2024-25 Departmental plan at a glance

A departmental plan describes a department's priorities, plans, and associated costs for the upcoming three fiscal years.

• Vision, mission, raison d’être and operating context
• Minister's mandate letter

 Read the full departmental plan
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Strategic operating context

We are living in a time of global re-ordering. Countries, both allies and competitors, are getting ready for a period of contestation to advance their own agendas for a new global order that has yet to be established. States, such as China and Russia, are making choices that are not simply incompatible with the global order in which Canada and its allies thrive – they also go against our fundamental values and beliefs. In recent years, these states have made it clear that they are prepared to leverage their power aggressively to carry out activities targeting Canada, our allies and our partners around the world. Confronting these challenges while shoring up the international rules-based order is the generational challenge of our time.

In the coming years, Canada must adapt to new global realities determined by forces over which Defence has limited control. These include the rise of aggressive authoritarian states, the erosion of the international rules-based order, reversals for democracy worldwide, intensifying climate change, economic slowdown, and the waning authority of the multilateral institutions that have formed the cornerstones of Canadian security and prosperity for generations.

Key priorities

• Operations and Readiness;
• Reconstitution;
• Culture Evolution;
• Modernization; and
• Stewardship and Compliance.

Refocusing government spending

In Budget 2023, the government committed to reducing spending by $15.4 billion over the next five years, starting in 2023–24, and by $4.5 billion annually after that.

As part of meeting this commitment, the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' is planning the following spending reductions.

• 2024-25: $810,449,000;
• 2025-26: $851,437,000; and
• 2026-27 and after: $907,539,000

DND/CAF will achieve these reductions by doing the following:

• Savings measure 1: Travel
  • Reduce spending on travel by $58,589,937 in 2024-25, and ongoing.
• Savings measure 2: Professional Services
  • Reduce spending on professional services by $200,000,000 in 2024-25, and ongoing.
• Savings measure 3: General Operating Funds
  • Reduce general operating expenses by $354,778,505 in 2024-25, $264,250,000 in 2025-26, and ongoing.
• Savings Measure 4: Fiscal Framework^{Footnote 1}
  • Reduce spending to initiatives yet to be started and earmarked in the fiscal framework by $197,080,558 in 2024-25, $185,848,278 in 2025-26, $79,871,095 in 2026-27, and ongoing.
• Savings Measure 5: Additional Targeted Spending Reductions
  • The previously described measures do not fully meet targeted saving reductions. Further work is therefore currently underway to identify $142,748,785 in 2025-26 and $304,827,968 in 2026-27 (ongoing) to fulfill Department of National Defence targets.

The figures in this departmental plan reflect these reductions.

Highlights

A Departmental Results Framework consists of an organization's core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve, and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.

Operations

Departmental results:

• Canadians are protected against threats to and attacks on Canada;
• People in distress receive effective search and rescue response;
• Canada's Arctic sovereignty is preserved and safeguarded;
• North America is defended against threats and attacks; and
• Canadian Armed Forces contribute to a more stable and peaceful world.

Planned spending: $2,280,404,320

Planned human resources: 2,400

In recent years, the international environment has become more complex, and the pace of change has increased. The global pandemic, the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, the rise of an increasingly disruptive China, and the growing effects of climate change have demonstrated to Canadians that the security and prosperity they have enjoyed since the end of the Cold War cannot be taken for granted. To continue keeping Canadians safe, the CAF must be able to ensure that Canada remains strong at home, secure in North America, and engaged in the world. There has also been a very significant increase in assistance and response to domestic emergencies since 2017. The CAF must be prepared to respond to extreme crises of all kinds, foreign and domestic, but the clear priorities are deterrence, defence and countering the sub-threshold actions of DND/CAF adversaries. Therefore, in FY 2024-25, Defence will prioritize these outcomes as it upholds its 8 core missions, as set out in Strong, Secure, Engaged (SSE): Canada's Defence Policy.

Defence will continue to collaborate with the Five Eyes alliance (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States), North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) partners, and key regional allies to foster regional coherence, which is critical for strategic unity.

Planned Costs for Major Canadian Armed Forces Operations and information on current CAF operations and exercises are available on DND/CAF website.

More information about Operations can be found in the full departmental plan.

Ready forces

Departmental results:

• Canadian Armed Forces are ready to conduct concurrent operations; and
• Military equipment is ready for training and operations.

Planned spending: $11,304,585,891

Planned human resources: 42,947

In accordance with the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) Directive for CAF Force Posture and Readiness (FP&R), Defence will prioritize and direct Defence activities so the CAF is ready to conduct complex operations in contested, degraded and operationally limited environments through participation in, and execution of, Canadian and international exercises and training events. As Defence advances its modernization efforts, a deliberate focus on CAF and allied interoperability and the integration of these new capabilities into training and readiness activities will become a key activity.

Additional information on CAF operations and exercises is available on the DND/CAF website.

More information about Ready Forces can be found in the full departmental plan.

Defence team

Departmental results:

• Canadian Armed Forces is growing toward its end state of 101,500 personnel;
• The health and well-being of the Defence team is well supported;
• The Defence team reflects the values and diversity of Canadian society;
• Military families are supported and resilient; and
• Youth in Canada are provided with experience and opportunities that enable a successful transition to adulthood.

Planned spending: $4,212,785,688

Planned human resources: 20,902

Defence will focus on enhancing its multi-year program to improve its ability to attract, recruit and retain its workforce, including through process improvements and the modernization of personnel management systems, to address high-priority gaps and functions. Defence will advance efforts to build a team that supports the wide-ranging perspectives, cultural and linguistic diversity, gender balance, age and other distinctive attributes of Canadian society. Defence will progress activities to ensure that the Defence Team is strong, where its members feel safe, supported, and accepted. Defence will ensure the needs of its military members, their families, and the department's public servants are met.

Additional information on Defence recruitment is available on the Forces.ca website, and in the CAF Retention Strategy. Additional information for military family support can be found at the Military Family Resource Centres website.

More information about Defence Team can be found in the full departmental plan.

Future force design

Departmental results:

• Defence capabilities are designed to meet future threats; and
• Defence and security challenges are addressed through innovative solutions.

Planned spending: $865,727,609

Planned human resources: 1,974

Defence will further its analysis of the long-term military Future Operating Environment, which aims to describe the likely characteristics of future conflict, warfare, and warfighting. This analysis accounts for both adversary and allied considerations to provide a measure of the future challenges which Canada must consider when pursuing military capability development. Coupled with this characterization of the Future Operating Environment, capstone military concepts intend to align CAF Force Development and Design.

More information about Future Force Design can be found in the full departmental plan.

Procurement of capabilities

Departmental results:

• Defence procurement is streamlined;
• Defence equipment acquisition is well-managed;
• Defence information technology acquisition is well-managed; and
• Supplies are available and well-managed.

Planned spending: $6,245,203,819

Planned human resources: 2,714

Defence will work to balance procurement costs with operational requirements, schedule and socio-economic benefits. The challenges of defence procurement are further compounded by a rapidly changing security environment, evolving technology, complex procurements, and staffing shortages in critical areas of procurement. Defence procurement also continues to be affected by the lingering effects of the pandemic on the global supply chain and resulting in schedule delays and cost escalations. To this end, Defence will promote and participate in the Public Service and Procurement Canada-led Defence Procurement Review, while streamlining internal project and program management processes.

Information on Defence equipment purchases and upgrades are available on the DND/CAF website.

More information about Procurtment of capabilities can be found in the full departmental plan.

Sustainable bases, information technology systems and infrastructure

Departmental results:

• Naval, Army and Air Force Bases enable military operations and defence activities;
• Defence infrastructure is well-managed throughout its lifecycle; and
• Defence activities are carried out in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

Planned spending: $4,490,063,164

Planned human resources: 15,444

Defence will operate safe and secure bases, wings and establishments and maintain various services to support training and operational requirements. With a large and aging real-property portfolio Defence will prioritize its efforts in building and maintaining modern, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure and information technology systems that support military requirements, improves efficiency, and reduces the environmental footprint.

Defence information technology systems are essential in delivering timely, trusted and secure information to decision makers. Defence will provide secure, resilient enterprise-level system solutions to respond to the evolving cyber threat environment, to advance allied communication capabilities, and to support the integration of joint targeting systems.

Defence will seek to evolve capabilities, capacity and expertise to conduct offensive cyber operations in response to threats and attacks.

Additional information can be found on the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces' Greening Defence website, the Investing in Infrastructure and Infrastructure Projects website and the Defence Real Property Portfolio Strategy website.

More information about Sustainable bases, information technology systems and infrastructure can be found in the full departmental plan.