The long-planned overhaul of the Canadian Army took effect Thursday as a ceremony in Edmonton formally brought its combat role under the purview of a single division for the first time since the Second World War.
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ceremony → plan → War
The event officially retired the 3rd Canadian Division and reintroduced it as the 1st Canadian Division, also known as Manoeuvre Division, which will oversee all of the Army’s combat resources.
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which → retire → resources
Previously, those resources were split between four divisions located across the country.
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resources → split → country
The commander of the new division, Major-General Wade Rutland, who previously commanded the 3rd Canadian Division, said the change will put the Army in a league with its allies, though the full transformation will take years.
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transformation → command → years
“What’s actually in the 1st Canadian Division, and you compare it with a lot of our allies, it’s a viable force,” he said in an interview earlier this week.
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he → ’ → interview
“We think in a couple years we’re going to be much more capable.”
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we → think → years
The creation of Manoeuvre Division is part of an overhaul that will also see the Montreal-based 2nd Canadian Division, now also known as the Defence of Canada Division, focus on national emergencies and domestic defence.
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Division → see → emergencies
And Support Division, based in Kingston, will provide infrastructure and other resources to the rest of the Army.
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Division → base → Army
The restructuring is a long-term effort by the Canadian Armed Forces to expand its ranks and prepare for the possibility of major conflict.
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restructuring → expand → conflict
Maj.-Gen. Rutland said the Manoeuvre Division is the “expeditionary warfighting division” that will be prepared to fight in the event of a major conflict − overseas or at home.
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that → say → home
“We’ll have the highest level of readiness,” he said.
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he → have → readiness
“Sometimes defending at home means defending forward.
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defending → defend → home
Sometimes it means defending here.”
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it → mean → ?
Dozens of Army personnel dressed in dark green and navy-blue uniforms watched at the Edmonton event as the commander of the Army spoke about past battle honours before offering a blunt assessment of the state of the institution today.
“The Army that we have is not the Army we need,” Lieutenant-General Michael Wright said.
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Wright → dress → that
The flag of the 3rd Canadian Division was lowered and replaced with a bright red patch − the new symbol of the Manoeuvre Division − to signal the transition.
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flag → lower → transition
Manoeuvre Division will oversee the Army’s three mechanized brigade groups in Edmonton, Petawawa, Ont., and Valcartier, Que.
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Division → oversee → Edmonton
The restructured division also includes four formations: the 3rd Light Infantry Regiment, the 1st Canadian Artillery Brigade, the 1st Canadian Sustainment Brigade and the 10th Signal Regiment.
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division → restructure → formations
The federal government has made building up the military a priority, especially as it seeks to reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States for trade and defence in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
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it → make → war
Ottawa is also ramping up its defence spending to meet NATO investment targets.
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Ottawa → ramp → targets
“The division headquarters has to learn to fight as a division headquarters,” Maj.-Gen. Rutland said Thursday, adding that Army personnel will begin conducting combat simulations against a major adversary.
“We need to change now to a division headquarters that has tents, gets its rucksack on, has communications and fights,” he said.
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he → have → communications
In the meantime, he said, the Army’s work continues uninterrupted.
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work → say → meantime
For example, it is preparing to deploy troops to Latvia, as well as to Ukraine for training.
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it → prepare → training
Lt.-Gen. Wright cautioned that the work of transforming the Army won’t be quick.
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work → caution → Army
“Just because it’s the 10th of September doesn’t mean the 1st Canadian Division is completely full of people, necessary people, necessary capability, and able to be that warfighting division,” he said.
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he → ’ → people
“The path toward that starts today.”
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path → start → that
He said the new formations are at varying levels of maturity, and the Army’s chief concern is the ability to provide command and control and combat service support.
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concern → say → command
Much of the equipment the Army says it needs, including ground-based air-defence systems, armoured reconnaissance vehicles and mobile artillery, has yet to be deployed.
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it → say → systems
Lt.-Gen. Wright said the HIMARS rocket artillery system the government has purchased will fall under 1st Canadian Division command and that by September, 2027, two of Maj.-Gen. Rutland’s units will each have a sub-unit based on uncrewed systems.
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two → say → systems
David Perry, the president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, says the modernization of the military will take years and some of the decisions to ensure that happens − such as supplying equipment − rest with the federal government.
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that → say → government
“Realistically, we can’t expect the Army to have much more operational capability than it does today for another three to five years,” Mr. Perry said.
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Perry → expect → years
Maj.-Gen. Rutland said a shortage of equipment is not his concern.
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shortage → say → equipment
“You’ve got to be ready to fight tonight with what you have,” he said.
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he → get → what
“If we had to bring [older equipment] to World War III, we’d bring it, we’d dig in and we would shoot it.
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we → have → it
“I’ve got what I’ve got.”
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I → get → what
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