Statistically, the US is ahead in everything, and the lead in everything is huge. For instance, Canada has 201 operational tanks, the US has a whooping 8,325 M1 Abrams. Canada has 4 advanced diesel subs, while the US has 72 nuclear-powered submarines.
Canada is not a major military power and has only a small and lightly-funded armed forces. Canada's military rose in size and professionalism after the two world wars.
The Canadian Armed Forces is comprised of approximately 68,000 Regular Force and 27,000 Reserve Force members, increasing to 71,500 and 30,000 respectively under Strong, Secure, Engaged − Canada's defence policy, as well as 5,200 Ranger Patrol Group members.
Our Defence Partnership
In fact, Canadian Army, Navy, and Air Force officers are embedded throughout the U.S. military at all levels – protecting and defending our shared continent in search and rescue operations, interdiction of illegal narcotics, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.
While the US is still far and away the world's top military superpower, Russia and China are its closest rivals. Canada, however, is the weakest of the 20 countries on the list.
In 2022, China had the largest armed forces in the world by active duty military personnel, with about 2 million active soldiers. India, the United States, North Korea, and Russia rounded out the top five largest armies respectively, each with over one million active military personnel.
Canada has not officially maintained and possessed weapons of mass destruction since 1984 and, as of 1998, has signed treaties repudiating possession of them.
NATO doesn't have its own armed forces, but it has a permanent, integrated military command structure, comprised of both military and civilian personnel, from all member states.
NATO is a major contributor to international peace and security and is the cornerstone of Canadian security and defence policy. Canada's priority for NATO is to ensure the Alliance remains modern, flexible, agile and able to face current and future threats.
The United States
With a budget of $738 billion and 1,388,000 men and women in the armed forces, it boasts an awe-inspiring 6,125 nuclear weapons, 11 aircraft carriers, 68 nuclear submarines, 3,761 military aircraft, 867 attack helicopters, 6,209 tanks and 113 warships.
It is quite easier to accept that Canada hasn't lost a war, or is it? While its militia played a small role in the War of 1812 against the United States, which ended in a draw, Canada didn't actually send its military overseas in a fully-fledged conflict until 1899 during the Second Anglo-Boer War.
However, during the next couple of centuries, Canada also has a surprisingly good chance of becoming an economic and cultural superpower. With a population of only 35 million (in 2015), a famously frigid climate and a below-replacement fertility rate, Canada would seem an unlikely candidate to become a superpower.
Current inventory. 98 CF-18A and 40 F/A-18B have been delivered for a total of 138. 72 CF-18As and 31 CF-18Bs in inventory, 80 in operational use. ex-RAAF jets; 12 F/A-18A and 6 F/A-18B have been delivered.
In 2021, the United States had the largest number of military personnel out of all North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, with 1.35 million troops.
The combined total of Nato military personnel currently exceeds 5.4m – around four times as many as Russia, according to Statista.
In April this year, the four countries participated in NATO's foreign ministerial meeting and they agreed to continue supporting Ukraine and to step up cooperation given the "global implications" of Russia's war on Ukraine. Australia, Japan and South Korea are all U.S. security allies.
The army has a fleet of 82 Leopard 2 battle tanks, spread throughout the country at CFB Edmonton, CFB Montreal, and CFB Gagetown near Fredericton, New Brunswick. The surplus Leopard 1s are parked largely in the same locations.
Since February 2022, Canada has provided Ukraine with more than $500 million in emergency assistance to assist Ukraine in fighting and defeating the Russian invasion of its territory. Canada's help to Ukraine has included supplying protective equipment and weapons.
The most probable Canadian targets would be Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Sault Ste. Marie, Ottawa, Montreal, Windsor and Halifax. Because of their limited stock of A-bombs, the Russians would not likely consider any other target worth hitting in the initial surprise attack.
The answer, experts said, is not a very effective one. The US only has a limited ability to destroy an incoming nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile, a study released last month by the American Physical Society concluded.
As of 2022, there were estimated to be approximately 4,178 nuclear warheads belonging to three NATO allies, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.