On the ground, in the air and on the water, the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces stand watch over the country and defend its interests at home and abroad. The Canadian Armed Forces Program aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the issues facing Canadian soldiers across all branches of the military in order to give Canadians varying perspectives on the men and women who defend their country.
Why is Canada buying HIMARS? In this piece, Maral Hamzehloo examines how Canada’s acquisition of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) addresses a critical capability gap within the Canadian Armed Forces and supports Ottawa’s commitment to fielding a combat-capable brigade in Latvia. As HIMARS becomes NATO’s standard long-range fires platform, the system also strengthens interoperability with key allies. However, she argues that the capability’s effectiveness remains tied to access to U.S.-produced munitions, support networks, and industrial capacity. Drawing on recent examples involving Estonia and Ukraine, she contends that Canada should pair the acquisition with stronger munitions resilience, expanded allied procurement mechanisms, and greater domestic industrial participation to ensure the capability can be sustained during a major crisis.
Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy marks one of Ottawa’s most ambitious efforts in decades to rebuild military readiness and strengthen the industrial base behind the Canadian Armed Forces. However, renewed U.S. tariff pressure raises a harder question about whether Canada can turn defence investment into real capability while its production systems remain tied to American-linked supply chains. This article argues that tariffs are not simply an economic dispute, but a defence readiness issue that reveals the limits of Canada’s long-standing dependence on the United States.
In the early morning hours of July 8th, 2025, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested four men in Quebec. The men in question had been building up a stockpile of weapons. Over 11,000 rounds of ammunition, 83 firearms, and over a dozen explosives were found. They had, for years, been engaged in military-style training Read More…
Drawing on a collection of WWI-era letters and the experience of Canada’s “citizen-soldiers,” Emma Zhang argues that today’s recruitment gap is not just logistical but cultural, rooted in the erosion of the civic-military bond. Her article explores how rebuilding local connections to service may be key to solving the Canadian Armed Forces’ recruitment crisis.
This April marks two years since the Department of National Defence released its updated policy titled “Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence,” which pledged $8.1 billion over five years and $73 billion over 20 years in national defence, signifying a new commitment to a military that had previously been underfunded Read More…
This article examines Canada’s decision to replace the Canadian Armed Forces’ C7 and C8 rifles alongside similar service rifle modernization efforts in France, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. It examines that the replacement is not driven by age alone, but by the need for greater adaptability, compatibility with modern accessories, and continued effectiveness across different operational settings. Rather than pointing to a single NATO-wide process, these cases reflect a broader pattern among several allies seeking to update the equipment carried by frontline personnel. Together, they show that service rifle replacement has implications not only for readiness, but also for interoperability, training, maintenance, and longer-term defence planning.
As the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) continue to operate below authorized strength, the Government of Canada has announced plans to create a pathway for skilled foreign military recruits to help fill shortages in critical occupations. This reflects a broader challenge facing allied militaries: how to fill urgent personnel gaps without creating new long-term problems. This article examines whether foreign recruitment is becoming a lasting part of force generation or whether it is being used to respond to ongoing personnel pressures.
Drawing on examples from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, the article argues that external recruitment works best when it is connected to broader personnel planning, domestic training systems, and retention efforts. While it can help ease pressure in high-skill occupations such as aviation and medicine, its long-term value depends on whether it strengthens the force over time. The analysis suggests that foreign recruitment can support capability, but its overall value will depend on how well it fits within Canada’s wider workforce approach.
How can Canada modernize its Arctic defence capabilities without repeating the environmental and social shortcomings of previous efforts?
Ross Manson examines how “decolonizing deterrence” is essential to countering increased Russian and Chinese influence in a region increasingly vulnerable to hybrid threats. Drawing on the legacy of the DEW
Line as a cautionary tale, this article demonstrates why Indigenous partnership and “dual use” infrastructure are strategic assets in building a resilient northern flank and what NATO allies can do to integrate human security concerns into regional sovereignty.
When “unisex” equipment is designed around male body norms, readiness is not neutral. As women’s participation in the Canadian Armed Forces grows, gendered differences in body proportions have practical consequences for mobility, endurance, and injury risk. Referencing NATO anthropometric data and Ukraine’s wartime redesign efforts, this article underscores why women-specific combat clothing fit is central to force generation and long-term sustainability.
NOAC JRF Nicholas Thein analyzes the Canadian Armed Forces’ recent pay increases, their effect on retention, and the implications for the CAF’s long-term stability amid ongoing structural challenges.
