Canada First Defence Strategy
Encyclopedia
The Canada First Defence Strategy (CFDS) is the military recruitment
Military recruitment
Military recruitment is the act of requesting people, usually male adults, to join a military voluntarily. Involuntary military recruitment is known as conscription. Many countries that have abolished conscription use military recruiters to persuade people to join, often at an early age. To...
and improvement strategy of the Canadian government to improve the overall effectiveness of the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted 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 strategy aims to enforce Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
sovereignty with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
and the Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
.
Purpose
The purpose of the Canada First Defence Strategy is to give Canada a modern military with clearly defined missions and capabilities. The strategy focuses on many key military functions and operations and on improving the equipment and fleets that the Canadian Forces operates.Missions
The Canada First Defence Strategy is working on six core missions as level of ambition for the Canadian Forces. According to the strategy the forces must be able to support all of the following operations and if necessary, support them all simultaneously.- Conduct daily domestic and continental operations, including in the Arctic and through NORAD.
- Support a major international event in Canada, such as the 2010 Winter Olympics2010 Winter OlympicsThe 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
. - Respond to a major terrorist attack.
- Support civilian authorities during a crisis in Canada such as a natural disaster.
- Lead and/or conduct a major international operation for an extended period.
- Deploy forces in response to crises elsewhere in the world for shorter periods.
Personnel
The Canada First Defence Strategy is also working to increase the number of personnel in the Canadian Forces in order to improve the military's operational effectiveness. The Canadian Forces currently has approximately 65,000 active personnel and 26,000 reserve personnel. However, the CFDS plans to increase personnel levels to 70,000 active and 30,000 reserve sometime in the next 20 years, with an increase to 67,000 active personnel by 2009/2010, 68,000 by 2011/2012 and 69,300 by 2014/2015. The reserves should reach 27,000 by 2011/2012 and 28,000 by 2014/2015.Equipment improvement and replacement
The CFDS provides a plan to invest $15 billion in the next few years on the improvement and replacement of Canadian Forces' major fleets and equipment, to include:- C-17 Globemaster aircraft
- C-130J Hercules aircraft
- Arctic Patrol Ships
- CH-47F ChinookCH-47 ChinookThe Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
helicopters - Trucks
- Joint Support Ships
Another $20 billion has been committed for equipment replacement and improvement in the future, to include:
- fixed wing search and rescue aircraft
- destroyers and frigates
- maritime patrol aircraft
- 65 new next generation fighter aircraftFighter aircraftA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
to replace the CF-18 HornetCF-18 HornetThe McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet is a Royal Canadian Air Force fighter aircraft, based on the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New Fighter Aircraft competition, and a production order was awarded...
s as the primary fighter - land combat vehicles and systems
Funding
The Canada First Defence Strategy is also primarily focused on the funding for the Canadian Forces, and the strategy outlines plans to increase funding for the Canadian Forces from $18 billion in 2007-2008 to over $30 billion in 2027-2028. The overall funding and investments in the forces will amount to $490 billion over the 20 year period of the strategy.See also
- Canadian ForcesCanadian ForcesThe Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted 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."...
- Joint Support Ship ProjectJoint Support Ship ProjectThe Joint Support Ship Project is a project undertaken by the Canadian Forces to provide Canada with three multirole naval vessels. The Joint Support Ship will enable a Naval Task Group to remain at sea for up to six times longer than is currently possible...
- Arctic Patrol Ship
- Department of National DefenceDepartment of National Defence (Canada)The Department of National Defence , frequently referred to by its acronym DND, is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for all matters concerning the defence of Canada...