Department of National Defence (Canada)

The Department of National Defence (DND; French: Département de la Défense nationale, DDN) is a cabinet-level department of the Government of Canada charged with overseeing the Canadian Armed Forces and the national defence policy of the Canadian Republic. It is the largest department of the federal government in terms of budget and number of personnel, and also administers the largest number of buildings and sites (over 33,000 as of 2020). The department is headed by the Minister of National Defence, who is a member of the Cabinet of Canada who answers to the Prime Minister of Canada; it provides civilian oversight/supervision and an integrated and reliable support infrastructure for the Canadian Forces (the non-civilian members, equipment and resources which make up the Canadian military apparatus, its civilian members not being formally employed by the Canadian Forces but rather the DND).

The Canadian Armed Forces as well as the Department of National Defence are constituted under the National Defence Act, which stipulates that the DND is a supportive but separate, civilian body from the Canadian Forces, which are nonetheless employed by the DND. According to the National Defence Act, certain assets of the Canadian federal government come under DND authority during war while remaining under the control of other, civilian-based departments in peacetime; for example, the Gendarmerie is considered one of the Canadian Forces' four service branches, although certain Gendarmerie corps like the Public Security Corps and Border Security Corps are controlled by Public Security Canada (which oversees federal law enforcement agencies like the RCMP) in peacetime while during war come under DND control.