'We have to get ready for large-scale conflicts,' says Canada's military chief

As well as being the first woman to lead Canada's armed forces, General Jennie Carignan is also in command as her country pushes to rearm on a scale not seen since the Cold War.

This includes expanding the full-time military, bolstering the number of reservists and attempting to get up to 300,000 civilians to join a "strategic reserve" - a pool of people with some form of training that could be called upon in the event of a major crisis.

"The world has changed," General Carignan told Sky News. "We have to get ready for large-scale conflicts, more conventional, so we need a different military to do that and different capability."

The ability of hostile states such as Russia and North Korea to launch long-range missiles that could strike Canada is a threat the military chief is tracking.

She is also eyeing growing competition between NATO allies, Moscow and Beijing in the High North and across the whole Arctic - a vast area of strategic importance to the Canadians.

A need to protect vital interests is one reason why Mark Carney's Canadian government is exploring the possibility of joining a multinational force of like-minded nations led by the UK, with a focus on this region as well as the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic.

General Carignan visited London on Friday and Saturday to meet with counterparts from the 10-strong Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) - also fellow NATO allies - to find out more about what benefits membership would bring and how Canada could contribute.

"We feel very, very welcome," she said. "From my perspective, JEF represents a lot of opportunities for more collaboration and again to better address some of those military challenges that we have."

First conceived by the UK in 2012, the other countries in the grouping comprise the Nordic nations of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well as the Netherlands.

The addition of Canada, given its geography, would make sense.

General Carignan listed some of the advantages her country could bring, including "situational awareness, sharing of information, basing capabilities as well in covering that area, various types of sovereignty or operations and exercises".

Asked why Canada did not choose to join sooner, she said back in 2013 to 2014 her country was reducing investment in defence - unlike now.

"We have a collective of Nordic nations who are concerned more specifically by that area. So again, the situation has changed and hence now we can reconsider being part of the group."

Unlike NATO, JEF members do not need to operate by consensus. It means their forces can respond faster and more adaptively to emerging threats.

JEF nations are already working to counter threats by Russia under the threshold of conventional war, such as the targeting of critical undersea infrastructure like gas and oil pipelines and communications cables.

"The JEF allows to have that flexible option ready in support of NATO, complementary to NATO, which I think is a very positive thing from my perspective," General Carignan said.

Asked whether she liked the idea of joining the grouping, she said: "Yes, we are definitely interested. There's a little bit of work to do, but as I said, it looks very promising."

General Carignan is no stranger to conflict.

Commissioned into the Canadian Military Engineers in 1990, she has served in Afghanistan and Iraq, working her way up through the ranks to become chief of the defence staff in July 2024. She is also a mother of four.

"I think I'm here today because Canada decided to remove systemic barriers in our military 40 years ago," she said, when asked how she broke through that glass ceiling.

This meant she was able to access various positions that allowed for promotion, unlike the many women who came before her.

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General Carignan said she is standing on their shoulders.

As for the main challenges that she faced along the way, the military chief said: "Perceptions. Perceptions that women are weak, perceptions that you can't be in a combat role and be a mother at the same time.

"So those are the type of barriers that are more stereotypes than actually what the reality is. The reality of combat, the reality of serving in the military, in combat roles."

She is the only woman sitting at the table when NATO military chiefs meet - something she is sure will change over time.

"I'm sure there will be [more female military chiefs] because it's totally possible and NATO allies are removing systemic barriers as well, and it's only a question of time."

(c) Sky News 2026: 'We have to get ready for large-scale conflicts,' says Canada's military chief