Canada Army

The Canadian Army serves as the land component of the Canadian Armed Forces, with its national headquarters located at NDHQ Carling in Ottawa. Command is organized geographically across four regional formations: 2nd Canadian Division in Quebec, 3rd Canadian Division in Western Canada, 4th Canadian Division in Ontario, and 5th Canadian Division in Atlantic Canada. Individual and unit training is directed by the Canadian Army Doctrine and Training Centre. Regular combat forces are organized into three mechanized brigade groups: 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, and 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. Main garrisons are located at Canadian Forces Bases in Petawawa, Valcartier, Edmonton, Gagetown, and Shilo. Primary Reserve brigade groups are located in population centers across all ten provinces.

Land combat arms include armor, mechanized infantry, field artillery, air defense, and combat engineering. Armored regiments operate Leopard 2 main battle tanks, including 2A4 and 2A6M variants. Mechanized infantry formations are equipped with the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV 6.0) family, supplemented by Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles and Armoured Combat Support Vehicles. Field artillery units field M777 towed howitzers and C3 light howitzers. Air defense and anti-armor capability includes short-range Saab RBS 70 NG surface-to-air missiles and Spike LR2 anti-tank guided missiles. Tactical aviation support is furnished by Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons operating CH-146 Griffon and CH-147F Chinook helicopters assigned to ground force maneuvers.

Primary operational tasks include domestic disaster relief, Arctic sovereignty patrols, and expeditionary NATO deployments. Overseas force contributions are concentrated in Eastern Europe under Operation REASSURANCE, where Canada serves as the framework nation commanding the NATO Multinational Brigade Latvia at Adazi Military Base. Operational experience includes previous counter-insurgency and coalition combat operations in Afghanistan, as well as historic peacekeeping missions.

Force modernization focuses on acquiring long-range precision strike assets, ground-based air defense, updated infantry weapons, and renewed transport fleets. Land-based long-range fires capability is being established through the procurement of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers. Air defense modernization centers on establishing permanent ground-based air defense assets based at Base Gagetown. Infantry small arms are being replaced under the Canadian Modular Assault Rifle program to replace legacy C7 rifles and C8 carbines. Fleet transport capability is being upgraded through the Logistics Vehicle Modernization project, incorporating Mercedes-Benz Zetros trucks alongside Armoured Combat Support Vehicle variants.