Contribute to International Peace and Security

As the world's second-largest country (by total area) and a founding member of both the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, Canada is a leading nation that must do its part to meet the world's security challenges.

The third role of the Canadian Armed Forces defined in the Canada First Defence Strategy is to contribute to international peace and security. The Canadian Armed Forces do this by protecting Canadian interests abroad and working with our allies, other like-minded nations, and multinational organizations especially the U.N. and NATO to address commonly perceived threats.

Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) provides the command and control structure and the deployed task forces required to conduct military operations ranging from humanitarian assistance through peace-support and stabilization to combat and to do it anywhere in the world.

Regions of interest

Through its foreign policy, the Government of Canada sets priorities for its level of engagement with other countries. In support of these priorities, the Canadian Armed Forces may deploy expeditionary task forces to parts of the world that are of particular interest to the Government of Canada. These countries and regions include some of the largest beneficiaries of Canadian financial, humanitarian, technical and military aid.

CJOC task forces deployed on international operations are actively engaged in four regions that receive the highest priority for Government of Canada engagement: Afghanistan, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa (notably Sudan and South Sudan), and the Caribbean (notably Haiti). In these regions, soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen work as part of a Canadian whole-of-government team contributing in the multinational context to achieve mission success and meet Canadian objectives.

Hemispheric defence and security cooperation

Any threat to the other nations of the Western Hemisphere has real potential to affect Canadians, so the Government of Canada is working to improve defence and security cooperation with its closest neighbours.

As part of this international effort, CJOC has a specific responsibility to engage with the armed forces of other countries in the Western Hemisphere. This mission is carried out by Defence Attachés serving at Canada's embassies in Latin America and the Caribbean region, and by CJOC liaison officers deployed at the headquarters of the U.S. Defense Department's combatant commands.

The primary duties of a Defence Attaché are:

• to manage Canada's bilateral defence relations with the countries where they are accredited;
• to provide information collection, initial analysis and reporting capabilities;
• to assist with international operations and bilateral defence material cooperation; and
• to provide advice on military matters to Canadian heads of mission.

CJOC also leads the development of the Canadian Armed Forces' relationship with Mexico, and with U.S. defence partners in the context of a trilateral continental defence.