The purpose of the Canada First Defence Strategy was to give Canada a modern military with clearly defined missions and capabilities. The strategy focused on many key military functions and operations and on improving the equipment and fleets that the Canadian Forces operates. Many of the equipment capability objectives of CFDS were continued under the subsequent SSE.
Missions
The Canada First Defence Strategy was focused on six core missions as level of ambition for the Canadian Forces. According to the strategy the forces must be able to support all of the following operations and if necessary, support them all simultaneously.
Conduct daily domestic and continental operations, including in the Arctic and through NORAD.
Support a major international event in Canada, such as the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Support civilian authorities during a crisis in Canada such as a natural disaster.
Lead and/or conduct a major international operation for an extended period.
Deploy forces in response to crises elsewhere in the world for shorter periods.
Personnel
The Canada First Defence Strategy also sought to increase the number of personnel in the Canadian Forces in order to improve the military's operational effectiveness. In 2008, the Canadian Forces had approximately 65,000 active personnel and 26,000 reserve personnel. However, the CFDS planned to increase personnel levels to 70,000 full-time and 30,000 reserve sometime in the next 20 years, with an increase to 67,000 full-time personnel by 2009/2010, 68,000 by 2011/2012 and 69,300 by 2014/2015. The reserves were to reach 27,000 by 2011/2012 and 28,000 by 2014/2015. Some of this growth was slowed in the aftermath of the end of Canadian involvement in the war in Afghanistan.
Equipment improvement and replacement
The CFDS provided a plan to invest $15 billion on the improvement and replacement of Canadian Forces' major fleets and equipment, to include:
Joint Support Ship Project -Contract to be awarded with construction beginning in 2016; though preliminary work on the lead ship modules actually only commenced in 2018.
Another $20 billion was committed for equipment replacement and improvement in the future, to include:
destroyers and frigates - construction of the future Canadian Surface Combatant was a core component of CFDS but start dated pushed back; construction of the lead ship is now expected to begin in 2023 following on the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship program.
land combat vehicles and systems - Ongoing procurement throughout the timespan of the CFDS
Funding
The Canada First Defence Strategy was also primarily focused on the funding for the Canadian Forces, and the strategy outlined plans to increase funding for the Canadian Forces from $18 billion in 2007–2008 to over $30 billion in 2027–2028. The overall funding and investments in the forces will amount to $490 billion over the 20-year period of the strategy. This projected spending increase was slowed by the Harper government after the end of the war in Afghanistan.
