Public Affairs Branch (Canadian Forces)

The mission of the Public Affairs Branch is to inform Canadians of the policies, programs, services, activities, operations and initiatives of the Canadian Forces in a manner that is accurate, complete, objective, timely, relevant, understandable and open and transparent within the law. Public Affairs Officers are assigned to Commands, Formations, and Bases across Canada and are often deployed overseas.

Public Affairs Officers are both line and staff officers who provide advice and professional services to commanders and staffs at the tactical, operational and strategic levels in the areas of:

• Public Affairs planning as part of the operational planning process
• Media operations including media relations services to local, national and international journalists and media outlets, the management of media embedding programs, the conduct of media escorts and the provision of still and video imagery
• Internal communications using a variety of platforms
• Community relations

An initiative to improve and enhance military Public Affairs began in 2015 but was stood down in December 2020 by the Chief of the Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance, and its personnel re-assigned. This initiative sought to have public affairs officers become directly involved in information activities including deception against Canadians and Allies. In June 2021, then then-acting Chief of the Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre and Deputy Minister Jody Thomas, determined that "the effort to expand the formal range of duties of Public Affairs Officers into the [Information Operations/Influence Activity] domain, including the draft [Military Public Affairs Enhancement and Employment Concept] paper, were incompatible with Government of Canada Communications Policy, and the DND/CAF vision, mission and principles of Public Affairs."[1]

• Canadian Forces Recruiting
• Canadian Forces and Department of National Defence