The requirement for a centralized organization to guide and oversee professional development (PD) within the CF has been a topic for study and debate for more than 30 years, beginning in earnest with the Rowley Report in 1969. The issue was brought into sharper focus in the 1990s, however, when a series of internal and external inquiries examined CF leadership and ethical experiences during operations.

While the conclusions of these various inquiries often differed, one issue which all, including Consulting and Audit Canada, the Somalia and Croatia Boards of Inquiry, and the Minister's Monitoring Committee on Change, agreed upon was the need for a revitalized PD program which would give CF members the necessary intellectual skills and professional knowledge to meet the challenges of the post-Cold War security environment.

The CF responded by creating the office of the Special Advisor (SA) to the CDS on PD, who assembled a team of dedicated officers and NCMs to map out the way ahead for PD in the CF within the context of Defence Strategy 2020. Their reports, Officership 2020, and NCM Corps 2020, spelled out the requirement for a robust and comprehensive approach to CF PD for all ranks.

To champion that approach, the CDS stood up the CDA April 1, 2002, and staffed it with a carefully selected blend of civilian and military specialists in PD, Education, Learning Management, and general military operations.