Military profile
Canada Military Strength
Canada ranks #27 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with 70,000 active personnel. It spent $37.5 billion on its military in 2025 (1.6% of GDP).
Canada armed forces in numbers
Personnel
- Active military personnel
- 70,000#55 of 145
- Reserve military personnel
- 19,000#63 of 145
- Paramilitary forces
- 5,500#85 of 145
- Army personnel
- 42,000#72 of 145
- Air force personnel
- 15,620#41 of 145
- Navy personnel
- 15,700#37 of 145
Air power
- Total military aircraft
- 376#30 of 145
- Fighter aircraft
- 63#35 of 145
- Attack aircraft
- 0#65 of 145
- Military helicopters
- 120#32 of 145
- Attack helicopters
- 0#79 of 145
Land forces
- Tanks
- 82#84 of 145
- Self-propelled artillery
- 0#96 of 145
- Towed artillery
- 0#107 of 145
- Rocket artillery
- 0#98 of 145
Naval power
- Aircraft carriers
- 0#8 of 113
- Destroyers
- 0#15 of 113
- Frigates
- 12#8 of 113
- Corvettes
- 0#47 of 113
- Submarines
- 4#26 of 113
- Patrol vessels
- 12#69 of 113
- Mine warfare vessels
- 0#53 of 113
Finance
- Military spending
- $37.5 billion#16 of 156
- Military spending as % of GDP
- 1.6%#82 of 156
- Purchasing power parity (GDP, PPP)
- $1.74 trillion#15 of 145
Equipment and personnel: Global Firepower 2023 military strength ranking (2023). Spending: World Bank / SIPRI military expenditure data (CC BY 4.0).
Canada military spending 2010–2025
Military spending of Canada grew by 94% between 2010 and 2025, from $19.3 billion to $37.5 billion (current US dollars), and stood at 1.6% of GDP in 2025.
Armed forces of Canada
Branches and forces
Canadian Forces: Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force (2025)
Personnel
approximately 75,000 active-duty military personnel (2025)
Service age and conscription
17 years of age for men and women for voluntary military service (with parental consent); 16 years of age for Reserve and Military College applicants; Canadian citizenship or permanent residence status required; service obligation 3-9 years depending on the position (2025)
Equipment and suppliers
the CAF's inventory is a mix of domestically produced and imported weapons systems from Australia, Europe, Israel, the UK, and the US; in recent years, the leading supplier has been the US; Canada's defense industry develops, maintains, and produces a range of equipment, including aircraft, combat vehicles, naval vessels, and associated components; it also collaborates with the defense industries of allied countries such as the UK (2025)
Deployments abroad
approximately 2,000 Latvia (NATO); the CAF also has air and naval assets supporting NATO missions (2025)
Good to know
the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are responsible for external security; the CAF’s core missions include detecting, deterring, and defending against threats to or attacks on Canada; the military also provides assistance to civil authorities and law enforcement as needed for such missions as counterterrorism, search and rescue, and responding to natural disasters or other major emergencies; it regularly participates in bilateral and multinational training exercises with a variety of partners, including NATO (Canada is one of the original members) and the US; the CAF also contributes to international peacekeeping, stability, humanitarian, combat, and capacity building operations, principally through NATO, but also with the UN and other security partners Canada is part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD; established 1958); NORAD is a Canada/US bi-national military command responsible for monitoring and defending North American airspace; traditionally, a CAF officer has served as the deputy commander of NORAD; Canada’s defense relationship with the US extends back to the Ogdensburg Declaration of 1940, when the two countries formally agreed on military cooperation, including the establishment of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD), which continues to be the highest-level bilateral defense forum between Canada and the US British troops withdrew from Canada in 1871 as part of the US-UK Treaty of Washington; following the withdrawal, the first Canadian militia, known as the Royal Canadian Regiment, was organized in 1883 to protect Canadian territory and defend British interests abroad, which it did in the South African War (1899-1902), Canada’s first overseas conflict; militia units formed the backbone of the more than 425,000 Canadian soldiers that went to Europe during World War I in what was called the Canadian Expeditionary Force; the Royal Canadian Navy was created in 1910, while the Canadian Air Force was established in 1920 and became the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1924; the Canadian Army was officially founded in 1942; a unified Canadian Armed Forces was created in 1968 (2025)
Military expenditure (% of GDP)
2025: 2% · 2024: 1.5% · 2023: 1.3% · 2022: 1.2% · 2021: 1.3%
Forces and service: CIA World Factbook (public domain).
Canada compared with its neighbours
| Country | Strength rank | Military spending |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | #27 | $37.5 billion |
 United States | #1 | $954.4 billion |
 Denmark | #50 | $14.9 billion |