Canadian Armed Forces, who under the direction of the minister of national defence and together with the assistance of the Armed Forces Council, manages the operations of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Canadian Armed Forces” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.