Military planners map out restructuring the Canadian Army, says top soldier

Murray Brewster · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The Canadian Army is astir to embark connected a wholesale restructuring successful the look of increasing demands for troops and instrumentality some overseas and astatine home, says the country's apical soldier.

A subject modernization squad is presently studying the occupation against the backdrop of a shortage of arsenic galore arsenic 5,000 soldiers, Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright told CBC News successful a caller interrogation astatine the NATO grooming centre successful Adazi, Latvia.

"The service we person present is not the service that we request for the future," Wright said erstwhile asked if helium was satisfied with the equipping of the troops connected the Western military's alliance's deterrence ngo successful Eastern Europe.

He made his remarks against a backdrop of threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to annex Canada done economical force.

Several elder Canadian commanders person recently faced questions astir however agelong the state could clasp retired if relations with Washington deteriorated further and the United States chose a subject option.

WATCH | Top worker says large modernization of service is coming:

Wright wouldn't comment, different than to accidental ties with the American subject person remained unchanged and beardown contempt the governmental rhetoric. 

"I'm not adjacent going to ideate the unimaginable," helium said.

The service is facing a fig of challenges — some overseas and domestically — and Canada has struggled to tract instrumentality to its unit successful Latvia, including modern anti-tank weapons, air-defence systems and counter-drone technology. It presently has 47 superior projects connected the go.

The lack of specified instrumentality has been a large spread for soldiers, whose occupation it is to support Latvia, a NATO member, should Russia crook its subject attraction to the Baltic region.

Some of the instrumentality — deemed captious successful airy of the mode the warfare betwixt Russia and Ukraine has unfolded — is inactive making its mode to the brigade much than a twelvemonth aft being declared an urgent operational requirement. Other existing equipment, specified arsenic the Leopard 2A4 tanks, are facing a well-documented shortage of spare parts.

Last fall, outer images analyzed by Estonian media noted that respective bases connected the Russian broadside of the border, which had been emptied of troops and instrumentality pursuing the full-scale penetration of Ukraine, are present showing signs of beingness and vehicles, including tanks and long-range artillery.

"Am I contented with however we are prepared here? The reply is yes, but we really request to get to the constituent of what we person present successful Latvia — we're capable to consciousness that for the full Canadian Army," Wright said. "So I'm truly focused connected that."

The Canadian Army presently has 3 large regular unit infantry regiments, a bid of vessel and artillery units arsenic good arsenic 185 reserve units located successful 86 cities crossed the country.

The modernization team, Wright said, is looking astatine everything and consulting with allies connected however they person overhauled their armies to look modern threats that person emerged successful the Ukraine war, including the usage of explosive-laden drones. 

The Liberal government's defence argumentation promises, among different things, to bargain the service surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and modern, possibly rocket-based artillery — capabilities Canadian soldiers person not used.

Defence Minister Bill Blair besides recently announced that the subject would get what's known arsenic loitering munitions, the kinds of drones made infamous online and seen destroying Russian and Ukrainian armoured vehicles. 

"I truly privation to look astatine what we request to bash to enactment the existent absorption connected warfare fighting, connected the lethality wrong the army and beryllium capable to supply the effects to NATO oregon to anyplace other that we request to be," Wright said. "We're going to look astatine everything successful presumption of however we are structured, from the precise apical of the service office close down to the portion level."

Wright didn't privation to presuppose what the overhaul volition look similar successful the end, but helium said helium didn't privation to chopped units.

The calls to reorganize the service person besides been coming from extracurricular of the military. With soldiers progressively being deployed connected home operations, a House of Commons committee studied whether deploying soldiers to combat wildfires and different disasters is an due usage of resources. 

Both deploying to Latvia and responding to home emergencies has stretched the service progressively thin. 

In immoderate cases, Wright said, the lack of equipment, unit and structures has forced Canada into the uncomfortable presumption of not gathering a extremity acceptable retired by NATO — namely the quality to deploy a divisional office into the tract connected abbreviated notice.

"There are capabilities which NATO has assigned to america which we presently don't person the quality to fulfil," helium said. "We bash person part office successful Canada, but those divisions are — frankly — administrative and determination based."

Despite Wright's assurance successful the equipping of the unit successful Latvia, determination are inactive holes.

Out of the 3 major, urgent instrumentality projects — primitively ordered successful precocious 2023 — two are inactive awaiting delivery. 

A $32.2-million modern anti-tank weapons system, known arsenic Portable Anti "X" Missile (PAXM), which were expected to get past summer, has not arrived and defence officials accidental it is inactive undergoing valuation "and transportation can't beryllium confirmed until investigating is finished."

A caller air-defence strategy is scheduled to get this spring, said Col. Cédric Aspirault, the Canadian brigade commandant successful Latvia

The counter-drone strategy is operational, helium added. Last fall, the service successful Latvia besides received a fig of airy tactical vehicles — a tiny unit bearer with offroad capabilities — and portable medium-range radar systems.

The service is still, however, struggling with a shortage of spare parts for the 15 Leopard 2A4 tanks attached to the brigade.

"We are moving towards uncovering your solutions," said Aspirault, who added that the spares, which are manufactured successful Europe, are required to beryllium sent to Canada earlier they are re-routed to the brigade successful Latvia. "However, the service present is good alert of the problem, and we are looking astatine options to streamline that process and bring the parts straight here."