The Canadian Forces (CF) are the unified armed forces of Canada, governed by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."

The Canadian Forces was formed on February 1, 1968, when the Government of Canada merged the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force into a unified structure.

By the Canadian Constitution, the Command-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces is vested in Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. Since 1904 the monarch has allowed the viceroy to exercise the duties ascribed to that post, and since 1905 to hold the title Commander-in-Chief.

Declarations of war fall within the Royal Prerogative and are issued as Orders-in-Council, which must be signed by either the Canadian monarch or Governor General. Under the Westminster system's parliamentary custom and practice, the monarch or viceroy must generally follow the advice of the Cabinet (Council), which includes the Minister of National Defence (MND), and is chaired by the Prime Minister of Canada, who holds de facto decision-making ability over the deployment and disposition of the Canadian Forces.

Below the Crown, the military head of the Canadian Forces is the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the highest ranking military officer in the nation, who commands the CF from National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) in Ottawa, Ontario.

The environmental commands of the Canadian Forces, in order of precedence, are:

1. Maritime Command (MARCOM), or the Navy;
2. Land Force Command (LFC) or the Army;
3. Air Command (AIRCOM), or the Air Force.

The operational commands of the Canadian Forces are:

• Canada Command (CANCOM), responsible for all operations within Canada;
• Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM), responsible for operations outside of Canada;
• Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), responsible for special forces operations within Canada and abroad.
• Canadian Operational Support Command (CANOSCOM)

The sovereign and a number of other members of the Canadian Royal Family act as Colonels-in-Chief of Canadian Forces regiments, though these positions are ceremonial.

Air Command (AIRCOM)

Canada's air force is deployed at 13 bases across Canada under the overall direction of 1 Canadian Air Division and constitutes the Canadian NORAD Region. Major air bases are located in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador while administrative and command-control facilities are located in Winnipeg and North Bay. A Canadian component of the NATO Airborne Early Warning Force is based in Geilenkirchen, Germany. Wings vary in size from several hundred personnel to several thousand.

Land Force Command (LFC)

The Canadian Army is administered through four geographically determined formations called 'areas':

• LF Atlantic Area (LFAA) based in Halifax
• LF Quebec Area (LFQA) based in Montreal
• LF Central Area (LFCA) based in Toronto
• LF Western Area (LFWA) based in Edmonton.

Today, the Regular Force component of the Land Force Command (army) consists of three field-ready brigade groups, with elements of a fourth located at CFB Gagetown:

• 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group - CFB Edmonton and CFB Shilo
• 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group - CFB Petawawa and CFB Gagetown
• 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group - CFB Valcartier and Quebec City

Each brigade group contains one regiment each of artillery, armour, and combat engineers and three battalions of infantry (all scaled in the British fashion), as well as a service battalion (logistics), a headquarters/signals squadron, and several minor organizations. A tactical helicopter squadron and a field ambulance are co-located with each brigade but not part of the brigade's command structure.

Each land force area has, in addition to Regular Force troops, reserve forces organized in a total of ten reserve brigade groups. Each area has three, with the exception of LFNA which has none and LFAA and LFQA which each have only two.

Major training establishments and non-brigaded troops exist at CFB Wainwright, CFB Gagetown and ASU St-Jean (now attached to CFB Montreal.) Each area also has an area training centre.

CFB Wainwright is home to the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre and provides state-of-the-art force-on-force training in preparation for overseas deployments.

Maritime Command (MARCOM)

Canada's naval forces include 33 warships and submarines and many more auxiliary vessels. The ships are deployed in two fleets, Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) at CFB Esquimalt on the west coast, and Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) at CFB Halifax on the east coast. There is no permanent naval presence on the Arctic coast at this time.

MARCOM participates in NATO exercises, and ships are deployed all over the world in support of the Canadian military and in conjunction with multinational deployments.

Canada Command (CANCOM)

Canada Command is an operational element created January 31, 2006, to improve response time to domestic terrorism and natural disasters. It is responsible for the management of the army, navy, and air force to ensure national security, both in emergency and routine situations. Canada Command is analogous to and works closely with the United States Northern Command as well as the United States Department of Homeland Security.

The Commander of Canada Command is currently Lieutenant-General M.J. Dumais. He reports directly to the Chief of Defence Staff.

CANCOM directs operations at home through six regional Joint Task Forces, with Joint Task Force North responsible for activities previously carried out by Canadian Forces North Area.

Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM)

Under a transformed CF structure, the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM) is responsible for the planning, and conduct of all Canadian Forces (CF) international operations, with the exception of operations conducted solely by the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM).

CEFCOM brings together, under one operational command, maritime, land, air and special operations forces assets to conduct humanitarian, peace support or combat operations wherever they are required internationally.

The creation of CEFCOM is based on the new international security environment. Understanding that security in Canada ultimately begins with stability abroad, CEFCOM allows the CF to specifically meet and manage threats to Canadian security as far away from Canada as possible.

Headquartered in Ottawa, CEFCOM is also responsible for setting standards to ensure units and personnel selected for deployment are fully qualified and ready to conduct overseas duties.

Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM)

This command is responsible for special forces units. It includes Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2), the newly-formed Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR), the Joint Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence (JNBCD) Company, and a special operations aviation unit based on 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (SOAS) at CFB Petawawa.

Canadian Forces Reserve Force

The CF reserve force has four components:

• the Primary Reserve,
• the Supplementary Reserve,
• the Canadian Rangers,
• and the Cadet Instructors Cadre.

The reserve force is represented, though not commanded, at NDHQ by the Chief of Reserves and Cadets, usually a Major General or Rear Admiral.

Canadian Forces Bases

The Canadian Forces have a number of active installations across the country with some being branch-specific. There are also a number of facilities which have closed in various defence cutbacks since the 1970s.

Air Force

• CFB Bagotville (3 Wing), Quebec
• CFB Comox (19 Wing), British Columbia
• CFB Cold Lake (4 Wing), Alberta
• CFB Gander (9 Wing), Newfoundland and Labrador
• CFB Goose Bay (5 Wing), Newfoundland and Labrador
• CFB Greenwood (14 Wing), Nova Scotia
• CFB Moose Jaw (15 Wing), Saskatchewan
• CFB North Bay (22 Wing), Ontario
• Patricia Bay (Victoria International Airport), British Columbia
• CFB Shearwater (12 Wing), Nova Scotia
• CFB Trenton (8 Wing), Ontario (6 aircraft stationed in Ottawa)
• CFB Winnipeg (17 Wing), Manitoba

Air Command and CF Northern Area also maintain a chain of Forward Operating Locations at various points across northern Canada, capable of supporting fighter operations. Elements of CF-18 squadrons periodically deploy to these FOLs for short training exercises or Arctic sovereignty patrols.

Army

• CFB Edmonton, Alberta
• CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick
• CFB Kingston, Ontario
• CFB Montreal, Quebec
• CFB Petawawa, Ontario
• CFB Shilo, Manitoba
• CFB Suffield, Alberta
• CFB Valcartier, Quebec
• CFB Wainwright, Alberta
• CRPTC Connaught, Ontario
• LFCATC Meaford, Ontario
• LFAATC Aldershot, Nova Scotia

Navy

• CFB Esquimalt, British Columbia
• CFB Halifax, Nova Scotia
• CFS St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
• CFMETR, Nanoose Bay, British Columbia
• NRS Aldergrove, British Columbia
• CFS Mill Cove, Nova Scotia
• NRS Newport Corner, Nova Scotia

Joint Services

• NDHQ Ottawa, Ontario
• CFS Alert, Nunavut
• CFS Leitrim, Ontario
• CFSOC Det. Masset, Masset, British Columbia
• CFSOC Det. Gander, Gander, Newfouldland and Labrador
• CFB Borden, Ontario
• CFNA HQ Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
• CFNA HQ Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
• CRPTC Connaught Range, Ontario
• LFAATC Aldershot , Nova Scotia