Department of National DefenceGovernment

The Department of National Defence (DND) is the federal department of the Government of Canada responsible for defending Canadian sovereignty, territory, and national interests. Operating in close civil-military integration with the Canadian Armed Forces, its mandate is to advise the Minister of National Defence, manage defense policy, oversee national security operations, and support international commitments under NORAD, NATO, and UN peacekeeping missions. Established on January 1, 1923, through the National Defence Act of 1922, it amalgamated the former Department of Militia and Defence, the Department of the Naval Service, and the Air Board into a single unified ministerial defense department.