CDR’s Senior Staff Writer, Joetey Attariwala, recently interviewed Lieutenant-General Michael Wright, the newly appointed Commander of the Canadian Army for a wide-ranging discussion on the service, which is seeing its greatest demand since the war in Afghanistan.
Before his appointment as Commander Canadian Army on 12 July 2024, Lieutenant-General Wright served as the Commander of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command and Chief of Defence Intelligence in Ottawa. Along with assuming the position of Commander Canadian Army, Lieutenant-General Wright will become the new Defence Team Co-Champion for Indigenous Peoples. This position has been held by Commander Canadian Army for over ten years.
CDR: General Wright, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. You are new to Commanding the Canadian Army, and you’ve returned after 6 years away. This is the first time we are speaking, so I’d love to get your top-level assessment of the Army you have returned to.
LGen Wright: Thanks for the opportunity, Joetey! It is truly an honour to be back in the Canadian Army. At its core, I see an Army that has remained steadfast in its values and has upheld our professional expectations of fighting spirit, leadership, discipline and teamwork. The One Army Team — our Regular and Reserve Forces, Canadian Rangers, and Defence Public Servants — is dedicated to our institution, and their resilience is inspiring.
We are operating in an increasingly complex and unpredictable world. Climate change, rising autocracies, disruptive technologies, misinformation and disinformation campaigns are reshaping how we defend Canada and support our Allies. The Army that we have today is not the Army that we need to be ready for the challenges of tomorrow.
What’s clear to me is that we need to modernize, and we need to modernize in a hurry. We must accelerate how we train, think, and innovate to ensure readiness. The Canadian Army has made important strides, but there’s more work to be done to enhance our capabilities, integrate with Allies, and align our structure with the realities of today’s operational environment. Moreover, we must posture for future challenges to Canada’s National Security.
My vision is for the Canadian Army to become an interoperable, digitally transformed modern land force, one that can provide the Government of Canada with agile and scalable options for operations both here at home and around the world.
MODERNIZATION, RECONSTITUTION & READINESS
CDR: What are your priorities for the Canadian Army?
LGen Wright: I have three main priorities: Modernization, reconstitution, and readiness. These priorities are not listed in order of importance; rather their sequence is intentional. Modernization drives the necessary changes, leading to reconstitution, which ensures our state of readiness. I will focus on modernization.
Essentially, the Canadian Army of today is not the Army we need for tomorrow, nor for the future. We need to modernize now, and we need to modernize with a sense of urgency. To defend Canada and operate alongside our Allies, our soldiers must have the equipment and capability to meet the threats they will face on the modern battlefield. These are not hypothetical threats; they are threats we face today.
This modernization effort is the largest we have undertaken since the turn of the century, involving 47 major capital projects that will ensure the Canadian Army remains lethal, credible and interoperable with our Allies. Among these, I have designated 4 + 1 as my focus.
READ: CANADIAN ARMY – Canadian Army Vehicles Report
The first is a capability we never had but was outlined in Our North Strong and Free and backed by policy and funding and that is Long Range Precision Strike. This capability provides the Canadian Army with the ability to engage targets at extended ranges with high accuracy to overmatch our adversary. This system will not only enhance our offensive operations but also acts as a powerful deterrent in land conflict and coastal defence.
This leads me to our second capability that was mentioned in Our North Strong and Free and it is something we currently have but must modernize, and that is Indirect Fire Modernization. The Indirect Fires Modernization project will ensure our artillery and mortar systems are equipped with the latest technology to improve their effectiveness and survivability on the modern battlefield.
The third capability is also mentioned in Our North Strong and Free and is one we used to be quite good at and we are now reinvigorating, and that is Ground-based Air Defence, which is essential for protecting our forces from increasingly sophisticated aerial threats both at home and abroad.
The Arctic Mobility Enhancement project will provide a tracked vehicle replacement for our aging BV 206 vehicles. Arctic mobility and survivability are crucial for ensuring our forces can operate effectively in the challenging conditions of the Arctic, a region of growing strategic importance for Canada and our Allies.
All these capabilities must be backstopped by integrated command and control to improve interoperability within the CAF and with our Allies. This means the continued expansion of our Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance [C5ISR] systems, a backbone that needs to be pan domain and interoperable with our Allies.
Our modernization work will include a complete review of the Canadian Army’s Force Structure and our Force Employment concept to ensure we are prepared and postured for the future operating environment.
CDR: Did you receive any specific guidance or goals from the CDS when you took command?
LGen Wright: I came into my position the week before General Carignan became our Chief of the Defence Staff [CDS]. She has clearly outlined her vision, priorities, and direction for the CAF, and we have spoken about how my priorities for the Canadian Army support her overarching priorities.
From the beginning, the CDS has made it clear that her number one priority is to improve recruitment into the CAF so that we can ensure that we have the people we need; that has lead to a significant amount of planning to make sure that the Army is ready to train those soldiers from the time they finish their Basic Military Qualification until they arrive at their first units.
The CDS has also made it clear that a culture of professional conduct must be at the center of everything that we do. She has also spent a considerable amount of time working with the Deputy Minister to provide direction as to how the CAF will implement Our North Strong and Free, the Defence Policy Update that was released earlier this year.
CDR: The Army is the primary force generator for the CAF, so what is the current state of the Army in terms of personnel? Where are you short people and what are you doing to attract people to the Army?
LGen Wright: As I said, recruiting remains the number one priority for the CDS. To be ready for the missions of today and the challenges of the future, we need to get Canadians through our recruiting system, into our training system, and ultimately into the front-line units of the Canadian Army. Under General Carignan’s leadership, the CAF is taking tangible steps to streamline the recruiting process, including efforts to address medical screening, digital portals, and security screening. The number of personnel posted to recruiting and training centers has increased, and we are working to improve processes, including Reserve recruiting and component transfers to the Regular Force.
Right now, we still have a shortfall of about 8,000 troops. As of November 2024, we’re looking to fill 3,000 positions in the Regular Force and 5,000 in the Reserve Force.
Retention is equally important. As we bolster our ranks, we must retain the knowledge of our experienced soldiers and leaders in order to develop the next generation. This experience is critical to ensure we remain a relevant, capable and lethal force in an ever-evolving global landscape.
In addition to recruitment and retention is fostering the Canadian Army culture. As you know, the Canadian Armed Forces faced a crisis of culture in recent years, and we are committed to continually evolving our culture to ensure that we reflect Canadian ethics and values. There is no ‘end state’ to culture change; it is a continuous journey that is essential to building stronger teams and improving our operational effectiveness.
EVOLVING WARFARE
CDR: How do you see land warfare evolving from what you’ve seen from global hot spots, and what lessons do you feel the Canadian Army needs to learn from them?
LGen Wright: The current and future demands of the Canadian Army are shaped by several global threats. The first is climate change. This is driving population displacement, resource scarcity and more frequent weather-related emergencies. In Canada, it disproportionately impacts the Arctic, which is becoming increasingly accessible. As a result, we are facing new security challenges in the region, and this requires us to adapt our infrastructure, equipment, and skills for operations in this strategic region.
Second, is the role of autocracies and disruptive states. We are seeing challenges to the Rules Based International Order that has kept Canada safe and made our nation prosperous. The most obvious examples are Russia’s continuing illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine and China’s attempts to reshape the international order to achieve its political goals. And it’s troubling to see Russia and China increasingly cooperating with other authoritarian regimes like North Korea and Iran, amplifying global instability.
New and disruptive technologies are rapidly reshaping conflict. Uncrewed Aerial Systems and other emerging capabilities seen in Ukraine and in other conflicts around the world underscore the need for rapid modernization.
I’ll add that the effects of misinformation and disinformation are fracturing trust and deepening divides within societies — including our own — and across the international community.
With these challenges, I believe the Canadian Army must modernize its capabilities, embrace innovation, and strengthen partnerships to achieve operational advantage in this rapidly changing landscape.
CDR: The Canadian Army is tasked with the lions’ share of the NATO mission in Latvia. How long can the Army sustain that level of commitment in Latvia and how do you see it evolving?
LGen Wright: The Canadian Army has been building towards this mission for the past number of years. As the leader of NATO’s Multinational Brigade in Latvia, we contribute to deterrence and the collective defence of NATO. Operation REASSURANCE will remain our largest force generation task for the foreseeable future.
However, we must balance this commitment with readiness for operations anywhere around the world and specifically in the three geographic regions identified in Our North, Strong and Free: Canada, particularly in our Arctic and northern regions, the Euro-Atlantic, and the Indo-Pacific. Ultimately, we need to be ready to go wherever the Government of Canada calls upon us to conduct operations.
CDR: What is the Canadian Army’s biggest capability gaps, and what is your strategy to resolve them?
LGen Wright: Our capabilities are constantly evolving, and I believe the modernization efforts I outlined will ensure we are best equipped to handle any mission given to us by the Government of Canada. Canada’s Arctic and Northern Regions are identified as a priority in Our North, Strong and Free and within Canada’s new Arctic Foreign Policy published on December 6, 2024.
As mentioned, climate change will have a significant impact on the security situation in the Arctic and my team is working to ensure our troops have the equipment they need to be able to operate in those environments, with a focus on mobility and survivability. One of the areas of focus is the replacement of our BV 206 tracked vehicle which will support troop operations across a variety of arctic conditions including ice, snow, and tundra.
The Canadian Army will continue to work with Northern Communities and our Arctic Allies to enhance coordination and dialogue on security issues, including through NATO and NORAD. An important part of that work is our Canadian Rangers, who are present in over 200 isolated and coastal communities across the North and the Arctic. They are the best example of a persistent CAF presence in the North, and a constant symbol of sovereignty.
A key component of this effort is the establishment of Arctic Response Company Groups [ARCGs]. These specialized units are vital to supporting the Government of Canada’s Arctic policy. By investing in the ARCGs, the Canadian Army is ensuring its ability to safeguard national interests and protect the environment in this increasingly strategic region. We will continue to build upon their capacity to enable continued growth in our ability to project to the north.
CDR: We are all tracking potential adversaries, so with that understanding, what is the Canadian Army’s role in the Indo-Pacific?
LGen Wright: The Indo-Pacific is vital to Canada’s future and is the world’s fastest growing region and home to six of Canada’s top 13 trading partners. Stability and security of the Indo-Pacific is vital to Canada’s economic future and our collective security which is why we are supporting our Allies.
Across the CAF we are seeing the Royal Canadian Navy as the most active service in the region, so given our commitments in Latvia and the requirement to reconstitute at home, the Army’s role in the Indo-Pacific will be limited over the next few years. However, we continue to build upon existing relationships while exploring new potential partnerships in the region.
URGENT OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
CDR: What are the most critical Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) for the Army, and where do those acquisitions stand?
LGen Wright: The Canadian Army’s current UORs address critical needs to ensure operational readiness, counter emerging threats, and enhance interoperability with Allies. Priorities to enable this include Ground-Based Air Defence (GBAD) which strengthen capabilities to protect forces and assets against aerial threats, including drones and aircraft. This effort supports readiness in increasingly contested air environments. The Saab RBS 70NG Very-Short Range Air Defence system has reached initial operating capability with our troops in Latvia, and planned further investments in Air Defence are proceeding with announcements expected in the next 6-12 months.
In order to address the rapidly increasing adversarial threat of hostile drones, the Canadian Army has fielded systems to detect, track, and neutralize UAS systems, ensuring force protection and operational effectiveness. These systems have reached Initial Operating Capability by our soldiers in Latvia.
We are introducing precision-guided loitering munition systems that provide flexible and rapid strike options, enabling timely responses to emerging threats and enhancing integration with Allied operations. The delivery of the systems is scheduled for January 2026.
The Brigade Command and Information Systems (CIS) will upgrade communication networks to improve command and control, situational awareness, and seamless interoperability with international partners. Initial interoperable upgrades have been successfully implemented as part of the Multinational Brigade in Latvia.
By addressing these urgent priorities, the Army is ensuring it remains prepared to meet current and future challenges alongside its Allies.
CDR: What major Army acquisition projects are most important to you?
LGen Wright: The capabilities I have outlined as our modernization efforts are top of mind. Long range precision strike, indirect fire modernization, ground-based air defence and arctic mobility will help position the Canadian Army to respond to the threats of the future. Central to these efforts is Digital Transformation, which will improve shared understanding, speed up decision-making, and enhance command and control.
WORKING WITH INDUSTRY
CDR: What would you like to see from the defence industry in Canada?
LGen Wright: Our North, Strong and Free emphasizes the critical role of industry in supporting Canada’s defence priorities and the Government of Canada is evolving its approach to collaboration with industry to meet the demands of a rapidly changing security environment.
The Canadian Army values its partnership with the Canadian defence industry as it modernizes to meet future challenges. These partnerships need to be nurtured, and I have put an emphasis on ensuring that we are spending time to better work with industry to explain our requirements. This collaboration is essential to deliver innovative, adaptable, and sustainable solutions that address evolving operational needs. We are seeking industry partners who are focused on interoperable systems and solutions that integrate seamlessly with our international Allies and remain resilient against emerging threats.
In addition, solutions must be environmentally responsible, cost-effective, and adaptable to changes in the security environment. These capabilities must maintain their edge throughout their life-cycle, ensuring long-term operational relevance. By fostering strong partnerships, encouraging knowledge-sharing, and driving innovation, I believe the Canadian Army and Canadian industry can work together to ensure superiority and readiness for the challenges of tomorrow.
TRAINING & SIMULATION
CDR: How do you see the Army leveraging training and simulation technologies to better prepare the force for combat readiness?
LGen Wright: An integrated training environment that incorporates modern training and simulation technologies is essential to force generating combat effective multi-purpose land forces. The Canadian Army is advancing toward such an environment, blending live simulation field training with a synthetic training environment composed of both virtual and constructive simulations. This integrated approach, combining live, virtual, and constructive simulations, offers capabilities that were previously unattainable. While modernizing our simulation fleets required an upfront investment, this approach is ultimately cost-effective, significantly reducing expenditure on ammunition, fuel and vehicle wear and tear.
However, this effort is not just about cost savings. The future integrated training environment will be essential to our ability to train at higher echelons above the brigade level. It will also enable the integration of advanced systems with ranges and capabilities that are challenging to employ in our current range and training areas.
Our NATO allies are making substantial investments in simulation technologies to enhance their training programs, and the Canadian Army must do the same. Leveraging these technologies will ensure we remain ready to employ the full spectrum of our capabilities and prepare our soldiers for the complex nature of today’s conflict.
CDR: Thank you, General.
