Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, and General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff, officially announced the establishment of the Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command...

“The establishment of the Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command demonstrates to our allies, partners, and adversaries Canada’s ongoing commitment to operating in a challenging cyber domain. By enhancing our work in the cyber domain, and by continuing to collaborate with our partners and allies, we can detect, deter, and defend against cyber threats and malicious actors targeting Canada and our interests.”

The Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence

“Through the Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces will continue to develop and scale offensive and defensive cyber operations capabilities in close cooperation with the Communications Security Establishment. This initiative supports cyber operations at both the tactical and strategic levels. The new organization will focus resources so that we can advance existing activities in cyberspace related to operations, personnel, policies, and capabilities.”

General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff

“I extend my congratulations to Major-General Yarker as he assumes the role of Commander of the Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command. He brings considerable knowledge, experience, and leadership to the benefit of the Command, the Defence Team, and all Canadians.”

Stefanie Beck, Deputy Minister of National Defence

 “Building decisive advantage in the cyber domain demands speed, trust, agility and unity of effort, and I am proud to be appointed as the head of the organization that will strive to deliver just that.”

Major General Dave Yarker, Commander, Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command

"CSE has been a critical CAF partner since our inception. Working together comes naturally to us, and the CAF Cyber Command will be no different. That’s why we are uniting our already world-class foreign cyber operations capabilities to protect Canada in a complex world. At a time when we face cyber warfare even in peace time, this partnership will benefit Canadians as well as Canada’s allies and give us all better visibility on the evolving threat landscape we navigate every day.”

Caroline Xavier, Chief, Communications Security Establishment Canada

• CAFCYBERCOM will be the single DND/CAF authority for cyber operations, responsible for cyber force sustainment, management, and development.

• CAFCYBERCOM includes Signals Intelligence and Joint Electronic Warfare and will be capable of conducting and supporting a range of cyber tasks.

• In addition to being integral to defending Canada and advancing its interests, the establishment of CAFCYBERCOM will help the Defence Team deliver on NATO commitments and the cyber and defence components of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.

• CAFCYBERCOM will support the CAF’s transition to a pan-domain battlespace with greater agility and responsive to malicious cyber activity. 

• Major-General Yarker has held key staff and liaison positions with allies and partner agencies, and command positions at the Unit and Formation level since 2010. Major-General Yarker was appointed as the Joint Force Cyber Component Commander in 2022.

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• Our North, Strong and Free

Simon Lafortune
Press Secretary and Communications Advisor
Office of the Minister of National Defence
Email: Simon.Lafortune2@forces.gc.ca

Media Relations 
Department of National Defence
Phone: 613-904-3333
Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca