Operations

Description

Detect, deter and defend against threats to or attacks on Canada. Assist civil authorities and law enforcement, including counter-terrorism, in support of national security, domestic disasters or major emergencies, and conduct Search and Rescue (SAR) operations.

Detect, deter and defend against threats to or attacks on North America in partnership with the United States, including through North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD).

Lead and/or contribute forces to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and coalition efforts to deter and defeat adversaries, including terrorists, to support global stability. Lead and/or contribute to international peace operations and stabilization missions with the United Nations, NATO and other multilateral partners. Engage in capacity building to support the security of other nations and their ability to contribute to security and the security of Canadians abroad while adhering to Canadian standards on Human Rights and the Law of Armed Conflict. Assist civil authorities and non-governmental partners in responding to international and domestic disasters or major emergencies.

Planning highlights

To achieve Canada’s defence objectives, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) must be able to undertake its eight core missions, as set out in Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada’s Defence Policy, to ensure that Canada remains Strong at home, Secure in North America and Engaged in the world.

The CAF will respond to domestic, continental, and international threats, and anticipate, adapt, and posture for concurrent operations, in support of Government of Canada objectives. This includes defence and security elements of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, which includes opportunities to increase CAF presence, collect and share intelligence, and deepen defence partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.

The CAF balances risk between the demands of force employment and force generation. Since 2020, there continues to be significant increase in pressure to support contingency domestic operations, respond to requests for assistance from civil authorities and non-governmental partners, and address the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on the workforce. This has stressed CAF capabilities and creates challenges in managing the demands of force employment and force generation.

In fiscal year (FY) 2023-24, the CAF will examine opportunities for defence activities to be consolidated, divested or paused to generate capacity savings and reduce staffing pressures.

The CAF will leverage operational experience to learn from every action and mission to improve and inform force generation and development, while maintaining oversight on the day-to-day management of operations. The Defence Team will identify clear desired effects, objectives, and performance metrics to inform operational assessments that will allow the CAF to measure success, and will identify and make the necessary adjustments, as required, in a timely manner. In addition to increased efforts to synchronize and optimize our efforts on a regional scale, the attention paid to ongoing and emerging missions will remain steadfast while achieving economies of effort.

The Department of National Defence (DND)/CAF will enhance its abilities to collect, analyze, and share intelligence in order to detect, recognize, and understand threats in all domains and position ourselves to address a constantly evolving threat environment. DND/CAF will develop and expand its intelligence networks abroad to ensure rapid and timely collection, processing, and exchange of information.

Canada and its allies face increasingly dangerous competition from malign and hostile rival powers. Governed by autocratic leaders, these powers aspire to redefine the existing international rules-based order and undermine core Canadian and allied interests, specifically to security, prosperity, democratic institutions and political independence. To address these challenges, DND/CAF will continue to enhance operations across all domains and will further define the CAF’s functional approach to compete with, contest, confront, and, when necessary, combat our nation’s adversaries.

Defence will assume an assertive posture in the cyber domain to ensure our ability to defend, as well as improve the capability to conduct offensive cyber operations against potential adversaries in the context of government-authorized military missions. DND/CAF will:

• Continue, with the Communications Security Establishment, the unified development of offensive cyber operations capabilities on behalf of the Government of Canada. Under a unified leadership and management structure, highly skilled cyber operators will work together to assume a more assertive posture in the cyber domain by conducting and supporting joint cyber operations;
• Advance capabilities, capacity and expertise to support deployed operations in a contested cyber environment;
• Maintain the stability, integrity, and availability of Information Management/Information Technology capabilities that support critical services and operations within the department; and
• Work with Government of Canada partners to ensure Information Management/Information Technology solutions are secure, resilient, and recoverable from incidents in a timely manner so as not to impact the operations of the department. 

Planned Costs for Major Canadian Armed Forces Operations  and information on current CAF operations and exercises  are available on the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces website.

Gender-based analysis plus

All Defence Team mission activities will continue to incorporate the principles of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda and Gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) by considering and applying gender perspectives throughout all phases of operations. Integrating intersectional gender perspectives into the planning and conduct of operations increases our understanding of the effects of operations on vulnerable groups, improves situational and cultural awareness, and ensures we are cognizant of the gender considerations that support mission success. More specifically, GBA Plus considerations will continue to be incorporated into the planning process for all engagements to inform the development of objectives, criteria and scope. GBA Plus considerations will be particularly important in conducting training for Operation UNIFIER and building infrastructure in Latvia for Operation REASSURANCE.

The CAF will continue to manage and monitor the appointment of trained, qualified and mentored Gender Focal Point (GFP) personnel across command functions and units. The Canadian Special Operations Forces Command will continue to hold virtual meetings with Gender Advisors/GFPs on a quarterly basis to discuss how GBA Plus issues are applied to distinct operational contexts and environments. While a specialized information technology module is being continuously updated for optimal support to the WPS Agenda, supplemental data collection on deployed operations is carried out concurrently using other existing information systems to properly advise the chain of command and improve gender and diversity focus at various levels.

The Defence Team continues to advance its implementation of the global WPS Agenda through Canada’s National Action Plan on WPS. The Defence Team will launch its new Implementation Plan as part of Canada’s launch of its third Canada’s National Action Plan on WPS in FY 2023-24. The Defence Team’s Implementation Plan will focus on advancing the WPS Agenda through its domestic engagements, engagements abroad, and internal institutional strengthening.

In relation to policy support for operations, the Defence Team recognizes that diversity of representation in peacekeeping improves overall performance; provides for greater access to communities; helps in promoting human rights and the protection of civilians; and encourages equality-seeking groups to become a meaningful part of peace and political processes. Canada, and the Defence Team, specifically, supports the United Nations in its efforts to increase women’s meaningful participation in uniformed roles in peace support operations, through both the Elsie Initiative and our own deployments. 

The Defence Team will continue to expand and refine the network of full-time Gender Advisors/GFPs to support the use and application of GBA Plus in the decision-making, planning, and conduct of operations and further incorporate intersectional gender analysis into pre-deployment training for CAF personnel and DND employees, as well as into training offered to partners and allies. In addition, job-specific training will continue to be developed and updated to enhance the ability and capacity of planners and operators. These efforts will be further solidified through the development of the GBA Plus Enterprise Approach, a department-wide strategy focused on enhancing the full integration of GBA findings across all decision-making, governance structures, capacity building, and oversight.

More information on GBA Plus can be found in the “GBA Plus Supplementary Information Table” in Supplementary information tables section of this report.

Innovation

NORAD will continue its rapid development effort in support of its domain awareness, information dominance, decision superiority, and global integration strategic priorities. NORAD and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) has transferred the development responsibility for the Cloud-Based Command and Control capability to the United States Air Force Rapid Capability Office, allowing the Pathfinder Team to re-focus on new digital innovation objectives aimed at enhancing the Command’s ability to understand and communicate threats in a timely manner. NORAD will also, in coordination with the United States Chief Digital Artificial and Intelligence Office and USNORTHCOM, continue to support the Global Information Dominance Experiment in order to advance the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in support of decision-making.

DND/CAF will continue its experimentation efforts to improve operations through three key initiatives. Firstly, the Agile Pan-Domain Command and Control Experimentation Endeavour will support the CAF in all physical regions (land, air, space, etc.) through advanced technology and will enhance the CAF’s ability to transform and adapt widespread information sharing and collaboration, ensuring commanders have all the information they need to adjust the operating environment. Secondly, the annual NATO-led Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXperiment will explore methods of improving information-sharing capabilities and command and control functions between allies, and select non-NATO entities. This will assist with developing concepts, organizational designs, and doctrine for assigned joint challenges and will continue in FY 2023-24. Lastly, DND/CAF will develop the Master Implementation Plan to continue the institutionalizing of the newly established CAF Joint Operations Fusion Lab located at the Canadian Joint Warfare Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, in order to improve synchronization of Joint capability development efforts and set the conditions for a test bed for the National Defence Operations and Intelligence Center development. Resource and funding requirements will be identified by FY 2023-24. The Joint Operations Fusion Lab is a venue for experimentation and evaluation that also serves as an innovation test bed for new ideas and technology focusing on:

• Command and control;
• Targeting;
• Intelligence;
• Surveillance and reconnaissance;
• Data and networks; and
• Emerging concepts. 

Additional defence-related experimentation activities are outlined in this report under Core Responsibility – Future Force Design.

Key Risks

There are many risks associated with the Operations Core Responsibility. One of the Key Risks is articulated below:

Cyber Intrusion – There is a risk of serious harm (e.g. loss of sensitive data, disruption to the network, physical electronic damage, loss of confidence in institution/reputation, etc.) resulting from a cyber intrusion.

The risks above can affect the department’s ability to achieve the Departmental Results of the Operations Core Responsibility.

As the Defence Departmental Results Framework reflects a chain of delivery from conceiving of the required armed forces, to developing them and then executing operations, the activities to mitigate the risks to Operations can also be found in other Core Responsibilities which deliver building blocks that enable the results of Operations.

Departmental Result 1.1 – Canadians are protected against threats to and attacks on Canada

The CAF, in cooperation with NORAD and USNORTHCOM, will continue to detect, deter and defend against threats to Canada and North America.

The CAF will continue to build on Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capabilities to improve detection activities, along with other national initiatives, to detect threats to Canada.

Further, DND/CAF will protect Canadians from threats by:

• Responding to Requests for Assistance (RFAs) on an as-needed basis and only at the request of the provincial authority through the Minister of Public Safety. Of note, the CAF must remain the force of last resort to respond to these emergencies by anticipating increasingly frequent provincial and territorial requests for disaster response assistance (Operation LENTUS ). Further, in general, requests for assistance have greatly increased in the past decade and are anticipated to continue increasing. These challenges may aggravate the personnel shortfalls that have resulted in CAF reconstitution directives;
• Conducting Operation LIMPID to detect threats to Canada through routine watch over Canada’s air, maritime, land, and aerospace domains and maintaining a physical presence in some areas;
• Strengthening collaboration with, and support for, other governmental departments and agencies in order to maintain a cooperative National Security community by increasing and improving communication and coordination efforts, primarily through personnel exchanges and continuous communication;

• Conducting operational-level engagement with other government departments and agencies in order to enhance interoperability and mutual support as outlined in the Federal Emergency Response Plan and in support of CAF operations. Liaison officers are co-located at the Government Operations Centre and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police;
• Working with other Canadian authorities and agencies in support of Law Enforcement and National Security. Ongoing operations include support for Parks Canada for avalanche control (Operation PALACI); and

As noted above, DND/CAF continues to develop capabilities and capacity for conducting offensive cyber operations to detect, deter and defend against threats to Canada, in support of CAF operations. In FY 2023-24, a CAF Offensive Cyber Operations Concept of Operations will be developed as well as operational concepts for integrating offensive cyber operations capabilities into deployed CAF forces. 

DND/CAF continue to work with Government of Canada colleagues mandated to provide cyber security across the government, ensuring the combined cyber capabilities are aligned. The department is enhancing its ability to defend DND systems and networks through the strengthening of relationships with key Government of Canada stakeholders such as the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security.

DND/CAF and the Communications Security Establishment are working together to conduct and support joint cyber operations against adversaries who wish to threaten Canada’s national interests. 

Under the Cyber Mission Assurance Program, the department is working to integrate cyber resiliency in all aspects of Defence, including people, processes and technology. The Defence Team will ensure that cyber operations are grounded in policy and supporting doctrine. In FY 2023-24, the Defence Team will:

• Ensure alignment of Defensive Cyber Operations with those closest partners and allies, such as the Five Eyes and NATO policies, doctrine, frameworks and standards; and
• Develop concepts to underpin intelligence support to Cyber Mission Assurance, Defensive Cyber Operations, and Offensive Cyber Operations.

These ongoing efforts reinforce the primacy of governance and policy instruments and support freedom of maneuver in cyberspace within domestic law and international norms and laws.

Canadian Special Operations Forces Command will remain postured to identify, confront, and defeat threats to Canadians and Canadian interests at home and abroad through its ability to integrate special operations forces effects, working across the inter-agency domain and through strengthened collaboration with whole-of government partners. This includes crisis response with high-readiness forces.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results	2021–22 Actual results
1.1 Canadians are protected against threats to and attacks on Canada	% of requests for assistance that are fulfilled	100%	31 March 2024	100%	100%	100%
	% of force elements that are deployed within established timelines	100%	31 March 2024	100%	100%	100% *
	% of stated objectives met by domestic operations	100%	31 March 2024	98%	95%	95%**
	Extent to which the Canadian Armed Forces is effective in domestic operations	The Canadian Armed Forces is effective in the conduct of domestic operations	31 March 2024	This is a qualitative indicator	This is a qualitative indicator	This is a qualitative indicator***

Notes:

* CAF support was provided in a timely manner to respond to all tasked RFAs. Of note, the manner in which Requests for Assistance are developed with whole of government partners ensures that the timeline requested is attainable by CAF elements.

** The CAF conducts several operations that contribute to the security of Canada; Operations LENTUS, VECTOR, LASER, LIMPID are some of the operations that support this effort. The score has been adjusted by 5 percent to account for planning and execution frictions that cannot be captured in assessment plan and associated reports. Capability requirements, resources and interoperability continue to require refinement from all parties involved.

*** The CAF is satisfying 100 percent of the RFAs submitted by Public Safety Canada. The CAF provided support to civilian organizations in response to a range of crises, including: natural disasters and COVID-19 response. All operations were handled effectively. Capability enhancement initiatives, such as the All Domain Situational Awareness Science and Technology Program, seek to resolve challenges in the Arctic due to existing communication and Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance deficiencies impacting interoperability with partners and other governmental departments.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Departmental Result 1.2 – People in distress receive effective search and rescue response

SAR is a shared responsibility. Many partners are involved because of the country’s immense size, range of terrain and weather. The list of partners is made up of government, military, volunteer and industry groups. They all work together to provide SAR services across the nation. This is known as the National Search and Rescue Program.

The CAF remains focused on its primary responsibilities of providing aeronautical SAR and coordinating the aeronautical and maritime SAR system. CAF SAR crews are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Searches for missing persons, including ground SAR, are a provincial and territorial responsibility, often delegated to the police service with jurisdiction. The respective provincial, territorial, or municipal authorities are responsible for requesting CAF assistance when required. The CAF, which includes Canadian Rangers and Primary Reserve members, will assist in ground SAR efforts when authorized.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results	2021–22 Actual results
1.2 People in distress receive effective search and rescue response	% of coordinated maritime, aeronautical and joint response to search and rescue incidents deemed effective	100%	31 March 2024	100%	100%	100%*
	% of requests for Canadian Armed Forces aeronautical search and rescue assistance that are fulfilled	100%	31 March 2024	100%	100%	100%**
	% of Canadian Armed Forces aeronautical search and rescue operations that meet established standards	100%	31 March 2024	85%	91%	91%***

Notes:

* In FY 2021–22, there were 9 350 SAR incidents (cases), with 1826 cases having a final classification of 1 (Distress) or 2 (Imminent Distress). All Joint Rescue Coordination Centre SAR cases were handled effectively and delivered through to conclusion or handed over to an appropriate agency. (Statistics in validation phase.)

** The 9350 cases generated 611 SAR taskings for the CAF air assets. All 611 aeronautical SAR taskings were fulfilled and the missions were completed.

*** Of the 611 times tasked, the CAF met their response timeline in 554 cases; therefore, 91 percent of the time. There are many circumstances that determine how a tasked SAR unit responds and therefore whether the response time can be met. Inclement weather and time to load additional fuel for long, extended missions are the main causes of delays. SAR mission coordinators used every tool at their disposal to ensure all responses to SAR incidents in Canada are effectively conducted and/or coordinated to conclusion, or to handover to an appropriate agency.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Departmental Result 1.3 – Canada’s Arctic sovereignty is preserved and safeguarded

The CAF maintains a year-round presence in Canada’s North and routinely conducts training and operations in the region. In support of this, the activities conducted as part of Operation NANOOK  and Operation LIMPID  will enhance Canadian presence and ensure the defence, security, and safety of Canada’s Arctic and northern regions.

The Arctic, which has long been a priority for Canada, is becoming increasingly accessible as a result of climate change and technological advances. This has increased the region’s strategic importance, as a greater number of non-traditional Arctic countries, including competitors view the North as attractive and profitable. Thus, the importance for the CAF to exert presence and operate effectively in the Arctic is increasing, in order to contribute to Canadian sovereignty in the North.

Climate change will continue impacting the CAF’s ability to detect, deter, and degrade threats to Canadians and Canadian interests in the future, increasing the need for additional resources in the Arctic. Further, procurement delays and the inherent challenges of procurement and construction in Canada’s North are likely to result in surveillance capability gaps and the need for interim capability.

The CAF will continue enhancing and expanding the Defence northern footprint, while increasing capabilities in surveillance, mobility and training in Canada’s North, in order to enhance the CAF’s ability to operate in the Arctic and adapt to a changed security environment. Arctic communities are the most present and most enduring expression of Canada’s sovereignty; therefore, early, ongoing, and meaningful engagement or consultation with Northern provincial, territorial and Indigenous Governments on military activities in the Arctic is critical.

In FY 2022-23, plans include:

• Advancing interoperability, situational awareness and information-sharing initiatives through continuing collaboration with allies and partners in NORAD, USNORTHCOM, NATO engagements, the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable, the Arctic Security Working Group. and the Arctic Capabilities Advisory Working Group;
• As part of the Defence and Security Science and Technology program, Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) will continue to invest in technologies which improve situational awareness in the Arctic and enable DND/CAF Arctic operations. This includes research and development of technologies such as over-the-horizon radar, satellite remote sensing, and experimental ship- and aircraft-based systems;
• The Defence Team will remain an effective capability-building partner by helping other government departments and agencies, as well as territorial and Indigenous governments, to fulfill their mandates when authorized. The Defence Team will continue to increase its familiarity with and situational awareness of Arctic activities and carry out successful CAF operations in harsh operating environments, including through Operation LIMPID;  Operation NANOOK  and Operation NEVUS; and
• Efforts will continue to be made to consult and work with Northern Indigenous communities when opportunities for contracting, procurement or socio-economic support exist.

The CAF anticipates that climate change will increasingly impact the safety, security, and livelihoods of northerners, threaten critical defence infrastructure, and bring added demands to support domestic emergency response and search and rescue operations.

The Arctic region is of great strategic importance for continental defence. Increasing the CAF’s presence in the Arctic, improving Arctic surveillance, and strengthening rapid response capabilities will be critical to providing credible deterrence to new and emerging threats. To bolster the CAF’s capabilities in the Arctic, Canada will modernize its NORAD capabilities. This plan includes significant investments in the CAF’s ability to support NORAD operations in the North and Arctic.

These investments represent an opportunity to deliver on the commitments set out in the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework, including by creating benefits for Indigenous and Northern partners where possible, advancing reconciliation, and strengthening community resilience while enhancing the defence of Canada.

The Canadian Army will cycle forces through a series of exercises in the Arctic to build, broaden, and sustain expertise in operations in Canada’s northern latitudes. Underpinning this will be individual training, including the Arctic Operations course, which prepares CAF personnel to operate in the region from a cultural, climate, and geographic perspective. Allies and partners will be afforded opportunities to develop their own skills in the Arctic by sending personnel to select Canadian training opportunities. Much of this training will take place at the CAF Arctic Training Centre in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, which is managed by the Canadian Army.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results	2021–22 Actual results
1.3 Canada’s Arctic sovereignty is preserved and safeguarded	% of stated objectives met by Arctic operations and exercises	100%	31 March 2024	100%	95%	95%*

Notes:

* The CAF conducts several operations that contribute to the security of Canada: operations LENTUS, VECTOR, LASER, LIMPID, NANOOK, NEVUS, and BOXTOP. All operations achieved their stated objectives as written in their respective operational orders. The score has been adjusted by 5 percent to account for planning and execution frictions that cannot be captured in assessment plan and associated reports. Capability requirements, resources and interoperability continue to require refinement from all parties involved.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Departmental Result 1.4 – North America is defended against threats and attacks

To ensure that North America is defended against threats and attacks, the CAF will position itself to employ conventional and special operations capabilities and collaborate with allies, regional partners and other Canadian government departments and agencies to deter, detect, confront and defeat pan-regional threats from nation states and violent extremist organizations. 

Operation CARIBBE:  The CAF will continue supporting the United States-led efforts to counter the flow of illegal narcotics into North America and will interdict drug trafficking activities in the Caribbean and Central America. The CAF will continue contributing Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel deployments to work in co-operation with allies to counter transnational criminal organizations operating in the region.

DND/CAF will execute maritime warning, aerospace warning, and aerospace control missions in accordance with the NORAD Agreement  and NORAD Terms of Reference.  Maritime and aerospace warning and aerospace control missions involve the monitoring of aerospace and maritime activity from a continental perspective. These missions also involve maintaining awareness, when authorized, in the land, space, cyber, and information domains in order to detect and characterize threats against Canada or the United States and to ensure that Canada is prepared appropriately to respond to threats.

NORAD seeks to adjust to the rapidly shifting global security environment and deter aggression by pursuing and employing a capable defence based on global integration, all-domain awareness, information dominance, and decision superiority. NORAD will leverage a wide array of capabilities, authorities, and activities to defend North America using resources that:

• Existing resources within NORAD;
• Investments announced in FY 2022-23; and
• Where necessary, additional resources sought through prioritized budget and planning cycles.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results	2021–22 Actual results
1.4 North America is defended against threats and attacks	% of stated objectives met by continental operations	100%	31 March 2024	100%	95%	92%*
	% of Canada’s commitments and obligations to the North American Aerospace Defence Command agreement that are met	100%	31 March 2024	100%	100%	100%**
	Extent to which the Canadian Armed Forces is effective in continental operations	The Canadian Armed Forces is effective in the conduct of continental operations	31 March 2024	This is a qualitative indicator	This is a qualitative indicator	This is a qualitative indicator***

Notes:

* North America is defended against threats to and attacks on the continent (from a CAF perspective) through participation in NORAD and through Operation CARIBBE. Ten of 11 NORAD operations were executed and achieved objectives. The one not executed was an exercise that could not occur due to a lack of available aircraft. Operation CARIBBE achieved all operational objectives.

** The CAF’s ability to meet its NORAD commitments is determined by examining a number of factors, including: personnel assigned to the NORAD mission, and the Canadian NORAD Regions ability to maintain an appropriate readiness level. NORAD continued to work on developing data-centric performance metrics.

*** Overall the CAF is effective in its execution of continental operations. Resource and modernization challenges persist, and further planning and coordination remain a primary focus of CAF in support of NORAD.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Departmental Result 1.5 – Canadian Armed Forces contribute to a more stable and peaceful world

A capable and persistent defence at home is a prerequisite to projecting power to a globally integrated, forward fight presence ensuring a more stable and peaceful world. NORAD’s role in the global framework includes its ability to deter in competition, de-escalate in crisis, and, if required, deny and defeat in the defence of North America. 

This requires global integration (through operations, exercises, activities, and investments and messaging), all-domain awareness, information dominance and decision superiority. These strategic principals were reaffirmed in the Canada-United States Joint Statement on NORAD Modernization, and subsequently through the investments in NORAD modernization over the next 20 years, announced by the Government of Canada in June 2022.

DND/CAF will continue fostering a more stable and peaceful world together with Canada’s allies by continuing to develop the defence and security capabilities of partner forces, responding to natural disasters and humanitarian crises, operating in maritime environments, deterring aggression, and contributing to peace support operations and peacekeeping in support of regional stability. In FY 2023-24, DND/CAF will: 

• Improve abilities to detect, recognize, and understand operational threats: DND/CAF will continue to develop and expand intelligence networks abroad in order to ensure rapid and timely exchanges of information and intelligence with itself , allies, and partners in support of Indicators and warnings and decision-making at all levels. Also, in conjunction with NATO allies and Five Eyes partners, DND/CAF will continue to work on leveraging new and emerging technologies, such as artificial and adapted intelligence, as well as provide meaningful data in order to enable timely and effective intelligence support to decision-making. Robust intelligence partnerships and sharing arrangements with the Canadian security and intelligence community, Five Eyes partners, and NATO and trusted partners will offer an advantage against known and emerging threats at home and abroad; and
• Develop defence and security capabilities of partner forces: This has become a focal point for DND/CAF. Today, more than 70 percent of troops deployed in named operations conduct or support capacity-building activities, either in a primary role (Operations UNIFIER, IMPACT, and PROTEUS) or a secondary role (Operations REASSURANCE and PROJECTION). As capacity building of partner forces becomes an increasingly viable option to enhance the security of partners and the stability of regions, DND/CAF must evolve to ensure that it can conduct capacity building in a meaningful, flexible and timely manner while adhering to Canadian standards on Human Rights and the Law of Armed Conflict. Correctly defining the problem that needs to be solved, establishing realistic and achievable objectives, identifying a clear end state, assigning the resources and authorities required to achieve those objectives and end state, and having a willing partner force with the capacity to absorb capacity-building initiatives are the ingredients for coherent and successful capacity building operations.

In support of NATO:

• Operation REASSURANCE: Conduct assurance and deterrence measures and, if necessary, defend through NATO’s multinational enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Latvia; deploy naval assets, command, and staff in Standing NATO Maritime Groups; provide Special Operations Forces liaison and short-term episodic support; and support periodic NATO air surveillance. These measures are intended to deter and reinforce NATO’s collective defence. They also show the strength of allied solidarity. DND/CAF support for this NATO mission has increased in terms of scope, number of personnel, and infrastructure. DND/CAF is conducting training, exercises, and some NATO-specific tasks. This CAF support for NATO helps make Central and Eastern Europe more secure and stable, and enables Canada to assume a leadership role on NATO’s eastern flank;

• Operation KOBOLD: Provide logistical and headquarters support to the NATO Kosovo Force;
• Operation IMPACT: Train, advise, and assist Iraqi security forces in developing their military skills. This will enable Iraqi security forces to reduce the threat posed by Daesh, support regional security, and contribute to NATO Mission Iraq’s efforts to assist Iraq in building more sustainable, transparent, inclusive, and effective security institutions. In addition, the CAF will support the professionalization of Iraqi security forces to enable their independence from partner support, which will help Iraq achieve long-term success in keeping its territory and people secure;
• Coordinate with whole-of-government stakeholders and continue to support efforts to stand up a NATO Centre of Excellence on Climate and Security. Being a host and framework nation further demonstrates Canada’s commitment to multilateral solutions to the global security challenges that result from climate change;
• Develop strategies to prioritize, cohere, and direct Defence activities and defence policy implementation. These strategies will provide the required strategic guidance to ensure that Defence synchronizes its operations, activities, institutional support, and investments to provide the ready forces required to meet Canada’s defence needs at home and abroad; and
• Provide policy guidance to shape the CAF’s efforts to foster gender integration within the Jordanian military. A small team of female military members will be deployed to provide training to the Female Engagement Team of the Quick Reaction Force Brigade. The Female Engagement Team is the first of its kind in Jordan and is designed to carry out humanitarian missions and respond to domestic emergencies with a focus on assistance to women and children.

In support of capacity building:

• Operation ACKEE: Collaborate with Global Affairs Canada in order to mentor, enable and create opportunities for the Jamaica Defence Force to grow as a Special Operations Forces leader and more effectively combat trans-regional threats in the Caribbean Basin. Other regional partners include Belize, the Bahamas, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname. This operation will continue to include contributions to Exercise TROPICAL DAGGER;
• Operation NABERIUS: Collaborate with Global Affairs Canada in order to train, mentor, and enable Nigerien military and security forces to combat terrorism within Niger and in the region as part of pan-Sahel and pan-African efforts;
• Operation FULCRUM: Provide members of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command to work with African partner nations to promote collaboration and strengthen their ability to counter violent extremist organizations, through participation in security cooperation exercises with Allies and partner nations, such as Exercise FLINTLOCK;
• Operation MANTIS and Indo-Pacific Strategy: Continue to provide military-to-military engagements with partners in the Indo-Pacific, including with the Malaysian Armed Forces, to enable them to better operate in a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear environment, and explore additional opportunities and engagements with other regional partners; and
• Operation UNIFIER: Continue to participate in this operation, which was Launched in 2015 in response to the Government of Ukraine’s request to provide military training, professionalization, and capacity building in support of the security forces of Ukraine and in defence of Ukrainian sovereignty, freedom, and independence. In 2022, in response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Operation UNIFIER was relocated and will continue its vital training mission until March 2025.

The CAF will continue participating in a separate peacekeeping mission:

• Operation CALUMET: Continue to participate in the Multinational Force and Observers, an independent peacekeeping operation in the Sinai Peninsula and headquartered in Rome, Italy. Their mandate is to observe, report, and verify violations of the Treaty of Peace and Agreed Arrangements and facilitate the continuing peace between Israel and Egypt.

The CAF will operate in maritime environments globally:

• Operation ARTEMIS: Contribute to Combined Task Force 150. This naval coalition of 34 nations, led by the United States Combined Maritime Forces, promotes security and stability in Middle Eastern and East African waters. Combined Task Force 150’s mission is to disrupt criminal and terrorist organizations and their related illicit activities in the maritime domain. Canada will contribute to Combined Task Force 150 under Operation ARTEMIS until the end of the mandate on 1 August 2024;
• Operation CARIBBE: Continue contributing to United States-led enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Basin, the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the coastal waters of Central America;
• Operation PROJECTION: Deepen relationships with Canada’s allies and partners in maritime environments around the world by conducting training, exercises and engagements with foreign navies and other international security partners. This operation also supports NATO Maritime Command, United States Naval Forces and other allied operations. This includes responsible engagement with partners across the Indo-Pacific region to foster cooperation and mutual respect between nations, as well as to strengthen regional peace and stability;
• Operation NEON: Support the implementation of United Nations Security Council sanctions imposed against North Korea. This operation also enhances the CAF’s regional presence, capacity-building efforts, and relationships with Canada’s allies and regional partners through training, exercises and engagements with foreign forces, and through the defence and security elements of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy;
• Operation RENDER SAFE: Conduct clearance diving and explosive ordnance disposal collaborative project work with international partners to search for, locate, and dispose of explosive remnants of war from World War II. Such unexploded ordnance is found on land and in shallow water along the coastline of the Solomon Islands; and
• Operation OPEN SPIRIT: Conduct Clearance Diving and Explosive Ordnance Disposal to clear remnants of war along the shoreline and under water along the coastline in the Baltic Sea, off of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.

DND/CAF will continue to promote the inclusion of women in peace and security operations:

• DND/CAF will continue to engage in innovative training for peace operations and United Nations operations, including through its support for the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations. The Elsie Initiative is an innovative and multilateral pilot project in which a combination of approaches will be developed, applied and tested to help overcome barriers to increasing women’s meaningful participation in peace operations. The framework consists of a number of components, including bilateral partnerships, a global fund, and political advocacy, as well as research, monitoring and evaluation. This is a Global Affairs Canada-led whole-of-government initiative that includes bilateral training assistance to identified partner troop- and police-contributing countries. Ghana is the bilateral partner for military training assistance, and Zambia is the bilateral partner for police training assistance;
• Together, Canada and Ghana will create and deliver training that will address barriers to the participation and progress of uniformed women in defence and security in Ghana. The topics of gender diversity and Women in Peace and Security regularly arise in bilateral and multilateral defence forums, particularly during interactions with Ghana and other African partners; and
• DND/CAF will continue encouraging discussion on gender diversity and Women in Peace and Security in bilateral and multilateral defence forums, particularly with Latin American and Caribbean partners. Most recently, Canada, along with regional partners, strongly advocated for the continuation of a working committee on Women in Peace and Security through the Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas.

DND will contribute to the prevention of the unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers by implementing the Vancouver Principles and developing the doctrine, education and training to apply GBA Plus across all of these activities. DND/CAF will:

• Continue to work with Global Affairs Canada and the Dallaire Centre of Excellence to fully implement the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers. The Vancouver Principles recognizes the importance of integrating gender perspectives when planning missions to be able to effectively prevent the unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers. They also recognize the essential contribution of women to peacekeeping operational effectiveness, and the critical roles of men and women in the protection of children;
• Contribute academic and military educational and training expertise to emerging and partner militaries. This will help to improve educational institution governance, develop professional military educational curricula, and professionalize faculty to align with NATO standards through active engagement in the NATO Defence Education Enhancement Program; and
• Participate in international academic exchanges, such as the Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defence Academies and the International Society for Military Sciences, to enhance DND/CAF’s knowledge and understanding of war, conflict management, deterrence, and efforts to support peace.

Following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Canada is reaffirming its strong commitment to deterrence and defence in the Euro-Atlantic area through FY 2023-24 by leading allies in the development of a combat-capable brigade to bolster NATO’s eastern flank in Latvia. In addition, Canada has strengthened command and control by deploying to the Multinational Division North Headquarters in Latvia. The CAF continues to maintain diverse readiness capabilities that are postured to contribute to a more stable and peaceful world when directed by the Government of Canada.

DND/CAF will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Defence Intelligence Function through the operationalization of the Defence Intelligence Enterprise Renewal. In particular, this strategic change management program will integrate the Defence Intelligence Enterprise across DND/CAF with ongoing pan-organization improvements and modernization of Intelligence processes, governance, maturing strategic-operational intelligence fusion centre, and improved linkages to allies, other government departments, industry, and academia. The Defence Intelligence Enterprise Renewal will further enable DND/CAF to evolve and expand capability development, innovation, and research and development to achieve Intelligence capability overmatch against agile and rapidly evolving adversaries in an unstable and fragile security environment.

Planned results

Departmental Results	Departmental Result Indicators	Target	Date to achieve target	2019–20 Actual results	2020–21 Actual results	2021–22 Actual results
1.5 Canadian Armed Forces contribute to a more stable and peaceful world	% of stated objectives met by international operations	100%	31 March 2024	98%	95%	94%*
	Extent to which the Canadian Armed Forces is effective in international operations	The Canadian Armed Forces is effective in the conduct of international operations	31 March 2024	This is a qualitative indicator	This is a qualitative indicator	This is a qualitative indicator**

Notes:

* This result is based on the number of performance measures achieved by each deployed operation in pursuit of operational objectives, with each operation weighted. Notably, the evaluation of Operation UNIFIER was conducted as of the situation at 31 December 2021 due to the rapid changes to the operation associated with the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 2022. The score has been adjusted by 5 percent to account for planning and execution frictions that cannot be captured in the assessment plan and associated reports.

** The Canadian Armed Forces continued to provide effects across the globe, enabling coalition and partner capacity building at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. Work to synchronize assets and effects includes the capability to generate targeted effects within the information domain and integrating cyber enabled effects in CAF-led operations.

Planned budgetary spending for Operations

The following table shows, for Operations, budgetary spending for FY 2023–24, as well as planned spending for that year and for each of the next two fiscal years.

2023-24 budgetary spending (as indicated in Main Estimates)	2023-24 planned spending	2024–25 planned spending	2025–26 planned spending
824,979,602	824,979,602	817,028,193	$756,433,173

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.

Planned human resources for Operations

The following table shows, in full time equivalents, the human resources the department will need to fulfill this core responsibility for FY 2023–24 and for each of the next two fiscal years.

2023-24 planned full-time equivalents	2024-25 planned full-time equivalents	2025-26 planned full-time equivalents
2,201	2,252	2,290

Financial, human resources and performance information for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Program Inventory is available in the GC InfoBase.