Canadian Forces - Current Structure

Current Structure

The Canadian constitution determines that the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces is the country's Sovereign, who, since 1904, has authorized his or her viceroy, the governor general, to exercise the duties ascribed to the post of Commander-in-Chief and to hold the associated title since 1905. All troop deployment and disposition orders, including declarations of war, fall within the royal prerogative and are issued as Orders in Council, which must be signed by either the monarch or governor general. Under the Westminster system's parliamentary customs and practices, however, the monarch and viceroy must generally follow the advice of his or her ministers in Cabinet, including the prime minister and Minister of National Defence.

The forces' 100,000 personnel are divided into a hierarchy of numerous ranks of commissioned and non-commissioned officers, and other non-commissioned positions. The governor general appoints, on the advice of the prime minister, a Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) as the highest ranking commissioned officer in the forces and who, as head of the Armed Forces Council, is in command of the Canadian Forces. The Armed Forces Council generally operates from National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) in Ottawa, Ontario. On the Armed Forces Council sit the heads of the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force, who collectively oversee the operational commands of the Canadian Forces – the Canadian Joint Operations Command and the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. The sovereign and most other members of the Canadian Royal Family also act as colonels-in-chief, honorary air commodores, air commodores-in-chief, admirals, and captains-general of Canadian Forces regiments, though these positions are ceremonial.

Canada's forces operate out of 27 branch-specific Canadian Forces bases (CFB) across the country, as well as six shared bases, including the NDHQ; this number has been gradually reduced since the 1970s with bases either being closed or merged in the interest of efficiency. Officer cadets are educated and trained at two CF collegiate institutions, the Royal Military College of Canada and the Royal Military College Saint-Jean. Naval cadets undergo basic training and ship handling training at the Naval Officers Training Centre at CFB Esquimalt near Victoria, B.C. Officers may also be commissioned on enrolment with a degree from a civilian university. In some cases, officers may also be commissioned from the senior non-commissioned ranks. Basic military training for non-commissioned members is provided at a variety of locations.