View source for Canada Command

{{Short description|Former operational command of the Canadian Armed Forces}}
{{Expand French|Commandement Canada|date=June 2014|topic=mil}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Canada Command
|native_name={{native name|fr|nolink=on|Commandement Canada}}
|image=Cancom badge.png
|caption=Badge of Canada Command
|dates= 2006–2012
|country= Canada
|branch= [[Canadian Forces]]
|type= Command headquarters
|size= 
|Engagements= 
|garrison=[[National Defence Headquarters]]
|motto= {{langnf|la|Protegimus et defendimus|We protect and we defend}}
|march="Canada Command March"
}}
'''Canada Command''' ('''CANCOM''', {{langx|fr|link=no|Commandement Canada}}) was one of the four operational commands of the [[Canadian Forces]] from 2006 to 2012.  It was responsible for routine domestic and continental operations, such as search and rescue, sovereignty patrol, national security coordination and contingency planning. As an operational formation, Canada Command used resources generated from the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces: the [[Royal Canadian Navy]], the [[Canadian Army]] and the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]. The command was merged into the [[Canadian Joint Operations Command]] in October 2012.

==Role and structure==
Canada Command's primary role was to "deter, prevent, preempt, and defeat threats and aggression aimed at Canada".<ref name="mis">{{citation|url=http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/site/mis-mis-eng.asp|title=Mission|publisher=Department of National Defence|date=6 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115231238/http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/site/mis-mis-eng.asp|archive-date=15 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> To this end, the command was responsible for assessing and developing national contingency response plans in order to react rapidly at the request of the Government of Canada. It shared resources with the [[Canadian Operational Support Command]] (now merged), the [[Canadian Special Operations Forces Command]] and to a lesser extent with the [[Canadian Expeditionary Force Command]] (also merged), offered a single point of contact for civil authorities, law enforcement agencies and security partners, and maintained a close relationship with the [[United States Northern Command]] and the [[North American Aerospace Defence Command]]. The command was divided into ten subordinate organizations: six joint task forces (JTFs), three search and rescue regions (SRRs), and a single air component commander (CFACC) responsible for the allocation of air assets to the JTFs.<ref name="org">{{citation|url=http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/site/org-org-eng.asp|title=Organization|publisher=Department of National Defence|date=6 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214112006/http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/site/org-org-eng.asp|archive-date=14 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the national and regional level, Canada Command planned for contingencies, allocated resources for routine domestic and continental operations, and maintained the capacity to deploy military assets in assistance to civil authorities. Canada Command reported directly to the [[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]] and was headed by Lieutenant-General Walter Semianiw, {{post-nominals|country=CAN|CMM|MSC|CD}} and its senior [[non-commissioned member]] was Chief Warrant Officer Michel J.Y. Ouellet, {{post-nominals|country=CAN|MMM|CD}}.<ref name="bios">{{citation|url=http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/site/bio-bio-eng.asp|title=Biographies|publisher=Department of National Defence|date=6 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227152850/http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/site/bio-bio-eng.asp|archive-date=27 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Domestic operations===
Natural disaster or security incident response in Canada is generally the responsibility of local and provincial governments, who may come to require the help of the federal government. In such cases, and at the explicit request of the [[Minister of Public Safety]], Canada Command could allocate military resources to assist civil authorities in humanitarian capacity, and if the ''[[Emergencies Act]]'' was activated, in peace enforcement capacity. The command could also be called to coordinate military resources in support of law enforcement and federal agencies as part of an Integrated Security Unit during large national events. This was the case during the [[2010 Vancouver Olympics]], the [[36th G8 summit|2010 G-8 Huntsville summit]] and the [[2010 G-20 Toronto summit]]. Routine operations conducted by Canada Command included the deployment of support elements to various [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] operations, [[Fisheries and Oceans Canada]]'s [[Canadian Coast Guard]] in sea and coastal patrol and the war on drugs in the Caribbean, and [[Parks Canada]] in security enforcement and avalanche control. The command was also the main coordinator of joint exercises, such as the annual [[Operation Nanook]], and a multitude of field exercises and manoeuvres. The control and coordination of military resources placed under Canada Command was assumed at the national level and through six regional task forces:<ref name="org" />
* [[Joint Task Force (North)]], based in [[Yellowknife]], [[Northwest Territories]], includes all Canadian territories north of the 60th parallel: [[Yukon]], the Northwest Territories, and [[Nunavut]];
* [[Joint Task Force (Pacific)]], based at the [[CFB Esquimalt]] naval base in [[British Columbia]] and commanded by the Commander of [[Maritime Forces Pacific]], includes British Columbia, its coastlines and the Pacific maritime approaches;
* [[Joint Task Force (West)]], based at the [[CFB Edmonton]] army base in [[Alberta]] and commanded by the Commander of [[Land Force Western Area]], includes the provinces of Alberta, [[Saskatchewan]] and [[Manitoba]];
* [[Joint Task Force (Central)]], based in [[Toronto]], Ontario, and commanded by the Commander of [[Land Force Central Area]], is responsible for the province of Ontario;
* [[Joint Task Force (East)]], based in [[Montreal]], Quebec, and commanded by the Commander of [[Land Force Quebec Area]], is responsible for the province of Quebec;
* [[Joint Task Force (Atlantic)]], based at the [[CFB Halifax]] naval base in [[Nova Scotia]] and commanded by the Commander of [[Maritime Forces Atlantic]], includes the provinces of [[New Brunswick]], [[Prince Edward Island]], Nova Scotia, [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], and the adjacent maritime region;
* The Combined Force Air Component Commander (CFACC), based at the [[CFB Winnipeg]] air base in [[Manitoba]], is responsible for the air support elements placed under the command through the Regional Air Component Elements (RACE) and for the assignment of assets to the Canadian [[NORAD]] Region (CANR) through the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]'s [[1 Canadian Air Division]].

===Search and rescue===
{{main|Canadian Forces Search and Rescue}}
Federal [[search and rescue]] (SAR) in Canada is managed by the [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]]'s autonomous [[National Search and Rescue Secretariat]] in collaboration with a multitude of agencies, among them the Canadian Forces.<ref name="sar">{{citation|url=http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/nr-sp/bg-do/11-001-sar-eng.asp|title=Backgrounder: Canadian Forces Search and Rescue|publisher=Department of National Defence|date=3 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227101849/http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/nr-sp/bg-do/11-001-sar-eng.asp|archive-date=27 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Using assets generated and maintained by the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] and the civilian [[Canadian Coast Guard]], Canada Command assumed operational control of the primary SAR response providers through three Search and Rescue Regions (SRRs) and their associated coordination centres:<ref name="org" />
* [[JRCC Victoria]], based at the [[CFB Esquimalt]] naval base in [[British Columbia]], is responsible for the Victoria Search and Rescue Region, consisting of British Columbia, Yukon and over 560,000 square kilometres in the Pacific Ocean.
* [[JRCC Trenton]], based at the [[CFB Trenton]] air base in [[Ontario]], is responsible for the Trenton Search and Rescue Region, covering over 10,000,000 square kilometres from [[Quebec City]] to the [[Rocky Mountains]] and from the [[Canada–United States border]] to the [[North Pole]]. JRCC Trenton, operating alongside the Canadian Mission Control Centre, is also responsible for operating the Canadian component of the satellite-based [[Cospas-Sarsat]] distress alert detection system.
* [[JRCC Halifax]], based at the [[CFB Halifax]] naval base in [[Nova Scotia]], is responsible for the Halifax Search and Rescue Region, covering more than 4,700,000 square kilometres from [[Quebec City]] to the Eastern Arctic, including all four Atlantic provinces.

==History==
Canada Command was created on 1 February 2006 as part of a restructuring of the Canadian Forces. Prior to the establishment of the command, national contingency and routine operations were carried directly by the three environmental services (Navy, Army, Air Force). The [[North American ice storm of 1998]] and the [[September 11 attacks]] showed a need for a more efficient and coherent organization to coordinate military resources with civil authorities and the United States. Since its creation, Canada Command has conducted humanitarian operations in Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, in fighting floods, repairing critical infrastructure, recovering drivers stuck in severe winter storms, and conducting evacuation of threatened communities.

In May 2012, in a major restructuring of the [[Canadian Forces]], Canada Command was merged with the [[Canadian Expeditionary Force Command]] and the [[Canadian Operational Support Command]] to form the [[Canadian Joint Operations Command]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada}}
* [[Military history of Canada]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060601234536/http://www.canadacom.forces.gc.ca/ Official Canada Command website]

{{Canadian Forces}}

[[Category:Canadian Forces Operational Commands]]