The branch works in a variety of challenging positions, at home and abroad, meeting the needs of commanders and operational planners of the Canadian Forces at all levels and in all environments.

Since the branch's inception, members have deployed overseas to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti, Somalia, Rwanda, Timor-Leste, Latvia, Ukraine, Mali, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

These include tasks related to the ice storms in Quebec, floods in Winnipeg, fires in British Columbia and the Canadian military's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the Boer War in South Africa, Canadian mounted troops gathered information of intelligence value with Strathcona's Horse and British scout units.

Denny, had a very small staff overseeing information collection and mapping, and approximately 185 militia officers serving the Canadian Corps of Guides.

Corps of Guides units in Canada were converted to cyclist companies charged with protecting the main force form surprise during time of war.

Foreseeing the need for 200 intelligence personnel, Major John Page proposed that field security (FS) functions be separated from the Canadian Provost Corps.

Canadians from universities, colleges, businesses and industries joined the C Int C to participate in a great variety of intelligence duties; a number became casualties at the Dieppe Raid, in Northwest Europe and the Adriatic.

The basic aim of these companies was to provide a pool of trained intelligence personnel to augment the Regular Force when needed.

Sir William Stephenson ("A Man Called Intrepid") accepted the appointment as first colonel commandant of the Intelligence Branch, which was formed 1 October 1982.

The actual re-badging occurred on 29 October 1982, the 40th anniversary of the birth of the C Int C. In 2000, a further split with the Security Branch occurred, with intelligence training moving from CFSIS at CFB Borden to the newly formed Canadian Forces School of Military Intelligence (CFSMI) at CFB Kingston.

As a result, individual movement between Regular and Reserve components is relatively fluid compared with other branches in the CAF.